Anyone read Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco?

[Jman999]

I picked it up at a booksale for a quarter, and I want to know if it's worth reading. I read a few pages and it seems like very dense prose. Additionally there are quotes in hebrew, latin, german, french, and spanish that seem to have no translation in the book. Anyone know why this is?

Cheers,
-Jonathan.

[Cei-U!]

I've read three of Eco's novels, including Foucault's Pendulum, and none of them are easy reads but they do ultimately reward the reader's patience and/or fortitude. The quotes are not translated because Eco is writing for a literate, educated European audience (his books are written in Italian) and he prefers challenging them to talking down to them. Considering how well his books sell despite their surface obtuseness, he seems to know what he's doing. Pendulum is my favorite, filled with intriguing Templar lore, black humor and genuine suspense and clearly superior (IMO) to the similar but dumbed down DaVinci Code. I recommend it. Good luck!

Cei-U!
I summon the braintwister!

[Roquefort Raider]

I won't have to try too hard to say anything about the book, because Cei-U has beautifully summed it up.

A book by Eco is a thing of wonder. A few of my friends feel that he's conceited, but for my part I agree with Cei-U... Eco doesn't try to sound smart; he refuses to dumb himself down -and we, the readers, benefit from it.

Have fun!


- Ben

[berk]

Add my vote for the yeas. Foucault's Pendulum is definitely worth reading. I enjoyed it more than Name of the Rose (which was also a good read, though). I haven't read any of his other novels, although I did get to hear him speak at the local university a few years ago. Un fortunately the sound system wasn't working too well, the place was jammed and I was way at the back, so I couldn't hear much of what he was saying.

[MicBK]

quite possibly my favorite book of all times. one drawback - unless you're well well well educated, you'll probably find yourself consulting a dictionary and/or encyclopedia frequently throughout the book. i know i did. Eco is a Semiotician, and often uses unusual words.

[traxler]

He writes a weekly column here in Italy, which is obviously lighter in both subject and tone than his books.
He comes across as slightly less wordy in italian than in english; I suspect he interferes with the translations!
Plus in Italy there is no such concept like our "The short word is the best word."

F.P is a great book, it just requires a little effort.
If I say I prefered The Name of the Rose will you all hate me?

[MicBK]

If I say I prefered The Name of the Rose will you all hate me?

I won't hate you - that was a great book as well. And certainly not as difficult as FP. I've started reading Island of the Day Before but have had trouble holding interest in it. I've also got Baudolino...hoping it'll be good as well.

[traxler]

I've started reading Island of the Day Before but have had trouble holding interest in it.
Yeh, he sometimes falls into that henry James-like trance thing, where it's not what you say, but how you say it!
Soooo not modern. ;)

BUT JMAN, DONT LET THAT PUT YOU OFF!

[CaptMagellan]

Eco is wonderful. Foucault's Pendulum is one of those books that is like a sucker punch to the gut. It's worth all of the effort to read.

(In my opinion, Eco is who Dan Brown wants to be when he grows up ;) )

[traxler]

Eco is wonderful. Foucault's Pendulum is one of those books that is like a sucker punch to the gut. It's worth all of the effort to read.

(In my opinion, Eco is who Dan Brown wants to be when he grows up ;) )

I bet secretly Eco wouldn't mind swapping places too............

He professes to admire the common touch. :)

[Cei-U!]

I've started reading Island of the Day Before but have had trouble holding interest in it.

I have the same problem with that one. I've started it three times but I can't get throughly. Throughly? Howzabout "through it" instead? Too much prose and not enough story. It's boring, to be honest.

Cei-U!
Won't stop trying!

[Shellhead]

F.P is a great book, it just requires a little effort.
If I say I prefered The Name of the Rose will you all hate me?

I preferred The Name of the Rose, too. I didn't have the ambition to fully grasp the obscure references in Foucault's Pendulum, so I ended up kind of skimming it at times. Sometime when I'm caught up on my reading pile, I will give it a try again.

[Roquefort Raider]

I've started reading Island of the Day Before but have had trouble holding interest in it. I've also got Baudolino...hoping it'll be good as well.

