Rating: 
Summary: Umberto Eco: Trend setter for connecting history obscurities
Review: Foucault's Pendulum is the best intellectual high you will ever experience! It spoils. Yes. You will not be able to read another book (fiction) without comparing it to Eco's genius. This book was written in 1988 and it created a cult. We now see books like The Davinci Code, Q, The Rule of Four...etc. that try to imitate the historical thriller with fascinating connections in conspiracy-like atmosphere, but, nothing compares to Eco!
This is an intellectual ride with a very high speed! This book is very demanding in terms of intricate prose, sophisticated language, and vocabulary and constant Latin, French, Italian, and German use of language and above all length. Don't be discouraged, you will be handsomely rewarded: Unbelievable amount of information of every kind, historical, theological, philosophical, artistic and literarty (well researched, verified, and accurate - unlike the less demanding neo-cultish/historical thrillers with half the length making fascinating connections trying to put 2 and 2 together and sacrificing accuracy in return.
Don't waste your time in replicas, go for the original trend-setter.
Mr. Eco - Chapeau!
Rating:
Summary: Tough but rewarding
Review: I discovered this book because my French teacher gave it to me as a challenge in high school, years back (I guess sleeping during class was a bad idea). So, I read it in French and the translation is slightly superior than the English version in my mind. Craaaaazy. The book IS difficult and anyone who says otherwise is either Eco himself or someone who, as one of the character would say, should take the cork out of his ass and let the wind out. Sorry.The plot is very simple: three editors start making connections between all the secret societies ever heard of, famous conspiracy theories, mainstream and less mainstream religions, Pandora boxes of metaphysic fun... You get the idea. But don't expect the plot to evolve much in action. As a matter of fact, don't even expect a novel. Try picturing three Mulder's from the X-Files on crack for hundreds of pages. The book is a trip, a stream of words and ideas. Dare I compare it to Joyce's Finnegans Wake? Nah, but it's one of those things where you shouldn't stop at every word you can't understand (lots of those in the book, lots and lots of it). The knowledge is interesting and certainly worth digging further, but you can also enjoy it as what it is. Much, much better than the Da Vinci code...
Rating:
Summary: Interpreting the language of connections
Review: "...if there had to be a cosmic plot, we could invent the most cosmic of all." "Foucault's Pendulum" is a book rich in history and deep in mystery. Even when you reach the end, you may not be entirely sure what just happened. And of course, considering the subject matter, that is entirely the point. The story centers around one Casaubon, a student writing a paper about the Knights Templar. By chance, he meets Jacopo Belbo, a book editor working for a small publisher in Milan. They strike up a fast friendship, and Casaubon shortly begins working for the same publisher, helping them to gather facts and imagery for a new series of books they are publishing. Casaubon, Belbo, and another editor named Diotallevi take a morbid interest in the subject matter of the many books that are brought to them. The prospective authors, who they call "the Diabolicals," present them with far-fetched ideas about global historical conspiracies and a centuries-old plot to somehow rule the world from the shadows. While each story is different, the three men can see common threads running through all of them, and on their own time they explore the idea further themselves, just for the fun of it. Using an early model of a word processor (celverly named Abulafia, after the Hebrew Kabbalah scholar), they begin borrowing random concepts from the work of the Diabolicals and stringing them together. They include other sources as well, just to mix it up a bit. What they discover is what they call the Plan, and it could be the most important conspiracy theory in the history of the modern world, involving the Rosicrucians, the Jewish Kabbalah, Masonic rituals, Napoleon, the Nazis, and of course at the center of it all, the Knights Templar, spanning over 600 years of European history... or, it could just be a huge coincidence. What makes "Foucault's Pendulum" such a great novel is not just how it strings the different pieces of the puzzle together (which it does masterfully), nor simply how it makes it whole idea so compelling (which it also does well), but how, simulataneously, it makes you question everything you're reading. Right up until the end (and even beyond), Eco keeps you guessing as to what is "real" and what is not. Where other authors, covering similar subjects, make the conclusions predictable or melodramatic, Eco manages to find a place where the reader is never really sure if what they're reading about is fact, fiction, or something in between. The conclusion is subtle, and leaves nagging doubts in the reader's mind. The history presented in the book is top-notch, and it's never presented in a way that is insulting or "dumbed down" for the reader. Many books like this tend to include long, painfully obvious passages of exposition, but with Eco one never feels like the information is being presented by sacrificing the story. He manages exposition quite well, and everything that is presented matches the needed context of story and the characters. The characters themselves have depth, and their dialogue never fails to make them real for the reader. I particularly enjoyed one part, early on, when the three new friends discuss a School of Comparative Irrelevance, a course of studies for