On Ugliness

Umberto Eco, Alastair McEwen, Alastair McEwen

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Italian

Maclehose Press
01 December 2011

Art & Architecture; History of Art & Design Styles; Philosophy: aesthetics

Beauty and ugliness are two sides of the same coin; by ugliness we usually mean the opposite of beauty and we often define the first in order to understand the nature of the second. But the various depictions of ugliness over the centuries are richer and more unpredictable than is commonly thought. The striking images and anthological quotations in On Ugliness lead us on an extraordinary journey through the passions, terrors and nightmares of almost three thousand years, where acts of rejection go hand in hand with touching instances of empathy, and an aversion to deformity is accompanied by seductive violations of all classical canons.

With his characteristic wit and erudition, Umberto Eco draws on examples in art and literature from ancient times to the present day. Abundantly illustrated with demons, madmen, vile enemies and disquieting presences, with freaks and the living dead, On Ugliness is conceived for a vast and diverse readership, and is an invaluable companion volume to On Beauty.

By: Umberto Eco
Translated by: Alastair McEwen, Alastair McEwen
Imprint: Maclehose Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 205mm, Width: 161mm, Spine: 29mm
Weight: 838g
ISBN: 9780857051622
ISBN 10: 0857051628
Pages: 456
Publication Date: 01 December 2011
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Author Website: http://www.umbertoeco.com/en/

Umberto Eco is recognized as one of our outstanding living writers whose best-selling novels include The Name of the Rose (1982), Foucault's Pendulum (1989), The Island of the Day Before (1995) and Baudolino (2002). His illustrated works On Beauty (2004) and The Infinity of Lists (2009) are companion volumes to On Ugliness. Alastair McEwen is the translator of some of Italy's finest living writers, among them Antonio Tabucchi, Sandro Veronesi, Fleur Jaeggy and Alessandro Baricco.

Reviews for On Ugliness

'guaranteed to deliver all kinds of provocative and arcane delights. Like most of Eco's work, it defies ready classification, but is surely the better for that. Highly recommended' Historical Novels Review.