"Prague Cemetery" - a novel by the famous Italian writer Umberto Eco, was published in 2010 and almost immediately became a bestseller, was translated into dozens of languages. The novel tells about the formation of an anti-Jewish conspiracy in Europe at the end of the nineteenth century. The work is interesting with an unusual plot and a large number of real events and historical figures.
Author of the "Prague Cemetery"
Umberto Eco is a native of the Italian city of Alessandria. Was born in 1932. After graduation, he entered the University of Turin, where he studied medieval philosophy and literature. Eco is a specialist in the study of ancient documents and manuscripts. In addition, he published scientific works, was engaged in journalism, wrote books. The first novel - "The Name of the Rose" - was published in 1980 and brought the writer worldwide fame. … Then there were several more famous works: "Foucault's Pendulum", "The Island on the Eve", "Baudolino" and others. After the Prague Cemetery, Umberto Eco wrote his last novel, Number Zero, in 2015.
In 2016, the writer died of pancreatic cancer. His works are still published in large editions and translated into other languages.
Content
The novel "Prague Cemetery" is the diaries of the protagonist Simono Simonini, who has lost his memory and suffers from a split personality. The novel begins when Simonini discovers that he has blackouts. He cannot turn to specialists with a problem, because he will have to talk about his life, and this he cannot afford. Therefore, on the advice of some doctor (Sigmund Freud), in order to restore his memory, he begins to keep a diary in which he writes down everything that happens to him, as well as his reasoning. From them, the image of Simono is formed, and his life also looms. At the same time, the diary is written, as it were, by two people: Simonini himself and a certain Abbot Picollo. In fact, this is a split personality of the same person.
Simono was born in Italy, his father is Italian, his mother is French. Simono was raised by his grandfather. An ardent anti-Semite, from childhood he instilled in the child hatred of Jews. Simono did not become an anti-Semite in spirit, but he successfully used this idea for his own benefit.
Simonini is an arrogant, unprincipled, very cunning and completely intelligent person. He knew three European languages and was well versed in the structure and activities of the institution of the church.
The Jesuits, who trained him, had a great influence on the formation of Simonnin's personality. Thanks to them, he became disillusioned with religion, but he also used it to his advantage.
Unsuccessful first love for a Jewish girl led to the fact that he became disillusioned with women and did not enter into relationships with them throughout his life. His only passion was gastronomic delights.
Simonini received his law degree and worked as a cover notary. In fact, he was very good at forging legal documents and made good money on it. He learned this from a fraudulent lawyer whom he met in his youth. In addition, he bought and resold prosphora for black masses. But this is not his main occupation either. The main activity of the scammer is working for the special services of different countries. Simply put, he was a spy. Officially, he was in the service of French intelligence, he had the rank of captain. In addition, Simonini worked for the secret services of the Vatican, Germany, Russia, Italy (then Sardinia).
On account of Simonini, as a French spy, he took part in Garibaldi's campaign, the assassination of his treasurer Captain Nievo, which was not authorized by the leadership. For this Simonini was sent to France, where the events of the novel take place.
In order to earn good money and provide himself with a comfortable old age, Simono Simonini decides to create a document compromising the Jews, called "Protocols of the Elders of Zion," indicating that Jews and Freemasons dream of world domination and want to subjugate all other peoples. He decided to offer his work to the Russian special services. The fraudster received their consent to the purchase, handed over the document, but did not receive the money. The Russians deceived him, moreover, putting him in a hopeless situation, demanded to prepare and carry out an explosion at one of the Paris metro stations, about which Simonini writes in the "Protocols" in order to confirm their authenticity. The novel ends with Simonini preparing an explosion.
However, the meaning of the novel is much deeper than the fate of the unprincipled swindler Simonini. Through her, Eco talks about the formation of anti-Semitism and the Jewish-Masonic conspiracy in Europe during the nineteenth century. The novel describes many historical characters, historical documents and literary works.
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion: Fake or Original
Truth and fiction
In the novel Prague Cemetery, there is only one fictional character - Simonini. All the rest are people who lived in reality.
Simonini begins to keep a diary, remembering the recommendations of Sigmund Freud, prepares an explosion on the orders of the head of the Foreign Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Rachkovsky. In addition, Ippolito Nievo, Leo Taxil, Saint-Terese of Lisieux, Juliana Glinka, Diana Vaughan, Maurice Joly, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Eugene Sue, Ivan Turgenev and many other historical figures are introduced into the novel. Even the protagonist's grandfather is a real person. Of course, most of the situations Eko describes involving these characters are fictional.
The "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" do exist. They were published in the early twentieth century in many countries. However, according to most historians, Jews are not involved in authorship. The protocols were created by unknown persons in order to compromise an entire nation and inflame general hatred of the Zionites. The protocols largely contributed to the extermination of Jews during World War II - they were the cover for Hitler, propagandizing the extermination of the Jews. In the novel, Eco is credited with the authorship of Simono Simonini.
The death of Ippolito Nievo in a shipwreck is a real historical fact. Was it a murder or an accident - it is still unknown. In the "Prague Cemetery" this death is on the conscience of the protagonist. As well as the death of the French journalist Maurice Joly, who opposed the activities of Napoleon III.
In the novel, through the fault of Simonini, another real person suffered - the Jew Alfred Dreyfus, an officer who, on charges of espionage based on documents forged by Simono, was accused of espionage and exiled to Devil's Island.
In general, the novel is based on many real historical facts, on which the author strings fiction, and with the help of this mixture tells about the formation and development of an anti-Semitic conspiracy.
Title of the novel
It is believed that representatives of a secret Jewish organization called the "Elders of Zion" gathered at the Prague cemetery, and supposedly it was here that their "Protocols" were created. For several centuries Jews were buried at the Prague cemetery, now it is considered a landmark of Prague.
Who is this book for
As an entertaining reading, "Prague Cemetery" is not suitable. This work requires from the reader a certain level of knowledge of the history, literature and culture of the nineteenth century. Therefore, we can say that the work is for intellectuals. An untrained reader may find the novel dry, boring, and incomprehensible.
The intricate plot, a large number of riddles and their unexpected solutions are unusual. Those who love works with a non-trivial plot and high-quality interweaving of genres should pay attention to the novel.
