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    Cover of Baudolino

    Baudolino

    Umberto Eco · 2000

    Born a simple peasant in northern Italy, Baudolino narrates the story of his life, from his adoption by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa and his education in Paris to his arrival in Constantinople during the turmoil of the Fourth Crusade.

    Fiction & Literature
    Open LibraryAmazon
    Stats for nerds
    10recommend
    20mentions
    18people
    2012–2026years
    55% recommend40% neutral5% critical

    Mentions per year

    20122014201620182020202220242026

    What Hacker News says

    1. astrolxFeb 2026
      Baudolino from Umberto Eco (an excellent book) is partially about that, I recommend the read !
      thread
    2. nine_kAug 2025
      For a therapeutic experience, I recommended you Baudolino by Umberto Eco, a book of hilarious historical fiction. The first couple of chapters use the device of imperfections of the narrator's language in an even more in-your-face manner.
      thread
    3. comrade1234Jul 2025
      The book Baudolino by Umberto Eco has these and many more fantastical creatures. The first half of the book sticks to history (north Italy wars, German emporer Barbarossa, the crusades and Constantinople, etc) but in the second half the characters start traveling to the East on a quest and start coming across these creatures and more...

      To be honest i enjoyed the beginning historical parts much more than the quest part of the book. It brought insight to me on some things an Italian friend told me about their history, where there was constant fighting, even to the point where families would build compounds with towers so they could attack their neighbors from the tower. And how when a city was defeated in battle it could be completely dismantled and removed from the face of the earth.

      thread
    4. slothtropOct 2024
      Baudolino by Umberto Eco. I like all his works, but this one is the most moving and epic. I still think of it.
      thread
    5. Mobius01Jun 2023
      Somewhat tangential, but I started to read Baudolino by Umberto Eco last night, and the first chapter at least takes place during the (it seems) the last siege of Constantinople. So far it has been a wonderful read.
      thread
    6. omazurovFeb 2018
      Loved that pun from Baudolino by Umberto Eco: "I know, Master Niketas, that the center of the universe is your city here, but the world is vaster than your empire, and there's even Ultima Thule and the land of Hibernians. True, compared to Constantinople, Rome is a pile of ruins and Paris is a muddy village, but even there something happens every now and then. In many vast, vast regions of the world people don't speak Greek, and there are those who, when they want to agree with something, say, oc." "Oc?" "Oc." "Strange. But do go on."
      thread

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