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The Interview
What is the reason for the huge success of the novel, ‘The Name of the Rose’?
Umberto Eco calls himself a professor rather than a novelist though people know him more as a novelist. His novel ‘The Name of the Rose’ is a grand success. It is a serious novel with a detective yarn. But it delves into metaphysics, theology and medieval history. On asking by Mukund about the success of the novel, Eco tells that it is a mystery. But Umberto tells that through the novel, he could reach to million readers and in the U.S. alone two or three million copies were sold. The total sale exceeded 10 to 15 million copies.
Eco agrees that the medieval period can be one of reasons for success but simultaneously he points out that a lot of books have been written about the medieval past far before him. Its success is doubtful in a country where nobody has seen a cathedral or studied Latin. They rather like reading trash. So the success of his novel is. a mystery. In addition to this Eco points out that in case it had been written ten years earlier or ten years later, perhaps it would not have got the same success.
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Do you think Umberto Eco likes being interviewed? Give reasons for your opinion.
How does Eco find the time to write so much?
What was distinctive about Eco’s academic writing style?
Did Umberto Eco consider himself a novelist first or an academic scholar?
What is the reason for the huge success of the novel, ‘The Name of the Rose’?
Talk about any interview you watched on television or read in a newspaper. How did it add to your understanding of the celebrity, the interviewer and the field of the celebrity?
The medium you like best for an interview, print, radio, or television.
Every famous person has a right to his or her privacy. Interviewers sometimes embarrass celebrities with very personal questions.
If the interviewer Mukund Padmanabhan had not got the space in the newspaper to reproduce the interview verbatim, he might have been asked to produce a short report of the interview with the salient points.
Write this report for him.
[The teacher should be able to help the pupils in what to include and what can be omitted.] [We could also provide a short report of an interview as a sample.]
In what way have the interviews become a commonplace of journalism?
Or
What has happened over the last 130 years in respect of the interview?
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