useless or impossible subjects, such as "Urban Planning for Gypsies," "Morse Syntax," and "The Phonetics of the Silent Film." This passage served many purposes. On the surface level, it was extremely amusing. It also told the reader a great deal about each of the main characters in an efficient, transparent way. Finally, it serves as foreshadowing of the far broader and deeper invention these characters would soon be embarking upon. To accomplish so much in just a few pages of (primarily) dialogue is the mark of a gifted author. Through the course of the book Casaubon has many different experiences, both mystical and mundane. Abulafia becomes more than a simple word processor, it becomes a source of truth and another veil of mystery to be pulled aside. Belbo tries to reconcile his sardonic nature with the mystery they seem to be uncovering, trying to maintain a scholarly distance while becoming more and more entranced with the story beneath the stories they hear. And Diotallevi ties everything they learn in with his own beliefs, and what truth means to him. In the end, "Foucault's Pendulum" is a story about faith, and both the wonderful and terrible things a powerful belief can accomplish. It is also about how different people can take the same facts and each will interpret them in their own way, often wildly different from one another. Eco conveys his ideas via a compelling, original story, and in so doing makes we, the readers, think about what he has to say. It is not the facts themselves that are important, but only the connections we make between them. Perhaps, in the end, it is the interpretations, not the facts themselves, which shape beliefs... and therefore shape the events of history. "But I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth."
Rating:
Summary: My all-time favorite read!
Review: This book is my all-time favorite! Whenever I am asked for a recommendation of an interesting book to read, it is Foucault's Pendulum. It is filled with arcane lore re: mysticism, religion, science, and esoterica. It is a conspiracy theorists dream-come-true, and it will keep you on the edge of your seat. Having recently read The DaVinci Code, I now see that it was a much more simple version of Foucault's Pendulum - and nowhere near as well-written.
A few other reviewers have complained of the many foreign language terms and passages in this book. I think that this is part of Eco's brilliance. Some things are better left un-translated! If this discourages you, try The Name of the Rose, or The Island of the Day before instead - both are excellent! Believe me though, reading Foucault's Pendulum is well worth the effort even if you aren't multi-lingual.
Rating:
Summary: what this book is really about
Review: I greatly enjoyed this book, being very similar in occupation and intellectual interests to protagonists. Im a philosophy/religious studies student with special interest in history of mysticism, secret societies and occult sciences. Let me try to explain you why this book is so great and why some people might not like it. This book is about the study of religion/occultism as a historical and philosophical phenomenon. The hidden message of the book is that it is dangerous to study doctrines, that were invented and perfected during the centuries with the only aim of getting people to believe in them. The art of religion consists in persuasively interpreting the whole world according to the particular doctrine, however crazy this doctrine might be. One particular feature, shared by almost all religious system is the belief in evil secret societies lead by some mysterios powerfull person with sinister aims (Satan is most well-known example). Most doctrines also tend to interpret history in crazy ways, talking about global wars between Good and Evil, End of the World, Kali Yuga, "chosen people", Holy War and "evil empires". Almost all people are aware of these ideas, that easily migrate to secular subconsciousness and give rise to innumerable phenomena such as modern witch hunts, prophetism and messianism.
People who disdain "superstitions" and consider themselves modern, rational, intelligent and scientific, usually dislike religion in the traditional sense, limiting themselves to atheism, or a simple belief in eternal Deity & life after death. Hovewer, while general public is introduced to these doctrines by in a simplistic way in a church or through mass media and rethoric of politicians ("axis of evil" etc.), scholars or people deeply interested in subject deal with much more sophisticated systems and arguments, conjured by smartest people in the world (dead or alive). The theory of Global Conspiracy might appear ridiculous to average man, but perfectly acceptable to somebody, who is studyng the history of Assasins of Persia. The idea of using magic ritual for the aim of self-perfection does not look superstituous to somebody who knows a lot about Hindu and Buddhist tantrism, even if he is a hereditary PhD trained in Princeton. Studying religion screwed many minds in a way philosophical study of LSD effects did (remember, Leary was a Harvard psychologist!). Umberto Eco, being a scholar himself, makes fun of the relationship between occult ideology and human mind in a way that is both challenging and entertaining to the reader. "Foulcaut's Pendulum" is not a historical book, contrary to what so many reviewers said - it is a book about sophisticated ideology and its effect on people. However, readers, who are unable to apprecciate the beauty and power of religious/occult thought will find "Foulcaut's Pendulum" boring and overloaded with apparently meaningless details. As it was already mentioned plot & character development is almost absent from the book. It's all about Information and making fun of people and ideas.
