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Title: Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco ISBN: 0-345-36875-4 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 13 November, 1990 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.96 (277 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Absolutely Loved This Book!
Comment: This book is on my personal list of all-time favorites. I loved "Name of the Rose", but "Foucault's Pendulum" is by far the best of Eco's novels (I found his most recent novel, "Island of the Day Before" to be a bit of a disappointment by comparison). The breadth of history, geography, culture, and philosophical thought covered in "Foucault's Pendulum" is amazing. The exciting plot will keep you on the edge of your seat ... particularly, the last 100 pages. In addition to being a clever thinker, Eco has a wonderful sense of humor which is everpresent throughout the entire novel. Although it takes some intellectual commitment at times (particularly through the middle portion), it is well worth the extra time to read/re-read the more challenging portions (for me, these sparked my interest to make some forays in researching historical and cultural areas that were new to me ... which then furthered my appreciation of the novel). Overall, I agree with those who would classify this novel as a literary masterpiece...and I highly recommend it!
Rating: 3
Summary: The Joke Goes On Too Long
Comment: Foucault's Pendulum first attracted my attention ten years ago when a professor I respected said he read Eco's novel and had no idea what was it was about. It took me over a decade to take up his implicit challenge, but I finally understand what he meant.
Not that the plot is hard to follow. In fact, FP starts off fast-paced: suspense combined with an intriguing dose of numerology. The Templars quickly enter the story, and the history Eco provides here is engaging and approachable.
Then comes the middle half of the book. Eco warns that the logic to be laid out in FP will be faulty, allowing the less ambitious reader to mentally skim much of the obscure history that follows. Although part of the fun is trying to figure out what is history and what is historical fiction, wading through paragraph-long lists of occult orders is less than stimulating.
When not caught up in pseudo-history lessons, Eco's style is inviting and his sense of humor is engaging. Broken into 120 chapters, FP is one of those novels where you can either convince yourself you have time to read just one more chapter, then one more, or instead struggle to get through to the end of a short chapter before falling asleep from boredom.
The last 100 pages of the book pick up again, and the plot moves along to a satisfying ending. After putting the book down, I am impressed that Eco has provoked me to consider such topics as religion, the meaning of life, the "knowledge is power" attitude of some colleagues, determinism/free will, etc.
I am glad I finally read Foucault's Pendulum. Still, I won't be buying The Name Of The Rose just yet. I need a little break from Eco right now.
Rating: 5
Summary: Tough but rewarding
Comment: I discovered this book because my French teacher gave it to me as a challenge in high school, years back (I guess sleeping during class was a bad idea). So, I read it in French and the translation is slightly superior than the English version in my mind. Craaaaazy. The book IS difficult and anyone who says otherwise is either Eco himself or someone who, as one of the character would say, should take the cork out of his ass and let the wind out. Sorry.
The plot is very simple: three editors start making connections between all the secret societies ever heard of, famous conspiracy theories, mainstream and less mainstream religions, Pandora boxes of metaphysic fun... You get the idea. But don't expect the plot to evolve much in action. As a matter of fact, don't even expect a novel. Try picturing three Mulder's from the X-Files on crack for hundreds of pages. The book is a trip, a stream of words and ideas. Dare I compare it to Joyce's Finnegans Wake? Nah, but it's one of those things where you shouldn't stop at every word you can't understand (lots of those in the book, lots and lots of it).
The knowledge is interesting and certainly worth digging further, but you can also enjoy it as what it is. Much, much better than the Da Vinci code...
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Title: The Name of the Rose: including Postscript to the Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco ISBN: 0156001314 Publisher: Harvest Books Pub. Date: 28 September, 1994 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Holy Blood, Holy Grail by MICHAEL BAIGENT, RICHARD LEIGH, HENRY LINCOLN ISBN: 0440136482 Publisher: Dell Pub. Date: 15 January, 1983 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: The Eight by Katherine Neville ISBN: 0345366239 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 14 January, 1990 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Baudolino by Umberto Eco, William Weaver ISBN: 0156029065 Publisher: Harvest Books Pub. Date: 06 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: The Island of the Day Before by Umberto Eco, William Weaver ISBN: 0140259198 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: November, 1996 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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