Rating: 
Summary: Such a rich book...
Review:
It would be difficult to write a better review of what the book is about than Joseph & Laurie Hyink (below) have done. In THE NAME OF THE ROSE. also by Eco, I was first introduced to his work. I found it fascinating although somewhat irritating because there were so many Latin phrases that were not translated (and I am not conversant in Latin).If this sounds too bothersome, check out the movie, THE NAME OF THE ROSE, starring Sean Connery as William of Baskerville. The film version of the story is truncated, necessarily, and much less intricate (see my review of both the book and the movie). In this book, the same thing applies, but in more languages than Latin. There is also much untranslated Hebrew, as well as some French, Portugese and Italian. Nevertheless, the book is surprisingly easy to follow. The plot is intricate, and as others have said, pages of secret hermetic and esoteric organizations are listed, as well as a veritable history of grand conspiracy theories is exposed and commented upon, with all of the nuances of disputed doctrines and beliefs, spells, etc. Umberto Eco seems to be a veritable encyclopedia of knowledge in the esoteria arena. His books (the two I have read so far) show a massive vocabulary, which he uses shamelessly. If one were to fully understand each word used, it would be necessary to look up a word a minute, using a better dictionary than my 1913 unabridged edition of Webster's, which contains 2,620 pages of dictionary plus 150 pages of gazeteer and reference at the end. Many terms used, I'm sure he coined on the spot. Dense verbiage? Yes. Intricate? Certainly. Slow moving? Yes, that too. But, in spite of all that, this is a wonderful book. It is necessary to recognize the characters' often sardonic, cynical, sarcastic dialogue. They are young, left-wing intellectuals, after all, who thrive on skepticism. They are making fun of the organizations whose followers they are studying. Their minds are often befuddled by alcohol, too, as they seek the connections they are after. The "diabolicals," as they term their vanity publishing authors of esoteric material--the victims of their vanity publishing business--are seen by them as gullible half-wits, until... But, you must read the story for yourself. It would be unfair of me to give too much away. It has been said that Umberto Eco is not for everyone. I personally like his work very much. Whether that is a comment on me, or on Umberto Eco, is for you to decide.
Rating: 
Summary: 273 reviews for a book?
Review: This book seems to provoke strong reactions.... I find that this book contains quite a bit of physics. If a person has studied Science, its actually not difficult to follow. Three editors, who behave like loners, get caught up in a conspiracy. ( they don't seem to have family members ) Towards the end of the book, they are particularly influenced by a pseudo-aristocratic character. While they realise that they are subscribing to unhealthy beliefs, they do not manage to think out of the loop. Hence, a tragedy unfolds. This book is about the limits of pursuing knowledge and the importance of family and friends.
Rating: 
Summary: a literal work of mental torture.
Review: If you're a intellectual ready to dive into mounds and mounds of historical obfuscating religious lore coupled with an uninteresting plot then this book is willing to torture you to say the least. There are numerous passages in this book that dive into the histories of various religious groups (Knights Templar, Rosicrucians, Hermetic, etc.) and some were pretty interesting. But for the most part if you don't take a strong interest into this material then you'll get bogged down trying to read this book. The attempt of the book was to uncover a conspiritorial revenge initiated by the Templars and passed down through 600 years and generations later so that they could take revenge for the death of their leader. They find an old piece of parchment and although it was damaged with over half of the words ripped out missing, one of them comes up with the idea and the interpretation of the message as the conspiracy to take revenge. As this book was originally written in Italian, I wondered whether the spirit and style of the book might have been lost in the translation. Their might have been element like farce humor or double entendres or other literary devices that might have been lost just because of my naivety of the Italian culture or their sense of humor. Like the first chapter of the book talking about the Science Museum but written stylistically as if it were a cathedral sounded humorous to me but whether it was part of the author's intent I'm not sure. I've resigned to the fact of just taking the whole book with a grain of salt and not take this book too seriously as well as the subject material written in this book. If you've been diligent enough to read the book you'll be amused with the book's surprising end. Like I said before the book's a torture and its probably more understood if read more than once but then again not for the fictional value as opposed to the historical value. Only bother to read it if you're really interested in this material.
Rating:
Summary: The Weight of Trivia
Review: This is an interesting work, but ultimately not an absorbing novel. It staggers under a wealth of detail for detail's sake (try reading the dictionary as if it were a novel), rather than providing texture for characters, or propelling the plot forward (I'm 90% of the way through as I write this, and other than the hints dropped in the prologue, I'm still waiting for the plot to begin). If you like Perec in translation, you may enjoy this. If you thought this would be a fun romp through Illuminatiland, you should definitely steer clear. Note: 3 stars, for me, is a pretty good review. 4 is for extremely distinguished works, and 5 only for those I consider classics. Most of what is published is, unfortunately, a 2 or less.
