THE INTERVIEW

-Christopher Silvester

Answer the following questions in about 40 to 50 words.

1. Why do most celebrity writers despise being interviewed?

2. How is Umberto Eco’s non- fictional writing style different from academic writing style?
3. What is the belief in some primitive cultures about being photographed?
4. What do you understand by the expression ‘Thumbprints on his windpipe’?
5. What was unique about Eco’s academic writing style?
6. Why did Umberto Eco prefer to call himself as an academician than a novelist?
7. What were the views of writers like V.S Naipal and Lewis Carroll on interviews?
8. State the reason for the huge success of the novel “The Name of the Rose”.
9. What did the publisher think of the novel “The Name of the Rose”?
10. How did Rudyard Kipling view interviews?
11. What did Eco mean by ‘interstices’?
12. Did Eco consider himself as an academician or a novelist?

Answer the following question in about 120- 150 words.

1. Mukund Padmanabhan’s interview of Umberto Eco allows the reader to assess them as an
effective interviewer and an affable interviewee. Besides this, Eco’s impressive personality is
also revealed. What is the moral responsibility that rests with the interviewer as well as the
interviewee, considering that interviews as a medium of communication is very popular
today?

2. Umberto Eco’s brilliant use of time is something many people lack despite being gifted
otherwise. What is the importance of time management in one’s life?

3. How do some celebrity writers view interviews? Elucidate