Island of the day before is a book in which pretty little actually happens; a bit like Hemingway's for whom the bell tolls. I loved the monk's accent, though, and his hilarious attempt at scuba diving!

Baudolino is almost the exact opposite; a LOT happens in it. The only thing that slightly disappointed me with it is that Eco was not his usual cryptic librarian self; most of what he wrote about in that book I knew already (in part for having read the DC comic Arak, son of thunder). Who said comics weren't educational?

In any case, I don't think Eco ever wrote a bad book. it's just that Foucault's pendulum and the name of the rose are masterpieces, and anything else has a pretty high standard to measure up to.

[Dizzy D]

I have the same problem with that one. I've started it three times but I can't get throughly. Throughly? Howzabout "through it" instead? Too much prose and not enough story. It's boring, to be honest.

Cei-U!
Won't stop trying!

Add me to the list of Foucault's Pendulum supporters and people who didn't get through the Island of the Day Before. My father loved the second one though and didn't read the first one yet.

Didn't read Baudolino yet, but since I'm out of books to read at the time I might as well buy it.

Edit: The thing I like about Eco is that he is smart without being elitist; he doesn't use big words and obscure references to show how wellread he is, but to enhance his stories and his stories have a real story to tell instead of just showcases of 'look-how-smart-I-am'.

[Metal-Demon]

I have been, and always will be a die-hard fan of anything Umberto Eco writes. Some of his essays are a bit ... well, uninteresting ... but his brilliance is evident in each and every word.

LOVED "Foucault's Pendulum"
LOVED "The Name of the Rose"
STILL CONFUSED BY "The Island of the Day Before" :confused:
LOVED "Baudalino"

[FanboyStranger]

(The password thing, for those you have read it. swear I laughed for about 15 minute when I hit that part!)

I thokkught thakkt the technikkque to tukkrn anykk old passakkge intkko somekkthing rekksekkmbling Fikknnish was also prekktty fukknny!

[Sir Tim Drake]

An interesting note is that Eco has written theoretical articles about comics, specifically Superman and Mafalda.

[Roquefort Raider]

An interesting note is that Eco has written theoretical articles about comics, specifically Superman and Mafalda.

Has that particular fight ever been considered on the Rumbles board?

[Archyduke]

I reccomend picking up the two English compilations of his Italian newspaper columns, Misreadings and How to Travel With a Salmon . They're obviously much lighter and brisker reads than his novels, but for the most part they range from quite funny to hilarious.

I'm a huge fan of his novels (although I probably won't be reading The Island of the Day Before again for a while... a heavy read, that one), but haven't been able to finish any of his books on semiology. Maybe someday... :(

[Rabid Trekkie]

What kind of stuff does Umberto Eco write? I saw one of his books at the bookstore (in hardback and for $45, I was afraid to touch it) and it looked interesting.

The most I know about him comes from a critic talking about The Club Dumas where he describes the book as a cross between Umberto Eco and Anne Rice.

[Paul McEnery]

What kind of stuff does Umberto Eco write? I saw one of his books at the bookstore (in hardback and for $45, I was afraid to touch it) and it looked interesting.

The most I know about him comes from a critic talking about The Club Dumas where he describes the book as a cross between Umberto Eco and Anne Rice.
Very very clever airport novels.

And I don't mean that as a putdown. It's just that the basic plots of his books are very pulpy (so you can turn The Name of the Rose into a Sean Connery movie without losing so much as a twist).

But at the same time, he loads up the story with dense literary allusion (e.g. the librarian in TNOTR is based on Jorge Luis Borges, as is some of the plot), intense historical detail, and massive and wide-ranging scholarship (you'll learn a lot about medieval architecture, society, disease, lingustics, theology, &c, &c).

Which means he writes lowbrow for highbrows.

(In his academic books, he does the exact opposite, doing intense readings of James Bond and Disneyland, for example.)

[Dizzy D]

I bought Baudilino last week, hardcover version on a book-market. But the pages are weird, like they have been hand-cut. On purpose to give it a classic-feel? Or just the reason why my copy was so cheap?

They also had the Mysterious Flame of Queen... can't remember the rest of the title and Travels into Hyperreality.. I thought about buying the second one for a long, long time, but finally put it down. Maybe next year.

