Foucault's Pendulum (Picador Books) - Umberto Eco

Superb Scholarship, a little tiresome.

The authorship is superb, the only fault being 150 pages 3/5s into the book where the endless nuances of hermetic, conspiratorial history do become a little tiresome and could be seriousy edited without anything being lost from the book. I'm confident in saying this because the characters are making this history up. That's the story, they are creating a false conspiracy, and Eco includes every subtle detail and nuance of the history and scholarship that goes into their work, which is a mite unnecessary.

Apart from that, I would highly recommend the book. The plotting is astounding, the characters sympathetic and the story ultimately interesting. One has to realise that Eco is playing a game with this novel, and to a certain extent it works as a satire to such conspiratorial ideas as are seen in the da vinci code. Also, this was written years before that particular book.

It's also really easy to read, it had me grippped (till the aformentioned section) from page one. I read it in less than a week and it's a long book.

Good stuff.

O.

Not a novel, a reference book of science and the occult

This is really not a novel at all, but a kind of narrative reference book that is surely aimed at rather obsessive enthusiasts of science and the occult in the middle ages. You don't learn much about the characters in this book, some of which are almost as cartoony and undeveloped as those you may find in a Dan Brown novel, and the plot moves on painfully slowly, constantly bogged down by pages of scholarship which, by about 400 pages in, I was happy to skip with no loss of continuity. Only in the last 150 pages or so does the plot start to move along at a more respectable pace. But the climax is frankly a bit of a let down.
I suppose the interesting thing this book does is establish that the real cranks and crackpots who are into all this stuff are prepared to believe almost anything. But if you're not obsessed with the subject matter to the same degree as the characters in this book, you can't help but ask: so what?
This is a long book, demanding many hours to plough through, and the result was disappointing.

Engaging but requires keen attention

This is the third of Eco's novels I have read. I am enamoured of his style and ultimately, this is why I enjoy his novels. As an Italian he displays mastery of the literary genre in another language - a remarkable ability.

Ultimately, I was unable to appreciate this particular novel's deep knowledge and arcana. That is a failing on my part. I imagine that many readers may face the same degree of bewilderment at the level of historical detail that fills many of the pages, and for those that can, you are in for a treat.

My admiration for Eco is definetely for style. I still enjoyed Foucault's Pendulum, but for the sound of the words rather than the plot.

What exactly do theoretical physicists know?

When one starts a review of a book with the words, "I am a theoretical physicist", one instinctively knows that what is to follow can only be regarded as twaddle. I could for instance, start this review with the words "I am an amateur astronomer" as my love for astronomy knows no bounds. But would that make me eligible for reviewing a book? Regarding ones occupation or interest as a pre-cursor for starting a review, tends one to think that the reviewer thinks he or she knows something that the rest of us do not, and so therefore is more knowledgeable or qualified to give us a critical insight about the subject in hand. Even now, I could probably bore the reader of this review, if indeed anyone is reading this, about light speed and its effects on us when travelling at said speeds, or how about the principles of thermonuclear dynamics as an aside? Or to change subjects completely, how about an in-depth analysis of Bolivian wood sculpture?
None of this makes me more competent than you to review a book!
But I digress. To put it plainly and straight to the point, this book is superb.
Taking the reader on a liteary and mind expanding adventure, Umberto Eco explores many subjects on which he seems to be greatly at home with, and manages to wrap it all into a compelling tale. When one considers some of the mindless pap that passes for number 1 best sellers, it eludes me as to why his books are not more popular, or is it all too much for theoretical physicists?
Either way, anyone looking for a great and different read, should attempt this as soon as possible. I do not think you will be disappointed, and thats in my capacity as an amateur astronomer. ;)

Excruciating...

I have never not completed a book that i have started. However, I very nearly just threw this out after 200 pages due to the author's endless rambling. This book is like being stuck in a train compartment for with the most boring anorak you've ever met who wants to tell you everything he knows about traction engines/fly fishing/historical religious groups. Furthermore this anorak has poor social skills and just talks at you for 10 hours non stop. Whilst Umberto Eco is undoubtedly an extremely intelligient individual he has no idea how to write an entertaining novel. Pretentious nonsense.