Rating: 
Summary: Demonstration in the historically obscure
Review: Some bullets, in the spirit of brevity and clarity: - If, as I have seen some reviews, this was originally written in Italian, my review may be different. This is assuming I could read Italian, and understand all nuances. - I found the book to be a demonstration in th historically obscure, and thus, trivial. I enjoy history immensely, but found the reams of names, dates, and places too much for me to mentally digest. - In my humble opinion, the book spent a significant amount of text and pages wandering to and fro amongst these historical references. This is intertwined with the lead character's wandering to and fro amongst hermetic and occult people, places, and occurrences which did little to move the plot forward. - I'll be honest, boredom set in. I greatly enjoy reading and greatly enjoy history. I did not feel sated in either department. I resent the fact that one (maybe more) reviewer actually stated that if lacking a high school education, you might not enjoy (or understand) this book. Get off your high horse. PS - To plunge through the entire novel and have it be proclaimed a parody (another review), it's too much read for too little funny. - In summary, I found the book to have a vague, wandering, and sluggish plot, with awkward characters, intellectual bludgeoning, and very little real depth (despite the reams of information). I plan to read Name of the Rose and see what Eco's premier (or so I've been lead to understand) work can do. Further PS - Just because something is stuffed to the rim with intellectualism, historical trivia galore, and encyclopedic references, does not make it a fantastic NOVEL. Many other components contribute to create such. My recommendation to the reviewers extolling the virtues of the this novel is that they lighten up and try not to be so easily bedazzled. Unless they are egocentric megalomaniacs that like to dump on those who they feel are beneath their superior brain size (depite their deep down honest opinion of the work in question) and just "don't get it." Graciously, J
Rating:
Summary: The Italian version is MUCH better
Review: I can understand what the 'one-star reviews' are refering to when they equate reading this book to 2 months of hard labour. The English version is not a pleasure to read due to the faulty translation.
Do not kill the writer for it'was the messenger who changed the text.
Rating:
Summary: Turgid
Review: I was disappointed in reading this highly touted work. I expected more than the rambling plotless work I encountered. I may have melodramatic tastes, but I found this novel to have too little forward momentum, and too many eddies and backwaters of trivial arcanae. And these backwaters are not exactly limpid pools, but often just stagnant water. There is an interesting premise-a group of people at a publishers act as "agents provocateurs" in order to bring occult groups out of the woodwork. They succeed to some extent, but what they uncover was hardly worth the trouble. A more interesting idea might have been to have them bring to light something truly diabolical (we're talking fiction, right?). I would rank this on a par with "The Da Vinci Code"-but for quite other reasons.
Rating:
Summary: Foucault's Filter
Review: Foucault's Pedulum is a title I have been meaning to read for the past 15 yrs - I remember seeing it on a bookseller's shelf and trying to decide between it and Prime Evil back in 1988. Suffice to say ended up with the latter, which BTW, is also outstanding. Although I can read pretty much anything Eco writes, Foucault is even better than TNoTR, IMO. Without giving anything away, all I can say about this book is *don't* read it if you don't meet the following criteria, otherwise you're going to visit a public forum like this one and complain how boring it was and that you had to use a dictionary. In order to enjoy Eco and/or Foucault's Pendulum you must: 1. Possess an advanced vocabulary/intellect that rises above a 6th grade comprehension level
2. Possess an undying thirst for knowledge leaning particularly in the direction of the esoteric such as the Knights Templar, alchemy, the medieval and other assorted liberal arts/classical literature/historical pursuits. In short, if you feel the need to read everything on Oprah's book list and/or read every Grisham you can get your hands on, then chances are, Eco is just *not* for you.
Rating:
Summary: As good as the Name of the Rose
Review: I enjoyed this as much as the Name of the Rose. It's different in that it has a different focus but the focus is still an informative and entertaining one. Unlike the Name of the Rose, this book is set in modern-day (1970's) Italy. The historical and arcane context is one of people today looking back at history. The book is about three academics who get together based on their common interest in subjects such as the Templars and their trial, secret societies, mystical traditions and Kabbalah. They set up a publishing house for books of the occult, part of which involves a desire to publish the most crazy theories, in order to entertain themselves about how stupid some beliefs are. However, then they decide to formulate a theory of their own. They make up a Grand Scheme, the Great Conspiracy involving every major event and mystical society/concept from the last few centuries. The problem is - their theory starts to take over... Many readers accuse Eco of being pretentious in the level of erudition of his prose. In this book, certain passages are especially of that nature, quoting obscure historical references, names and texts by the hundreds. But it's after reading this book that it becomes clear - it's a parody. This book is a great and genuinely funny parody of the New Age movement with all the occultism and gnosticism. No stone is left unturned in the quest to connect pieces of the world in an obscure way. The book, like The Name of the Rose, is full of tension and lamentation on the limitations of knowledge and the like. But, it is much more funny and playful. There's the sense of modern-day irony which was harder to achieve in The Name of the Rose as that was from a medieval point of view. Finally, the book has a great, weird and unexpected ending that ties some ends together in a very interesting way. If you've ever been interested in the occult OR cynical about it, chances are you'll absolutely love this book.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: Mixing a good old fashioned suspense tale with Medieval Mysticism, secret organizations, and the Holy Grail, Eco has, once again, created a modern masterpiece that will leave the critics debating for years to come. This is an excellent book, but not one for the faint-of-heart. Eco plays with the tale's timeline, and readers may need to have a dictionary and an encyclopedia handy.
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