[Dizzy D]

What kind of stuff does Umberto Eco write? I saw one of his books at the bookstore (in hardback and for $45, I was afraid to touch it) and it looked interesting.

The most I know about him comes from a critic talking about The Club Dumas where he describes the book as a cross between Umberto Eco and Anne Rice.

If you like Arturo Perez Reverte (Club Dumas), you will like Umberto Eco. At least that's the way it was for me and for my father as well.

[traxler]

I bought Baudilino last week, hardcover version on a book-market. But the pages are weird, like they have been hand-cut. On purpose to give it a classic-feel? Or just the reason why my copy was so cheap?

Italian books often have this in hardback; I think the answer is BOTH.

And I HATED The Club Dumas (Ugh. Vomit.) but like Sig. Eco.
Go figure!

[Rabid Trekkie]

If you like Arturo Perez Reverte (Club Dumas), you will like Umberto Eco. At least that's the way it was for me and for my father as well.

Thanks, now I've added another book to my buy list. Now if I could just add some money to my wallet.

[Wesley Dodds]

I've read it. It's quite good.

[berk]

Does anyone have recommendations of his non-fiction stuff? Archyduke mentioned his newspaper column compilations, Misreadings and How to Travel With a Salmon. Anyone else?

[FanboyStranger]

Does anyone have recommendations of his non-fiction stuff? Archyduke mentioned his newspaper column compilations, Misreadings and How to Travel With a Salmon. Anyone else?

I have his books on semiotics, and unless you have a background in that field or an interest in getting one, the only one I'd recommend is The Limits of Interpretation. Like all of Eco's work, his erudition is on full display, but this book isn't as focused towards specialists in semiotics as Semiotics and the Philosophy of Language or The Role of the Reader. Still a far cry from novels or "popular" essays, though.

By the way, I greatly enjoy your reading of the Eternals over in the Classics section.

[berk]

I have his books on semiotics, and unless you have a background in that field or an interest in getting one, the only one I'd recommend is The Limits of Interpretation. Like all of Eco's work, his erudition is on full display, but this book isn't as focused towards specialists in semiotics as Semiotics and the Philosophy of Language or The Role of the Reader. Still a far cry from novels or "popular" essays, though.

By the way, I greatly enjoy your reading of the Eternals over in the Classics section. Thanks for the suggestion. I'm not too well-versed in semiotics, so I'll look out for that one. I just started reading an interview with Eco in a book I've been dipping into off and on lately, called "States of Mind," a collection of interviews conducted by Richard Kearney, an Irish philosopher professor (University College of Dublin), with some of the most famous intellectuals of the last few decades: Eco, Levinas, Borges, Herbert Marcuse, Derrida, Chomsky, Edward Said, ... great book from what I've read so far, including Eco's discussion. And thanks for the comment on the Eternals.

[FanboyStranger]

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm not too well-versed in semiotics, so I'll look out for that one. I just started reading an interview with Eco in a book I've been dipping into off and on lately, called "States of Mind," a collection of interviews conducted by Richard Kearney, an Irish philosopher professor (University College of Dublin), with some of the most famous intellectuals of the last few decades: Eco, Levinas, Borges, Herbert Marcuse, Derrida, Chomsky, Edward Said, ... great book from what I've read so far, including Eco's discussion. And thanks for the comment on the Eternals.

Thanks for the tip. I'll have to look that book up. It's right up my alley.

[Paul McEnery]

Don't know if Kearney got to Roland Barthes, but anyone who likes Eco will dig on him.

His work veers from the very specific and academic (dense work on semiotics) to popularist (like Eco, he wrote for newspapers).

Mythologies combines the two (it comes in two parts in English: Mythologies and The Eiffel Tower). Lots of short chapters that analyse the inherent mythological content of, to name a few, The Eiffel Tower (duh), wrestling, steak, etc. Then there's a big essay at the end that goes into the depths of mythological construction.

Also a fun read: The Empire of Signs. Barthes reads Japan.

[Xero]

It's weird because Eco led me somewhat naturally to Arturo Perez Reverte (with a sidetrip to Dumas), I've read through all of Reverte's books and I am currently in the middle of the Nautical Chart.