The continuity between the theoretical and the narrative works of Umberto Eco has been frequently pointed out. Eco himself often dwelled on it

famously claiming that "what cannot be explained must be narrated upon". Such continuity manifests itself also in the opposite direction

for Eco's essays prominently feature a dimension of 'conceptual story-telling'. Yet

when asked to explain the origin of the communicative power of narration

Eco constantly belittled the importance of individual genius and emphasized

on the contrary

the role of the artist as mediator between the encyclopedia shared by a community of interpreters and the artist's audience: creativity does not consist in pure invention but stems from a skillful combinatorial operation. Some critics

as a consequence

have labeled Umberto Eco's fiction has 'cerebral'and 'cold'. To the attentive reader

though

Eco's theoretical stance is instrumental not only to downplay the romantic idea of individual creativity

but also to underline that language and culture are the only filters through which human beings can make sense of the irrationality of life and nature.