question_answer 14)

If the interviewee Mukund Padmanabhan, had not got the space in the newspaper to reproduce the interview verbatim, he may have been asked to produce a short report of the interview with the salient points.Write this report for him.    

Answer:

(The teacher should be able to help the pupils in selecting what to include and what can be omitted. We could also provide a short report of an interview as a sample.)   Academician First, Novelist Second: Umberto Eco   CHENNAI: The enormous success of The Name of the Rose, the complex medieval murder mystery that is regarded as one of the modern masterpieces of fiction, is a 'mystery' to its world-famous author. Suggesting that nobody can predict the success or failure of a book, Umberto Eco said that the best-selling novel, published in 1980, would not have evoked the same response had it been published a decade earlier or later. 'Why it worked at that time is a mystery,' he said in an exclusive interview to The Hindu.   The Italian philosopher and novelist, who teaches semiotics at the University of Bologna, said that while most people know him as a novelist, he identifies himself with the academic community. 'I consider myself a university professor who writes novels on Sundays,' he said.   Asked about the wide range of his written output—which spans literary fiction, academic works, essays, children's books, and journalistic pieces—Mr Eco replied that the same philosophical and ethical concerns are present in all his writing. While he may 'give the impression of doing many things', he said, he is convinced he is doing the same thing.   Mr Eco said the unconventional style he adopts In his serious non-fictional work is a result of his 'telling the story of his research' in them. Stating that his essays always have a narrative aspect, he suggests this could be the reason for his turning to fiction.