Status: 29.08.2023, 18:00 p.m.
By: Ulrike Hanninger
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A literary scholar finds a book called "Carmen Nova" in an antiquarian bookshop, which is attributed to Umberto Eco. Is it real or a fake?
The literary world, as well as many enthusiastic readers worldwide, are currently puzzling over who the author of "Carmen Nova" is. Allegedly, the book is by Umberto Eco, but there are justified doubts, as the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) reports. What is certain, however, is that the successful Italian author would have enjoyed the story. Throughout his life, he was fascinated by "forgeries, fantasies, human errors and lies".
"Carmen Nova" – a fake in the writing style of Umberto Eco?
The Italian writer Umberto Eco continues to occupy the literary world even after his death in 2016. (Archive image) © Everett Collection/Imago
The controversial book is a thriller, or more precisely: a crime novella of 63 pages, which is said to have been written and published 40 years ago by Umberto Eco. Attached is an afterword by Roland Barthes, the French philosopher, literary critic and author. A literary scholar had bought the book online from an antiquarian bookshop, as the SWR informs.
While reading, it continues, he quickly came across inconsistencies such as a publishing house that does not exist. The language and spelling of the book are also not typical of Umberto Eco's novels. According to the FAZ, further investigations revealed that the writer's heirs knew nothing about the work and that Roland Barthes did not write the printed afterword.
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Who is Umberto Eco?
Umberto Eco (1932 to 2016) was a philosopher and professor of semiotics, i.e. he dealt intensively with sign systems such as language. However, the Italian did not gain international fame because of his reference books, but because of his bestselling novel "The Name of the Rose", which was made into a film in 1986 with Sean Connery and Christian Slater. Although it is not among the ten best-selling books in the world, it has had loyal fans around the globe since its publication.
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Can you buy "Camen Nova"?
Retiring to a nice place to read and make up your own mind is difficult. According to the FAZ, the book appears again and again in the catalogues of antiquarian bookshops. It is also listed on Amazon, but is usually not available. Unfortunately, it is not easy to find. Why the work, which in all probability is a forgery, was written remains a mystery that is likely to keep the literary world in suspense for a while. As the finder explains to the FAZ, the forgery was "carried out with a great deal of effort".