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Underground > Books, Criticism & Writing >

Foucault's Pendulum

The Prince of All Lies

15:01 / 30.06.04

I just finished reading Umberto Eco's "Foucault's Pendulum" and I'm a little numb. That tends to happen when I finish reading a book I have invested a lot of energy/emotion into. When I look back, some parts are a bit dense (it's a BIG book), but there are some beautifully crafted chapters in there. The book took me from euclidian space to conspiratory agendas, then to madness and ultimately, peace.
The whole book is structured in parts, each one representing a sefirah of the Kabbalah. The book is a journey in itself, and is a great piece of literature, switching styles and perspectives, though the storytelling is similar to Paul Auster's Leviathan (that is, telling the story of a friend, following his movements and thoughts).
This is definitely a must read for all the guys in the Temple, and to any Morrison fan, since you'll find so many similarities to Invisibles..I heard somewhere that one of the inspirations for the Invisibles was Foucault's Pendulum, and it shows.
Ok, no more ranting, give me your opinions, reviews, insults, whatever..I just need someone to discuss this with.

15:35 / 30.06.04

I read it (with Baz Auckland) a couple of years ago - my memory is that I found it more amusing than intellectually stimulating. You can read our progress through the book here.

There's another old thread on the book here, which you may find interesting.

14:55 / 01.07.04

I note with interest that nobody has aimed perhaps the most popular criticism of Eco's fiction at this one yet: that being that he is too obviously didactic, and tends to bludgeon the reader with blunt metaphors somewhat.
Maybe it's just because I am familiar with his critical work, which covers a lot of the same ground as this text albeit in a more direct way, but I couldn't help but feel that the text was too allegorical, in spite of all its fun references and twisty plot.
I mean, heck - we all know that post-structuralist and postmodern theory leads to ritual murder, right? So there's no need to bang on about it.

The Prince of All Lies

17:15 / 01.07.04

Yeah, he sounds too didactic at some points, like he's showing off, but at the same time, he makes you question the things he's saying. I didn't focus too much on his semiotics, and once you leave behind the long explanation of "The Plan", it turns out to be pretty moving, don't you think?

23:08 / 01.07.04

It's funny - I read this when I was maybe 16 or so, because it had all these great occult references, and I thought it was a great story about the ultimate secret society.

I read it again in my twenties and realized I'd gotten it totally wrong, but loved it again - this time, as a story about the absence of any secret society driving history.

And there aren't a lot of books that support two totally contrary readings, but which are great either way.

I've made almost all my friends, at one time or another, buy or borrow Foucault's Pendulum. Some of them have even read it.

09:39 / 02.07.04

I didn't read Foucault's Pendulum as being literally about the presence or absence of anything. What I meant by Eco's being too didactic was that it seemed obvious to me that he wasn't really talking about what he seemed to be talking about. The text, while containing a great deal of interesting, well-researched and in some cases beautifully imagined material on secret societies and the like, is clearly not about secret societies so much as ways of making meaning and the concept of subjective and objective truth.
The Prince of All Lies - In what way would you say that Eco makes you question what he says in the text? I found that the areas open to question were the areas that Eco wanted the reader to question, in order to support his overall theme (i.e., that of the ultimate meaninglessness of making one's own meanings and the necessity of objective truth - clumsy definition, I know, but I'm tired).

The Prince of All Lies

20:17 / 02.07.04

I meant that at first, he makes you question your own lack of belief...little by little, he made me think that some of the stuff he was saying could be true...you just have to take a little "leap of faith" here, organize facts so they can seem logical, etc, 'till you realize your ability to discern between logic and magic/truth and fiction, fades away. You start to realize the limits of analogical thinking, as well as the weird places it can take you...I think the book is a critique of that kind of thought processes.
By the way, Casaubon was a coward for how he acted in the Conservatory at the end, and Eco didn't even acknowledge that..that kinda shocked me.

11:07 / 16.06.05

Hmm, as usual I am years behind the rest of the world and have finally read this book. Over-rated is an expression that springs to mind, as it usually does with me and Eco.

This is the thrid Eco novel I've read. The Name of the Rose I thought was excellent, as he used his knowledge to enrich the story, and at the other end of the spectrum I thought Baudolino was shite, because he bludgeoned the reader with too much information, trying to shoehorn every single cocking anecdote from medieval Europe into it. It was like how in Forrest Gump the story keeps twisting so that Gump can be part of all these different iconic moments.

For me Foucault's Pendulum fits in between. There is a good book in there, but it is in sore need of an editor to prune out some of the endless lists of information. We get it all right Mr Eco! You're smart! You're read lots of books and know lots about medieval history! Now can you please keep sight of the book you're writing?

And the whole structure was forced as well. There was just way too much "do you see?" for my liking. And I found plenty of the humour to be equally forced. "Do you see that I am pardoying secret societies? Do you SEE?"

And I don't even need to mention the dire female characters, as that has been covered pretty well in one of the other threads.

The ending was over-written and melodramatic, as was the whole storyline of Belbo's youth. trying way too hard to make a point. In short, I think the book was too ambitious and if he'd pulled his head in and stuck to his strengths then it would have worked far better.

Hope that wasn't too much of a rant! There is lots to like in this book. It's just that this chap is so over-rated and he needs someone to force an editor upon him rather than lauding him for producing endless lists of irrelevant information. Doesn't he know that editing is the most important part of being a good writer?