Reviews

Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco

angela_king's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

yann_vissac's review

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challenging mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

zekereadseverything's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

damong's review

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funny mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

garfieldtruther's review against another edition

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2.0

Did not finish

ianmitchell's review against another edition

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4.0

This book is an intellectual thriller drawing on conspiracy theories involving the Templars and other similar organizations, but is definitely not in the "Dan Brown" vein. The first time I tried to read this book I brought it on vacation, but found it to be much too heavy for vacation reading; a few months later I tried again and enjoyed it.

The story focuses on three men working for a small publishing house who essentially devise an ultimate conspiracy theory linking pretty much every secret society that ever existed. They start off doing it as a bit of a joke, but things turn much more serious, particularly when members of secret societies think they know more than they do.

The book is extremely well researched, and the plot has lots of twists and turns. I found some of the writing to be a bit too "wordy" - I'm not sure how much of that is from Umberto Eco and how much from the translator (it was originally written in Italian). It takes a bit of effort to read this book, but overall I think it is well worth reading.

jefkritz's review

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adventurous challenging funny informative mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

therealkathryn's review

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This book is beyond dense, it's so complex as to be exhausting to read. I read about half of it and it was very, very good but not what I am looking for right now.

annushka79's review

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5.0

The more time passes after I have read this book, the more I am in love with it. Initially, it seemed like an adventure, on par with The Da Vinci code but much more brainy. But now, I feel like it is a comment on human nature, on our constant ability to put things together and give birth to crazy conspiracy theories. "We did not know what we were until you told us what we were", one of the characters says in that book. And I think it is especially relevant today, where conspiracy theories have exploded all over the world. What is truth and what is just your imagination? The ending tells you the answer, but i only realized it after thinking about the book for a while.

r_musil's review against another edition

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3.0

کتاب طولانی ای است و اگر دفتر برنامه ریزی قلم چی ام را هنوز داشتم به ساعت میگفتم که چه قدر زمان برده است.
عادت بدی دارم و همه ش منتظرم کتاب را تمام کنم. مثل تمام چیز های دیگر از راهشان لذت نمیبرم و آرامش پایانش مایه دلخوشی است.
بیشتر کتاب دفترچه تلفن است و اگر کسی این اشتباه را بکند که بخواهد کتاب را بخواند می تواند ده هزار تومان بدهد تا به او بگویم کدام 200 صفحه را بخوان و 900 صفحه ی دیگر زندگیت را جای دیگری هدر بده.
کتاب دفترچه تلفن است و پر از اشاره به اسم های مختلف از انجمن های سری مختلف که نشان محکمی است از اینکه نویسنده چه قدر درباره شان می داند، در زمان نوشتن کتاب نه گوگل بوده نه ویکیپدیا.
آنجاهایی که کتاب مشغول داستان تعریف کردن است خوب است، وقتی توصیف کردن چیزهایی که نه تنها من که احتمالا هیچ یک از خواننده هایش هیچ وقت ندیده اند و نخواهند دید را رها میکند، امبرتو اکو نویسنده ی خوبی می شود.
در آخر باعث افتخار است که کتاب نویسنده ی گرانقدر امبرتو اکو را خوانده ام و حالا نشان دیگری دارم که بر سینه ام قرار دهم. یکی از آن اسم های حلبی ای که ماسون ها به هم میدهند. شهسوار مرگ.