Short review, in Haiku:
Symbolism on
The edge of insanity.
The real Da Vinci Code.
Longer precis::
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.
Short review, in Haiku:
Symbolism on
The edge of insanity.
The real Da Vinci Code.
Longer precis::
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.