Flamingo Prose Chapter 7 The Interview English - Flamingo Prose Chapter 7 The Interview

Mukund: Could the huge success of the novel have anything to do with the fact that it dealt with a period of medieval history that....
Umberto Eco: That's possible. But let me tell you another story, because I often tell sicriss like a Chinese wise man. My American publisher said while she loved my book, she didn't expect to sell more than 3,000 copies in a country where nobody has seen a cathedral or studies Latin. So I was given an advance for 3,000 copies, but in the end it sold two or three million in the U.S.
A lot of books have been written about the medieval past far before mine. I think the success of the book is a mystery. Nobody can predict it. I think if I had written The Name of the Rose ten years earlier or ten years later, it wouldn't have been the same. Why it worked at that time is a mystery.
1.Who often tells stories like a Chinese wise man?
a) Mukund
b) Umberto Eco
c) American publisher
d) Chinese people
2.How many copies did the American publisher expect to sell?
a) 2 or 3 million
b) 10,000 copies
c) 3,000 copies
d) 1 million
3.How many copies were actually sold in the U.S.?
a) 2 or 3 million
b) 10,000 copies
c) 3,000 copies
d) 1 million
4.What is a mystery which cannot be predicted?
a) The success of a book
b) The author's writing style
c) The historical period of a novel
d) The publisher's expectations
5.Find the word from the passage which means 'modern'.
a) Advanced
b) Wise
c) Mystery
d) Medieval
6.Find the word from the passage which is opposite to ‘known'.
a) Expected
b) Mystery
c) Sold
d) Predicted

Mukund: Talking about novels, from being a famous academic you went on to becoming spectacularly famous after the publication of The Name of the Rose. You've written five novels against many more scholarly works of non-fiction, at least more than 20 of them...
Umberto Eco: Over 40.
Mukund: Over 40! Among them a seminal piece of work on semiotics. But ask most people about Umberto Eco and they will say, “Oh, he's the novelist.” Does that bother you?
Umberto Eco: Yes. Because I consider myself a university professor who writes novels on Sundays. It's not a joke. I participate in academic conferences and not meetings of Pen Clubs and writers. I identify myself with the academic community.
1.What is the nature of 'The Name of the Rose'?
a) Romantic novel
b) Detective yarn
c) Science fiction
d) Comedy
2.What other things does this novel delve into?
a) Science and technology
b) Metaphysics, theology, and medieval history
c) Romantic relationships
d) Contemporary politics
3.What do journalists and publishers believe?
a) People like trash and easy reading
b) People prefer serious literature
c) People only read scholarly works
d) People enjoy fiction more than non-fiction
4.How many copies of 'The Name of the Rose' had sold?
a) Between 5 and 10 million
b) Between 10 and 15 million
c) Less than 1 million
d) More than 20 million
5.Find the word from the passage which means “public'.
a) Serious
b) Trash
c) Mass
d) Enjoy
6.Find the word from the passage which is opposite to 'boughť.
a) Bought
b) Easy
c) Difficult
d) Trash

Mukund: Talking about novels, from being a famous academic you went on to becoming spectacularly famous after the publication of The Name of the Rose. You've written five novels against many more scholarly works of non-fiction, at least more than 20 of them...
Umberto Eco: Over 40.
Mukund: Over 40! Among them a seminal piece of work on semiotics. But ask most people about Umberto Eco and they will say, “Oh, he's the novelist.” Does that bother you?
Umberto Eco: Yes. Because I consider myself a university professor who writes novels on Sundays. It's not a joke. I participate in academic conferences and not meetings of Pen Clubs and writers. I identify myself with the academic community.
1.When did Umberto become particularly famous?
a) Before the publication of The Name of the Rose
b) After the publication of The Name of the Rose
c) During his academic career
d) After writing scholarly works
2.How many novels has he written?
a) Five
b) More than 20
c) Over 40
d) Only one
3.What do most people recognize Umberto as?
a) Novelist
b) Academic
c) Poet
d) Journalist
4.What does Umberto not participate in?
a) Academic conferences
b) Pen Clubs and writers' meetings
c) Novelist gatherings
d) Semiotics workshops
5.Find the word from the passage which means 'scholarly'.
a) Spectacularly
b) Semiotics
c) Novelist
d) Academic
6.Find the word from the passage which is opposite to “fiction'.
a) Novelist
b) Scholarly
c) Semiotics
d) Sundays

