Eco and Narcissus

On the Shoulders of Giants gathers the 12 lectures that the late Umberto Eco gave between 2001 and 2015 at Milan’s annual Milanesiana festival. Seeing him deliver them must have been like going to a concert these days by Van Morrison or Bob Dylan. Sometimes, he’s on top form, all the old magic thrillingly intact; often, he seems to be going through the motions. And while Eco can always be relied on for a generous smattering of greatest hits — conspiracy theories, William of Ockham, the Rosicrucians, Pseudo-Dionysius the Aeropagite — these too are performed with variable feeling and effort.