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Summary: Haiku Review
Review: Symbolism on
The edge of insanity.
The real Da Vinci Code.
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Summary: Oh so complex but very fun and clever
Review: Don't even try to follow all the details in this one, just go with the flow. Eco cleverly combines the Knights Templar, Jewish Mysticism, South American native tribes, language, witchcraft, physics, Francis Bacon, the various calendars, European history, middle Eastern history, and more, in a caper that starts out as a game to entertain three friends in the publishing business in Italy and ends up being the mother of all conspiracies.This book is much more entertaining, in my opionion, than the Name of the Rose as it involves a much more clever interplay of various disciplines and is more than a mere murder mystery. As in the Name of the Rose, Eco introduces each chapter with writings in a variety of languages -- Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Spanish, etc. Unless you are particularly interested in ancient languages and obscure historical writings, it is safe to ignore these but for a general sense of flavor. It is also nearly impossible to actually follow all the details of the plot, which deals with a group of publishers who conceive of the idea to publish "writers" with far-out theories for a fee, only to find that some of the theories add-up to a great mystical conspiracy. Once I gave up trying to follow all the intricate details of the plot, I found the experience quite enjoyable. I'm looking forward to reading this book again to find all the things I missed the first time. Eco's depth and breadth of knowledge in so many areas is impressive. This man is definitely a genius. In short, this book is not for anyone who doesn't want to have to do a little work as it is neither a quick nor an easy read and the subject matter is fairly esoteric. But, oh, is it worth the effort.
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Summary: a lesson on philosophy, theology, cult theory, etc.
Review: how can a book pack in so many lessons on philosophy, theology, cult theory, etc. and still be a great suspense book? like other reviewers have said, this is the real Da Vinci Code, which is, at best, a paper wrapping for Foucault's Pendulum. Enjoy it and learn from it (though it is a challenging book).
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Summary: Connections, connections, connections
Review: Trying to encapsulate Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum into one idea is as difficult as trying to explain the history of the world in one sentence. The story is about three editors of a publishing house who attempt to formulate (or, perhaps, discover) a grand, cosmic, and secret Plan by connecting known pieces of history together. And if my understanding of the book is correct, then I would contend that the underlying theme is precisely what those editors are doing: connecting. Early on, Causaubon, who tells the story, tells us, "It was also the day I began to let myself be lulled by feelings of resemblance: the notion that everything might be mysteriously related to everything else" (139). At another point, Belbo, another one of the editors says, "I have letters that offer revelations on the connections between Joan of Arc and the Sibylline Books, between Lilith the Talmudic demon and the hermaphroditic Great Mother, between the genetic code and the Martian alphabet, between the secret intelligence of plants, cosmology, psychoanalysis, and Marx and Nietzsche in the perspective of an new angelology, between the Golden Number and the Grand Canyon, Kant and occultism, the Eleusian mysteries and jazz, Cagliostro and atomic energy, homosexuality and gnosis, the golem and the class struggle" (230). And finally, Causaubon explains, "But whatever the rhythm was, luck rewarded us, because, wanting connections, we found connections-always, everywhere, and between everything. The world exploded into a whirling network of kinships, where everything pointed to everything else, everything explained everything else..."(384). As the three editors compile their information (originally only for a book on the history of metals), they research as wide a range of subject matter as can be imagined. They spend hours (or for Eco, pages) explaining histories of the Templar Knights, Rosicrucians, Masons, Jesuits, and every other secret society and conspiracy theory imaginable. Because they are convinced that every fact is somehow connected with every other fact, they recruit help from a rather unlikely source to make connections: Belbo's computer, Abulafia. Explaining history by connecting facts begins as a game until they start taking their "discoveries" too seriously. The outcome of their efforts follows naturally from their efforts. Although many readers have been dissatisfied by the slow pace of the book, Eco does a masterful job in making his own connections and observations from actual history. Without a doubt, such a masterpiece would be impossible without an encyclopedic grasp not only of the facts of history but also of its consequences. Several lessons may be appropriately learned from this great work as well. I will mention only one here: simply, we are reminded to be wary of every new idea that purports to explain what we see around us. Dozens of conspiracy theories and cults claim to offer the one explanation for what has happened and is happening in the history of the world. And there is no shortage of dupes who accept and follow such explanations. In Foucault's Pendulum even a computer program spitting out responses to men who are playing a game lead people astray. Theories are propounded still, which are deduced from equally silly methods. No, Eco's book is not for everyone. It moves slowly. The plot itself does not include much action. But in the end, those who persevere will be greatly rewarded.
