Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful
Review: It's no wonder this novel is inpenetrable to so many people. The average American adult, after all, never surpasses a fourth-grade reading comprehension level.
It's true that Eco alludes to so much that a single reader would probably need a handful of doctorates to catch every reference in the book, but that doesn't mean it's impossible to get through. The characters are scholars of dense subjects. Naturally their discourse will be dense. The basic plot of the story should still be comprehensible to anyone who has graduated high school, presuming they paid attention in English and World History and didn't write their papers based on Cliff's Notes. What you don't know from your own reading should be apparent from its context.What I love about this novel is its breadth. It touches on so many various obsessions of my own that I can't help but feel like I know the author. A few: Old-fashioned BASIC programming, the publishing world, and cabalistic numerology. Anyone who can weave so many disparate topics into such a fluid work is truly a master. There are many little jokes that are so subtle they could be missed on the first reading, and they're all the funnier for it. This is one book I will reread over and over again. You should probably avoid this book if: 1) You argued with your English teacher that authors really don't intend any symbolism, and everyone's reading too much into the texts they're teaching
2) You think the word "artesclerotic" is so arcane and outdated that anyone using it is obviously a Martian who is only spouting gobbledy-gook
3) You religiously buy and voraciously devour anything Oprah puts on her book club list
4) You prefer books with LOTS and LOTS of PICTURES!!! To everyone else: Enjoy. This one's really a gem.
Rating:
Summary: Read the book and decide for yourself
Review: Forget all those who say the book is to long or self-congratulatory. In the amount of time you spent reading the various Amazon reviews of this book, you could have gone through at least 5 of its chapters. I will admit that the first time I read the book, I'd keep falling asleep, and that it took a friend to make me persevere to the end. The end is worth it. The people who thought the book too verbose or inanely descriptive obviously did not get to the last chapter, or they didn't understand it. There is a point to the deluge of historical and secret-society facts. If you know as much as Umberto Eco does, you'd write a book like this, too. When you read this book, consider the hundreds and thousands of veils and superfluous garbage we create and wade through every single day in the quest for self-validation, and then think of the one true thing.
Rating: 
Summary: Too many side tracks
Review: I read this book several years ago. This was an awful book; not on a conceptual basis, but on a "let me try and explain it to you in 25 words or less". Where was the editor? Certainly you could not stand in front of a classroom and try and explain it the way the author does or, as the translator. My advice is just skip it. There are many other books out there that delve into the same type of secret society schtick.
Rating:
Summary: superb
Review: Stimulating throughout. FP is to "Da Vinci Code" as Tintoretto is to Hanna-Barbera.
Rating:
Summary: A "renaissance" book in the full meaning
Review: When I say "renaissance" I mean an all-encompassing exploration of knowledge from many fields. This is an intriguing work, and the reader catches on about 2/3 of the way through. Once again, Eco has combined real history with maybe history and certainly false history to create a stunning work. History, science, literature, music, architecture - all are woven into his scheme. This is one of those rare works where getting there is half the fun. Suspend your imagination and enjoy
Rating:
Summary: Eco, it's been far too long
Review: What a marvellous book! I first read it when I was a kid, probably 15 or so, and had no idea what to make of it. I've since then re-read it three or four times, and every time I find something different to love about it. The language, the characters, the flashbacks, the history (and the fictional history)... above all the huge conspiracy theory and the creation that becomes real... It's a great book, but make no mistake, it takes a lot of time and effort to read. Forget history, forget dictionaries and encyclopedias -- just read the book, and enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: a fabulous book
Review: truthfully one of the best, most thought-provoking books i've ever read out of thousands. it will interest and captivate you, and it is not difficult to read. the da vinci code was a huge bestseller and i also read it thinking the whole time 'what a pale shadow of foucault's pendulum this is'.
Rating:
Summary: Total rubbish.
Review: You`ve read the other reviews and have come to this one last saying to yourself, "Should I or shouldn`t I?" Let me give you a simple analogy of what`s in this book.
Normal Author: Beth went to the refrigerator and took out a can of soda which she then opened.
Umberto Eco: Bethania of the Compostia De `Inoragana started to believe her quest was part of the Dementia Sistine Chapel where puritanical sojourns had taken on cyclopean missadermatcals from Alexander Demontis from the fourth century Abontnochriest. Moving with forecast vigilance like that of Christoff Moganoze the chalise in it`s equipage haloperidal of tullage was grasped by it`s cyndrilical base and with a motile operandis of implementation the elixer spewed forth like that of the Fountain Comedatrillite in the Penmontonxualor De Coca`lis.
If your idea of fun is reading 500 plus pages of this?...you`ll love this book.
Another example?: Two of the characters are speaking to a detective when he says, "Not only alcoholic, but arteriosclerotic".
Maybe on planet Bizarro people speak like this. That`s one of the many problems with this "story" besides the fact that there is no plot or character developement. Even if you understood and had a diverse knowledge of all the goobledegook thrown at you it has nothing to do with anything else. You`ve been warned.
Rating: 
Summary: Foucault's Dilemma (sum fortis)
Review: Having a passion for physics, history, mysticism, and over-intellectualizing everything, I found Foucault's Pendullum a delightful read - but I had to learn the correct mind-set: Imagine yourself in a small boat with a captain who will take you to your destination - but insists you explore every inlet and byway along the route. Sometimes you forget you HAVE a destination and you get wonderfully bogged down in the inlets but, overall, it's a fascinating trip. I have given a lower rating due to my difficulty in remember there was a plot. Mr Eco writes quite intelligently but, at times, I felt he was doing his best to rub it in. That said, I will only add that this book was a gift from a friend who stated he threw it against the wall several times before giving up.
Rating: 
Summary: A Difficult but Excellent Read
Review: I consider myself to be fairly well-read and intelligent, but this book was a definite challenge. In a world of pre-packaged bestsellers (think Mary Higgins Clark, Danielle Steel), I found Foucault's Pendulum to be extremely refreshing. Having a BA in English Lit with a concentration in Medieval & Renaissance literature, I was suprised to find that I knew so little! I also kept a dictionary close at hand, learning new words with every page. However, I would be interested to know how much of the "historical" fact presented in the book is real, and how much of it is a creation by the author. Did all these sects exist, and if so, did they hold these theories? Also, I would have preferred an ending where the Plan was actually validated... I found Eco's ending to be morally viable but it left me feeling disappointed and flat. The editors had such a good Plan! All in all, if you're up for some serious intellectual reading, and don't mind a challenge, I strongly recommend this book. It's great for a rainy weekend.
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