The Island of the Day Before

Rating:
Summary: self-indulgent and boring.
Review: I bought this book because I was so impressed with Name of the Rose, with its fascinating account of medieval times. With "The Island.." I thought I'd be for a 17th Century treat, but I was mistaken. Eloquent writing and poetic description are great when they're accompanied with a STORY (read anything by Peter Matthiessen and you'll see what I mean). But this book bogged down after 50 pages and deteriorated into an irritating maze of self-indulgent language games and esoteria. Unlike some other reviewers here, I don't believe that one should have to be familiar with an author's scholarly interests to access his writing, as if it was some secret code. Obviously, Eco is brilliant, but I want a story, not a wandering display of "here's what I know."

Rating:
Summary: A Waste of Paper
Review: I was wild about The Name of The Rose and Foucault's Pendulum. But this "novel" struck me as a literary experiment that should have been left unpublished. I agree with the reviewer who wrote, "Interesting ideas, and beautiful writing, to be sure, but in my opinion not worth the effort." If I could get to yesterday, I would leave this book unread.

Rating:
Summary: Eco is masterful yet again.
Review: Eco spins a marvelous tale that doesn't let up until the last page. This book will have you anxiously turning pages, and wanting more. Few authors have the ability to write this kind of complex prose. Yes this book is long and confusing at times, but the payoff is worth it. If you want a challenge with a wonderful reward, curl up with "The Island of the Day Before."

Rating:
Summary: Unique
Review: This book is very unique. It is my first Eco book, but I know that I will read others. Eco is an amazing author, with encyclopedic knowledge and a ready wit. Throughout the book, there are many memorable passages and one-liners.

The plot is sufficiently engaging to make it hard to put down. One of the most interesting aspects of this work are the tangents that provide interesting insight into the political, social, philosophical, and scientific/alchemical mindset of that era, as well as a few interesting historical narratives included along the way. The extensive use of a very broad vocabulary (which I can only assume is the translator's excellent version of an equally astounding vocabulary in Italian) and phrases in several other languages throughout the work challenged and fascinated me, aspiring etymologist and polyglot that I am.

My only disappointment was the breakdown of meaningful thought within the dreams of Roberto at the end (otherwise it would certainly be 5 stars), though the afterword was refreshingly clever.

Overall, this book is certainly worth reading. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Eco still a brilliant genius
Review: I've expected The Island of the Day Before to be as stimulating as F.Pendullum and The Name of the Rose and I can see Eco has overmastered even his own linguistically brilliant self with his new novel. The Island.. is a feast of words, poetically served burst of stunningly original imagination. Again I found myself playing an imaginary intelectual battle with the autor (much superior in knowledge to my poor self of course) by trying to fully undestand each and every challenging passage by rereading some paragraphs over and over again. Some people complain the story of this book is too this but story itself is the least important of elements here. This book is about carefully selected words, about historical learning, poetry and world-wiews of the days long gone. As such, The Island.. is a stunning masterpiece with no equal in current literature.

Rating:
Summary: Outrageously Effective Sedative
Review: I read this book on recommendation of a respected friend, and had a keen interest in exploring the works of the well-regarded Umberto Eco. My surprise and disappointment in muddling through this book only deepened the further I got into the novel. As passionate reader and scholar of literature (and an accused "book snob"), I enjoy challenging books with gorgeous prose, philosophical themes and symbolism. However, I believe that these devices must rely upon, or at least accompany some semblance of a plot. I have to disagree with previous reviewers: "Plot" is not a superflous element of a novel!
If one wishes to purely engorge themselves in symbolism, philosophy, and aesthetic qualities, I would recommend some Yeats poetry, or a trip to an museum of fine art-- rather than spend hours trudging through such a novel as this. Interesting ideas, and beautiful writing, to be sure, but in my opinion not worth the effort. I literally had difficulty remaining conscious while reading this book (and that was before cocktail hour!).
Want a thought-provoking, challenging book that also tells a fine story? Try Brothers Karamozov, Anna Karenina, Lolita, or anything by Faulkner. If you prefer those type of books, The Island of the Day Before will likely be a misuse of your time.

Rating:
Summary: Liber Incognita
Review: After 300 pages, my wife asked me what this book was about, and I had to think for a minute: A man named Roberto, who was in some 17th c. Franco-Spanish war, writing love letters to his obscure object of desire that he never delivers, then he's on some French ship trying to discover the secret of longitude, and something about a dog and sympathetic magic, then he's on some other ship full of weird clocks and plants and birds and aqua vitae and some unseen Other, who turns out to be a post-plague priest, all mixed up with an X-Files-type modus mysterium operandi that promises much but delivers little. "But what's it ABOUT!?" she asked again. After 300 pages and several weeks of labor, I conceded that I did not know. "So why are you reading it?" she asked.

I realized that the only reason I had continued so long was because Eco has a reputation as a good author. I abandoned my efforts, and I would warn similarly unvigilant readers to beware: This book is a plot-free caricature of a good Eco novel. (cf. the previous reviewer's comment that "the prose so perfectly transcends the plot"). But I did not find the prose particularly good: some adolescent turns of phrases that rapidly become repetitive, long Latin neologisms looking like chapter titles, some cleverness ("Aristotelean telescope") strewn amidst strings of impressively large words, and an awkward grammar filled with meaningless places and hard-to-remember names. If you haven't read this one, don't bother. Stick to "Foucault's Pendulum" (or perhaps some very good sci-fi; Fred Hoyle, for example), something that rewards your reading time with interest and not a studied boredom.

Rating:
Summary: Thought Provoking
Review: What happens at the point in the world where you can have one foot in yesterday and one foot in today? This is the story of such an adventure to reach such an island. It's thought provoking. The main character (who cannot swim) ends up alone on a boat overlooking this island as he ponders, halucinates, and dreams of the wonderdul things that will transpire when he finally reaches the "island of the day before". Although, wordy, this book is worth the read.

Rating:
Summary: A Brilliant Mixture
Review: This book is definitely too wordy and technical to curl up with for some "light and fluffy reading." I had to work at it, but came to respect how Eco incorporated a great mixture of storytelling, physics, philosophy, humor and history into
this work. Despite some parts that grew too technical for a math phobic like me, I very much enjoyed it.

Rating:
Summary: Twisting, at times tortured, though interesting...
Review: Roberto della Griva, son of minor Italian gentry, sets off with his father to defend a besieged city during the Thirty Year's War. After his father's valiant death, he eschews a return home for the experiences of French society. It is here, within the soirees, that Roberto hones his philosophical skills and eventually finds himself manipulated by his imaginary brother, Ferrante, into a sea voyage to the other side of the world.

Cardinal Richelieu's successor charges Roberto with the task of discerning the secrets of longitude while embarked upon an English vessel. In a storm, the vessel is lost and Roberto, lashed to a door, days later is cast upon an abandoned ship anchored near an uncharted island in the Pacific.

From here, Eco takes the reader on a philosophical, metaphysical, and mystical trip that is not nearly as entertaining as his preceding narrative. Roberto wrestles the mysteries of time, space, heaven and hell, and authors a romance in which he wins the hand of his true love from the cold and calculating grasp of his imaginary brother.

It is all a bit much. Several pages are devoted to the self-awareness of stone. Though the book has some fascinating stretches, in the end, Eco's endeavor for abstract slays the rythym a good novel needs. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it, but I would not recommend it as a "must" read.