The Island of the Day Before

The Island of the Day Before

infobox Book |
name = The Island of the Day Before
title_orig = L’isola del giorno prima
translator = William Weaver


author = Umberto Eco
cover_artist =
country = Italy
language = Italian
series =
genre = Novel
publisher = Secker & Warburg (UK)

Harcourt (US)
release_date = 1995
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages = 513 pp
isbn = ISBN 0-436-20270-0 (UK)

0151001510 (US)
preceded_by = Foucault's Pendulum
followed_by = Baudolino

"The Island of the Day Before" ("L'isola del giorno prima") is a 1994 novel by Umberto Eco.

It is the story of a 17th century Italian nobleman who is the only survivor of a shipwreck during a fierce storm. He finds himself washed up on an abandoned ship in a harbour through which, he convinces himself, runs the International Date Line. Although he can see land, his inability to swim leaves him marooned and he begins to reminisce about his life and his love. He becomes obsessed about his allegedly evil twin brother, who is split from his own persona through a process reminiscent of the doppelganger effect, and thus accusing him of all the bad things that happened in his life. The brother takes blame mainly for his bad choices and is present to sweeten the disappointments of life . Through this reminiscence he becomes convinced that all his troubles will end, if only he can reach the land. The story is told from the point of view of a modern editor who has sorted through the man's papers. Exactly how the papers were preserved and eventually handed down to the editor remains a point of conjecture.

This work contains references to Eco's previous novels. In one example, the captain of the "Daphne" mentions that he has heard stories of men who were poisoned by moistening their fingers with saliva before turning the pages of certain books; this was a crucial plot point in Eco's first novel "The Name of the Rose".


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • The Day the Fish Came Out — The original movie poster Directed by Michael Cacoyannis Produced by …   Wikipedia

  • The Land Before Time — This article is about the 1988 film. For the series in general, see The Land Before Time (series). The Land Before Time Theatrical release poster Directed by …   Wikipedia

  • The Day After Tomorrow — Infobox Film name = The Day After Tomorrow caption = The Day After Tomorrow theatrical poster. director = Roland Emmerich producer = Roland Emmerich Mark Gordon writer = Roland Emmerich (story) Roland Emmerich Jeffery Nachmanoff (screenplay)… …   Wikipedia

  • The Day of the Triffids — For other uses, see The Day of the Triffids (disambiguation). The Day of the Triffids   …   Wikipedia

  • The Day I Became a Woman — Infobox Film name = The Day I Became a Woman image size = caption = Movie poster director = Marzieh Meshkini producer = Mohsen Makhmalbaf writer = Mohsen Makhmalbaf Marzieh Meshkini narrator = starring = music = Ahmad Reza Darvish cinematography …   Wikipedia

  • Timeline for the day of the September 11 attacks — The September 11, 2001 attacks, in addition to being a unique act of aggression, constituted a media event on a scale not seen since the advent of civilian global satellite links, round the clock television news organizations and the instant… …   Wikipedia

  • List of The Land Before Time characters — This is a list of recurring characters in The Land Before Time, a series of animated children s films. The main characters include Littlefoot the Apatosaurus, Cera the Triceratops, Ducky the Saurolophus, Petrie the Pteranodon, Spike the… …   Wikipedia

  • The Chronicles of Narnia (TV serial) — The Chronicles of Narnia Title screen Format Drama TV serial Created by C. S. Lewis (novel) …   Wikipedia

  • The Dispossessed —   …   Wikipedia

  • History of the Philippines (Before 1521) — This article covers the vast historical period of the Philippines before the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. This period had shown the immense change that took hold of the archipelago from Stonge Age cultures in 30000 BC to the emergence… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”