Interpretation and Overinterpretation

Introduction: Interpretation terminable and interminable Stefan Collini; 1. Interpretation and history Umberto Eco; 2. Overinterpreting texts Umberto Eco; 3. Between author and text Umberto Eco; 4. The pragmatist's progress Richard Rorty; 5. In defence of overinterpretation Jonathan Culler; 6. Palimpsest history Christine Brook-Rose; 7. Reply Umberto Eco; Index.

"Interpretation and Overinterpretation is an excellent book, one of the most valuable contributions to literary theory of recent years." Philosophy and Literature "Like Eco himself, Interpretation and Overinterpretation is bracingly down-to-earth, accessible though complex, profound but not pompous...Before you know it the book is history. Yet its first-rate ironies and trenchant writing linger." The Philadelphia Inquirer "In Interpretation and Overinterpretation the many lives of Eco come together in a vibrant text full of wisdom and wit...interspersed with...theoretical considerations are fascinating anecdotal details about the writing of his two novels making the book must reading for Eco aficianados." The San Francisco Chronicle "...offers a unique opportunity not only to read Eco at his finest, but also to observe him interacting with some renowned contemporary scholars...Reading the essays collected in this volume gives one a sense of being present at a rare meeting of the minds: a semiotician and best-selling novelist meets three of today's most powerful minds in philosophy, literary theory, and postmodern fiction...the careful arguments of this powerful theorist should provoke us into reevaluating the role of interpretation in literary criticism and theory." James M. Lang, Studies in the Humanities "This book is densely charged and action packed." Antioch