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Summary: Umberto Eco: Trend setter for connecting history obscurities
Review: Foucault's Pendulum is the best intellectual high you will ever experience! It spoils. Yes. You will not be able to read another book (fiction) without comparing it to Eco's genius. This book was written in 1988 and it created a cult. We now see books like The Davinci Code, Q, The Rule of Four...etc. that try to imitate the historical thriller with fascinating connections in conspiracy-like atmosphere, but, nothing compares to Eco!
This is an intellectual ride with a very high speed! This book is very demanding in terms of intricate prose, sophisticated language, and vocabulary and constant Latin, French, Italian, and German use of language and above all length. Don't be discouraged, you will be handsomely rewarded: Unbelievable amount of information of every kind, historical, theological, philosophical, artistic and literarty (well researched, verified, and accurate - unlike the less demanding neo-cultish/historical thrillers with half the length making fascinating connections trying to put 2 and 2 together and sacrificing accuracy in return.
Don't waste your time in replicas, go for the original trend-setter.
Mr. Eco - Chapeau!
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Summary: Tough but rewarding
Review: 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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Summary: Interpreting the language of connections
Review: "...if there had to be a cosmic plot, we could invent the most cosmic of all." "Foucault's Pendulum" is a book rich in history and deep in mystery. Even when you reach the end, you may not be entirely sure what just happened. And of course, considering the subject matter, that is entirely the point. The story centers around one Casaubon, a student writing a paper about the Knights Templar. By chance, he meets Jacopo Belbo, a book editor working for a small publisher in Milan. They strike up a fast friendship, and Casaubon shortly begins working for the same publisher, helping them to gather facts and imagery for a new series of books they are publishing. Casaubon, Belbo, and another editor named Diotallevi take a morbid interest in the subject matter of the many books that are brought to them. The prospective authors, who they call "the Diabolicals," present them with far-fetched ideas about global historical conspiracies and a centuries-old plot to somehow rule the world from the shadows. While each story is different, the three men can see common threads running through all of them, and on their own time they explore the idea further themselves, just for the fun of it. Using an early model of a word processor (celverly named Abulafia, after the Hebrew Kabbalah scholar), they begin borrowing random concepts from the work of the Diabolicals and stringing them together. They include other sources as well, just to mix it up a bit. What they discover is what they call the Plan, and it could be the most important conspiracy theory in the history of the modern world, involving the Rosicrucians, the Jewish Kabbalah, Masonic rituals, Napoleon, the Nazis, and of course at the center of it all, the Knights Templar, spanning over 600 years of European history... or, it could just be a huge coincidence. What makes "Foucault's Pendulum" such a great novel is not just how it strings the different pieces of the puzzle together (which it does masterfully), nor simply how it makes it whole idea so compelling (which it also does well), but how, simulataneously, it makes you question everything you're reading. Right up until the end (and even beyond), Eco keeps you guessing as to what is "real" and what is not. Where other authors, covering similar subjects, make the conclusions predictable or melodramatic, Eco manages to find a place where the reader is never really sure if what they're reading about is fact, fiction, or something in between. The conclusion is subtle, and leaves nagging doubts in the reader's mind. The history presented in the book is top-notch, and it's never presented in a way that is insulting or "dumbed down" for the reader. Many books like this tend to include long, painfully obvious passages of exposition, but with Eco one never feels like the information is being presented by sacrificing the story. He manages exposition quite well, and everything that is presented matches the needed context of story and the characters. The characters themselves have depth, and their dialogue never fails to make them real for the reader. I particularly enjoyed one part, early on, when the three new friends discuss a School of Comparative Irrelevance, a course of studies for useless or impossible subjects, such as "Urban Planning for Gypsies," "Morse Syntax," and "The Phonetics of the Silent Film." This passage served many purposes. On the surface level, it was extremely amusing. It also told the reader a great deal about each of the main characters in an efficient, transparent way. Finally, it serves as foreshadowing of the far broader and deeper invention these characters would soon be embarking upon. To accomplish so much in just a few pages of (primarily) dialogue is the mark of a gifted author. Through the course of the book Casaubon has many different experiences, both mystical and mundane. Abulafia becomes more than a simple word processor, it becomes a source of truth and another veil of mystery to be pulled aside. Belbo tries to reconcile his sardonic nature with the mystery they seem to be uncovering, trying to maintain a scholarly distance while becoming more and more entranced with the story beneath the stories they hear. And Diotallevi ties everything they learn in with his own beliefs, and what truth means to him. In the end, "Foucault's Pendulum" is a story about faith, and both the wonderful and terrible things a powerful belief can accomplish. It is also about how different people can take the same facts and each will interpret them in their own way, often wildly different from one another. Eco conveys his ideas via a compelling, original story, and in so doing makes we, the readers, think about what he has to say. It is not the facts themselves that are important, but only the connections we make between them. Perhaps, in the end, it is the interpretations, not the facts themselves, which shape beliefs... and therefore shape the events of history. "But I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth."
