The illustrated novel is a seductive new form of modern literature, but Umberto Eco actually 'reinvents' old favorites. Childhood books are always full of pictures, and these pictures magically illuminate the child's imagination. This is precisely what the hero, bookseller Giambattista Bodoni from Milan, needs to return to his true self after a serious illness and memory loss. Magazines, comics, essays, chants, advertisements, records, radio broadcasts. In the attic, as in a fairytale cave, the hero rediscovers long-forgotten, vital sensations. Reminding the hero of his experiences, meaningful smells and sounds are reborn from the magic of dusty pages. An old school notebook tells Giambattista of his old love and his youthful heroism. Having pieced himself back together, like a detective in a detective story, Bodoni regains his sense of self and returns from an imaginary and reconstructed world to the real one. For how long? A new journey awaits him—the renowned Italian novelist invites the reader into yet another clever phantasmagoria.