Mukund: Not everyone can do that of course. Your non-fictional writing, your scholarly work a certain playful and personal quality about it. It is a marked departure from a regular academic style - which is invariably depersonalised and often dry and boring. Have you consciously adopted an informal approach or is it something that just came naturally to you,
Umberto Eco: When I presented my first Doctoral dissertation in Italy. one of the Professors said, “Scholars learn a lot of a certain subject, then they make a lot of false hypotheses, then they correct them and at the end, they put the conclusions. You, on the contrary, told the story of your research. Even including your trials and errors.”
At the same time, he recognised I was right and went on to publish my dissertation as a book, which meant he appreciated it. At that point, at the age of 22, I understood scholarly books should be written the way I had done - by telling the story of the research. This is why my ‘essays always have a narrative aspect. And this is why probably I started writing narratives (novelal so late - at the age of 50, more or less.
1.State the quality of Umberto’s non-fictional writing and his scholarly work.
a) Boring and dry
b) Playful and personal
c) Formal and structured
d) Informal and haphazard
2.What had Umberto Eco presented in Italy?
a) His first novel
b) A collection of short stories
c) His first Doctoral dissertation
d) A scientific paper
3.What did one of the professors say about scholars?
a) They tell stories of their research
b) They make false hypotheses
c) They are always correct
d) They write boring and dry essays
4.How was Umberto Eco different from the scholars?
a) He was more boring
b) He didn't make false hypotheses
c) He didn't tell the story of his research
d) He only wrote narratives
5.Find the word from the passage which means 'adverse'.
a) Depersonalised
b) Informal
c) Invariably
d) Trials
6.Find the word from the passage which is opposite to 'true'.
a) False
b) Correct
c) Scholarly
d) Invariably

Muhund: The English novelist and academic David Lodge once remarked. I can’t understand how one man can do all the things he [Eco] does.”
Umberto Eco: Maybe I give the impression of doing many things. But in the end. I am convinced I am always doing the same thing.
Mukund: Which is?
Umberto Eco: Aah, now that is more difficult to explain. I have some philosophical interests and I pursue thorn through my academic work and my novels, Even my books for children are about, nonviolence and peace...you see, the same bunch of ethical, philosophical interests. And then I have a secret. Did you know what will happen if you eliminate the empty spaces from the universo, eliminate the empty spaces in all the atoms? The universe will become o big as my fist.
Similarly, we have a lot of empty spaces in our lives. I call them interstices. Say you are coating over toniy place. You are in an elevator and while you are coming up. I am waiting for you. This Is an interstice, an empty space. I work in empty spaces. While waiting for your elevator to come up from the first to the third floor, I have already written an article! Laugh).
1.Who is David Lodge?
a) A philosopher
b) An English novelist and academic
c) Umberto Eco's secret collaborator
d) A children's book author
2.What type of interests does Umberto have?
a) Scientific interests
b) Literary interests
c) Ethical and philosophical interests
d) Musical interests
3.How does Umberto pursue those interests?
a) Through academic work and novels
b) Through cooking
c) Through sports
d) Through gardening
4.What is an interstice?
a) A secret
b) A bunch of ethical interests
c) An empty space
d) A philosophical pursuit
5.Find the word from the passage which means ‘accord’.
a) Universe
b) Pursue
c) Nonviolence
d) Interstice
6.Find the word from the passage which is opposite to ‘full’.
a) Empty
b) Secret
c) Academic
d) Pursue

Why do you think Christopher Silvester describes the viewpoints of other writers and authors when discussing the concept of an interview? Support your opinion with reference to any one writer cited.

How would you evaluate Mukund Padmanabhan as an interviewer? Mention at least two qualities he displays in his interview, supported by textual evidence.

Christopher Silvester shares the authors’ reservations about interviewing. Bearing that in mind, would you interview a writer of your choice? If so, what would you pay particular attention to in interviewing the said writer?

Umberto Eco, with reference to "The Name of the Rose" says, “I think if I had written The Name of the Rose ten years earlier or ten years later, it wouldn’t have been the same.” What could he have meant?

Imagine that you are Christopher Silvester. You have been invited to a seminar series titled – ‘Ethics and Techniques of Interviewing’. The organizers would like you to speak about the challenges of conducting interviews, and skills interviewers must have in order to conduct good and ethical interviews. Based on your reading of The Interview, Part I and II, draft your speech. Include relevant details from the text in support of your answer.

Why did Lewis Carroll have a horror of the interviewer?

How did Rudyard Kipling look at interviews?

How were Rudyard Kipling and H.G. Wells critical of interviews yet they indulged in interviewing others or being themselves interviewed?

How are interviews, despite their drawbacks, useful?

What, according to Umberto Eco, is the one thing he does through his various pieces of writing?