NUMERO ZERO from Umberto Eco is a novel of two stories: the shooting of Mussolini and his mistress in 1945, and that of Colonna, a writer in 1992 Milan who accepts the task of ghost-writing a journalist’s memoir.

Knowing the sheer quality of my readers, when I (skilfully) drop the name Umberto Eco, I can almost see them nod in recognition.

A 16-year-old Co Cork boy who died suddenly while playing a schools’ match has been described as a “an extraordinarily skilled sportsman” by his principal.

On Ugliness