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Summary: guarenteed to blow your mind!
Review: this book is one of those that manages to drift along on a lazy sea of really complex ideas. it's like if you were eavesdropping on the world's philosophers, a few romantic poets, the beatles and the rolling stones as they all got incredibly stoned- it drifts through lost loves and childhood daydreams, high ideals, mythology, and social comentary. by the time you come out the other side your head is swimming, but in a good way. however, don't read the last few chapters the night before an essay test! trust me, just...don't.
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Summary: My all-time favorite read!
Review: This book is my all-time favorite! Whenever I am asked for a recommendation of an interesting book to read, it is Foucault's Pendulum. It is filled with arcane lore re: mysticism, religion, science, and esoterica. It is a conspiracy theorists dream-come-true, and it will keep you on the edge of your seat. Having recently read The DaVinci Code, I now see that it was a much more simple version of Foucault's Pendulum - and nowhere near as well-written.
A few other reviewers have complained of the many foreign language terms and passages in this book. I think that this is part of Eco's brilliance. Some things are better left un-translated! If this discourages you, try The Name of the Rose, or The Island of the Day before instead - both are excellent! Believe me though, reading Foucault's Pendulum is well worth the effort even if you aren't multi-lingual.
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Summary: what this book is really about
Review: I greatly enjoyed this book, being very similar in occupation and intellectual interests to protagonists. Im a philosophy/religious studies student with special interest in history of mysticism, secret societies and occult sciences. Let me try to explain you why this book is so great and why some people might not like it. This book is about the study of religion/occultism as a historical and philosophical phenomenon. The hidden message of the book is that it is dangerous to study doctrines, that were invented and perfected during the centuries with the only aim of getting people to believe in them. The art of religion consists in persuasively interpreting the whole world according to the particular doctrine, however crazy this doctrine might be. One particular feature, shared by almost all religious system is the belief in evil secret societies lead by some mysterios powerfull person with sinister aims (Satan is most well-known example). Most doctrines also tend to interpret history in crazy ways, talking about global wars between Good and Evil, End of the World, Kali Yuga, "chosen people", Holy War and "evil empires". Almost all people are aware of these ideas, that easily migrate to secular subconsciousness and give rise to innumerable phenomena such as modern witch hunts, prophetism and messianism.
People who disdain "superstitions" and consider themselves modern, rational, intelligent and scientific, usually dislike religion in the traditional sense, limiting themselves to atheism, or a simple belief in eternal Deity & life after death. Hovewer, while general public is introduced to these doctrines by in a simplistic way in a church or through mass media and rethoric of politicians ("axis of evil" etc.), scholars or people deeply interested in subject deal with much more sophisticated systems and arguments, conjured by smartest people in the world (dead or alive). The theory of Global Conspiracy might appear ridiculous to average man, but perfectly acceptable to somebody, who is studyng the history of Assasins of Persia. The idea of using magic ritual for the aim of self-perfection does not look superstituous to somebody who knows a lot about Hindu and Buddhist tantrism, even if he is a hereditary PhD trained in Princeton. Studying religion screwed many minds in a way philosophical study of LSD effects did (remember, Leary was a Harvard psychologist!). Umberto Eco, being a scholar himself, makes fun of the relationship between occult ideology and human mind in a way that is both challenging and entertaining to the reader. "Foulcaut's Pendulum" is not a historical book, contrary to what so many reviewers said - it is a book about sophisticated ideology and its effect on people. However, readers, who are unable to apprecciate the beauty and power of religious/occult thought will find "Foulcaut's Pendulum" boring and overloaded with apparently meaningless details. As it was already mentioned plot & character development is almost absent from the book. It's all about Information and making fun of people and ideas.
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