The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco

About the book: The fact that history can be quite so devious may cause the reader's brow to become lightly beaded with sweat. He will look anxiously behind him, switch on all the lights, and suspect that these things could happen again today. In fact, they may be happening in that very moment. And he will think, as I do: "They are among us..." - Umberto Eco

Nineteenth-century Europe abounds with conspiracies both ghastly and mysterious. 

Jesuits plot against Freemasons. 

Italian priests are strangled with their own intestines. 

French criminals plan bombings by day and celebrate black masses by night. 

Every nation has its own secret service, perpetrating forgeries, plots, and massacres.

From the unification of Italy to the Paris Commune to the Dreyfus Affair to The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, Europe is in tumult and everyone needs a scapegoat. 

But what if, behind all of these conspiracies, lies just one man?

Eco takes his readers here on an unforgettable journey through the underbelly of world-shattering events. The Prague Cemetery (2010, 2012) is Eco at his most exciting, a book immediately hailed as his masterpiece. 

The Prague Cemetery is translated from the Italian by Richard Dixon and was shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2012.

About the author: Umberto Eco (1932–2016) wrote fiction, literary criticism and philosophy. His first novel, The Name of the Rose, was a major international bestseller. His other works include Foucault's Pendulum, The Island of the Day Before, Baudolino, The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana, The Prague Cemetery and Numero Zero along with many brilliant collections of essays, academic texts and children's books. At the time of his death, he was an Emeritus professor at the University of Bologna, where he taught for much of his life. In the 21st century, he has continued to gain recognition for his 1995 essay "Ur-Fascism", where Eco lists fourteen general properties he believes comprise fascist ideologies.

Rating: 4/5