The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana

By: Umberto Eco

Narrated by: George Guidall

Internationally best-selling author Umberto Eco is a master stylist whose books, including The Name of the Rose and Baudolino, have been savored by millions around the world. Now, with The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana, Eco crafts another of the ambitious and breathtaking novels that are his trademark.

When book dealer Yambo suffers amnesia, he loses all sense of who he is, but retains memories of all the books, poems, songs, and movies he has ever experienced. To reclaim his identity, he retreats to the family home and rummages through old letters, photographs, and mementos stored in the attic. Yambo's mind swirls with thoughts, and he struggles to retrieve the one memory that may be most sacred, that of Lila Saba, his first love.

Steeped in nostalgia and filled with vivid, sometimes wondrous imagery, The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana is a magnificent addition to Eco's literary legacy.

Translated by Geoffrey Brock.©2004 RCS Libri S.p.A. (P)2005 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"Compelling storytelling and greatly sympathetic characters." (Booklist)
"An absorbing exploration of how that most fundamental master-narrative, our memory, is pieced together from a bricolage of pop culture." (Publishers Weekly)
"A head-spinning tour through the corridors of history and popular culture, and one of this sly entertainer's liveliest yet." (Kirkus Reviews)

Long, but worthwhile

I had tried reading one of Eco's books some time back and found the text very dense and too hard to read.

The audio version would be better I thought, so why not give it a try, even though it was a very long book. (For what it's worth, I have no difficulty with reading, comprehension, of vocabulary - his writing style just made it difficult.)

This book at times could be tedious (He really didn't have to spend so much time in the attic!) but just as often was like talking to an old friend.

The narrator was excellent. I was apprehensive when I heard an older man with an unusual accent and delivery, but he was certainly a good choice for this - the book could not have been the same without him.

A long listen, but I would do it again.

Mysterious, rambling and intriguing

After a recent diet of rather good thrillers and mysteries, I decided to try the most recent Umberto Eco, for a change of pace. A change it most definitely was! The pace of Queen Loana is decidedly slow (occasionally practically coming to a standstill), the tale intriguing, the atmosphere foggy and the concepts challenging. George Guidall (who I will always associate with Crime and Punishment) narrates this work in exactly the right manner. I can recommend this book to listeners with patience, and who want to think, but if you are after a fast-flowing narrative with twists and turns, this is not for you.

Entrancing and Philosophical

Eco is so great at creating a sense of mystery and wonder as a man tries to reassemble his life after a stroke that turns him into an amnesiac. He really lets one think about what it is about me that I identify with. He had to rediscover all his preferences and re-question all his values as his entire life and even bodily functions are completely strange and new. Do our memories make us what we are, or our preferences? Are we responsible for sins that we don't even remember making?

Why is there a lead-in which shouts "Audible Kids"? This is an adult book but someone at Audible has mislabeled it.

Excellent Narrative Performance, But The Story Itself Will NOT Appeal to Many Listeners

The performance of George Guidall is excellent. However this is a slow moving tedious story. It is definitely NOT light literature. The story seems to ramble on endlessly and seemingly pointlessly. I am positive it is a serious intellectual exercise. Perhaps something like James Joyce’s Ulysses. The first time I read Ulysses I might as well not have. Maybe I will reread this in a few years. But I would not recommend this novel as a light listening experience. Thank You…

Umberto Eco Reminiscing..,

One of his finest works, Eco is opening a window into the life of a boy during the war while taking us along on a journey through the thoughts of a dying man.