Island of the Day Before - by Umberto Eco (Paperback)

About the Book

The national bestseller--now in paperback with an exquisite cover with foil and French flaps. Umberto Eco, one of the greatest storytellers of all time, continues to enthrall readers with this exquisitely crafted novel that celebrates the romance, war, politics, philosophy, and science of the baroque period in all its lush and colorful detail.

Book Synopsis

A fascinating, lyrical tale about an Italian nobleman stranded on a deserted ship in the Pacific Ocean--a "dazzling blend of science and fantasy" (Los Angeles Times) and a "masterpiece" (Chicago Tribune)

Roberto della Griva is an Italian nobleman living in 1643. His mission is to travel the South Pacific and discover the means by which navigators can understand the mystery of longitude. After a violent storm, however, Roberto finds himself shipwrecked--on a ship. Swept from the Amaryllis, he has managed to pull himself aboard the Daphne, anchored in the bay of a beautiful island. The ship is fully provisioned, but the crew is missing.

As Roberto explores the different cabinets in the hold, he remembers chapters from his youth: Ferrante, his imaginary evil brother; the siege of Casale, that meaningless chess move in the Thirty Years' War in which he lost his father; and the lessons given him on fencing, blasphemy, and the writing of love letters.

From the Back Cover

"A profound and ingenious story artfully told . . . Renaissance battles, love poems, and sea journeys in the age of exploration." --The New York Times Book Review

Roberto della Griva is an Italian nobleman living in 1643. His mission is to travel the South Pacific and discover the means by which navigators can understand the mystery of longitude. After a violent storm, however, Roberto finds himself shipwrecked--on a ship. Swept from the Amaryllis, he has managed to pull himself aboard the Daphne, anchored in the bay of a beautiful island. The ship is fully provisioned, but the crew is missing.
As Roberto explores the different cabinets in the hold, he remembers chapters from his youth: Ferrante, his imaginary evil brother; the siege of Casale, that meaningless chess move in the Thirty Years' War in which he lost his father; and the lessons given him on fencing, blasphemy, and the writing of love letters. The Island of the Day Before is a fascinating, lyrical tale about a young dreamer's search for love and meaning.
"A masterpiece . . . intellectually stimulating and dramatically intriguing." --Chicago Tribune
"A story both thought provoking and surprisingly humorous." USA Today
"Umberto Eco . . . is the last of the great 20th century polymathic fabulists in the tradition of Joyce and Nabokov and Borges." The Wall Street Journal
UMBERTO ECO is a professor of semiotics at the University of Bologna and the bestselling author of numerous novels and collections of essays. He lives in Milan.
Translated from the Italian by William Weaver
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Review Quotes

PRAISE FOR THE ISLAND OF THE DAY BEFORE

"As wonderfully exotic as only Eco can contrive . . . An astonishing intellectual journey."--San Francisco Chronicle

"A masterpiece . . . intellectually stimulating and dramatically intriguing."--Chicago Tribune
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