Scan barcode
neilmoakley's review against another edition
4.0
Stranded on a boat,
Umberto plays with language
...and reflects on war?
Umberto plays with language
...and reflects on war?
sanieczka's review against another edition
Stigla do pola. Ne ide. Možda nekad u budućnosti.
bluestraveler's review against another edition
5.0
the international date line was the original one piece
esessa's review against another edition
5.0
Really enjoyed this, perhaps my favorite of Eco's so far.
egwoodhaus1's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
readbysloan's review against another edition
4.0
A profound and philosophical story that was enjoyable, though at times difficult to read.
ajkhn's review against another edition
1.0
it was very long, and I did not enjoy it. Which is odd, honestly, because I loved Eco's Foucault's Pendulum - one of my favorite books. This one was a whole lot more like, well, slogging through 500 pages written by a Semiotics professor.
The plot is kind of fantastic, though. A man gets shipwrecked, latches onto a raft, and then washes up onto an abandoned ship. He can't swim, so now he's shipwrecked on a ship. this ship, of course, is riddled with secrets.
And then, lecturing ensues. It's all about Renaissance thought and the shaky move from Godly knowledge to secular knowledge. Again, this sounds really interesting, but somehow it wasn't executed that way. I think Eco tried to get a little too clever with his story-telling, going for the non-linear narrative, but its just not all that well executed. That said, Jules Mazarin makes an appearance, and its always nice to see him. A major plot point is the sheer inscrutability of the International Date Line and the complexity of Longitude, which is a Thing, I guess. My favorite explanation of Noah's Flood comes up in the book (the flood is full of yesterday's water coming into today), which is really neat also. Seriously, ask me some time to explain this flood theory to you, it's great stuff.
But unlike the other Eco books I've read, this one isn't more than the sum of its parts. I just never got into it as much, and I doubt I would've been able to read the whole thing if I wasn't traveling so much. So I don't have a great verdict for this one, go ahead and skip it.
The plot is kind of fantastic, though. A man gets shipwrecked, latches onto a raft, and then washes up onto an abandoned ship. He can't swim, so now he's shipwrecked on a ship. this ship, of course, is riddled with secrets.
And then, lecturing ensues. It's all about Renaissance thought and the shaky move from Godly knowledge to secular knowledge. Again, this sounds really interesting, but somehow it wasn't executed that way. I think Eco tried to get a little too clever with his story-telling, going for the non-linear narrative, but its just not all that well executed. That said, Jules Mazarin makes an appearance, and its always nice to see him. A major plot point is the sheer inscrutability of the International Date Line and the complexity of Longitude, which is a Thing, I guess. My favorite explanation of Noah's Flood comes up in the book (the flood is full of yesterday's water coming into today), which is really neat also. Seriously, ask me some time to explain this flood theory to you, it's great stuff.
But unlike the other Eco books I've read, this one isn't more than the sum of its parts. I just never got into it as much, and I doubt I would've been able to read the whole thing if I wasn't traveling so much. So I don't have a great verdict for this one, go ahead and skip it.
brenna_law's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
arationalvein's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.25
Thank you Umberto, I would love a lecture on the symbology of doves