Rating:
Summary: Such a rich book...
Review:
It would be difficult to write a better review of what the book is about than Joseph & Laurie Hyink (below) have done. In THE NAME OF THE ROSE. also by Eco, I was first introduced to his work. I found it fascinating although somewhat irritating because there were so many Latin phrases that were not translated (and I am not conversant in Latin). If this sounds too bothersome, check out the movie, THE NAME OF THE ROSE, starring Sean Connery as William of Baskerville. The film version of the story is truncated, necessarily, and much less intricate (see my review of both the book and the movie). In this book, the same thing applies, but in more languages than Latin. There is also much untranslated Hebrew, as well as some French, Portugese and Italian. Nevertheless, the book is surprisingly easy to follow. The plot is intricate, and as others have said, pages of secret hermetic and esoteric organizations are listed, as well as a veritable history of grand conspiracy theories is exposed and commented upon, with all of the nuances of disputed doctrines and beliefs, spells, etc. Umberto Eco seems to be a veritable encyclopedia of knowledge in the esoteria arena. His books (the two I have read so far) show a massive vocabulary, which he uses shamelessly. If one were to fully understand each word used, it would be necessary to look up a word a minute, using a better dictionary than my 1913 unabridged edition of Webster's, which contains 2,620 pages of dictionary plus 150 pages of gazeteer and reference at the end. Many terms used, I'm sure he coined on the spot. Dense verbiage? Yes. Intricate? Certainly. Slow moving? Yes, that too. But, in spite of all that, this is a wonderful book. It is necessary to recognize the characters' often sardonic, cynical, sarcastic dialogue. They are young, left-wing intellectuals, after all, who thrive on skepticism. They are making fun of the organizations whose followers they are studying. Their minds are often befuddled by alcohol, too, as they seek the connections they are after. The "diabolicals," as they term their vanity publishing authors of esoteric material--the victims of their vanity publishing business--are seen by them as gullible half-wits, until... But, you must read the story for yourself. It would be unfair of me to give too much away. It has been said that Umberto Eco is not for everyone. I personally like his work very much. Whether that is a comment on me, or on Umberto Eco, is for you to decide.
Rating: 
Summary: 273 reviews for a book?
Review: This book seems to provoke strong reactions.... I find that this book contains quite a bit of physics. If a person has studied Science, its actually not difficult to follow. Three editors, who behave like loners, get caught up in a conspiracy. ( they don't seem to have family members ) Towards the end of the book, they are particularly influenced by a pseudo-aristocratic character. While they realise that they are subscribing to unhealthy beliefs, they do not manage to think out of the loop. Hence, a tragedy unfolds. This book is about the limits of pursuing knowledge and the importance of family and friends.
Rating: 
Summary: a literal work of mental torture.
Review: If you're a intellectual ready to dive into mounds and mounds of historical obfuscating religious lore coupled with an uninteresting plot then this book is willing to torture you to say the least. There are numerous passages in this book that dive into the histories of various religious groups (Knights Templar, Rosicrucians, Hermetic, etc.) and some were pretty interesting. But for the most part if you don't take a strong interest into this material then you'll get bogged down trying to read this book. The attempt of the book was to uncover a conspiritorial revenge initiated by the Templars and passed down through 600 years and generations later so that they could take revenge for the death of their leader. They find an old piece of parchment and although it was damaged with over half of the words ripped out missing, one of them comes up with the idea and the interpretation of the message as the conspiracy to take revenge. As this book was originally written in Italian, I wondered whether the spirit and style of the book might have been lost in the translation. Their might have been element like farce humor or double entendres or other literary devices that might have been lost just because of my naivety of the Italian culture or their sense of humor. Like the first chapter of the book talking about the Science Museum but written stylistically as if it were a cathedral sounded humorous to me but whether it was part of the author's intent I'm not sure. I've resigned to the fact of just taking the whole book with a grain of salt and not take this book too seriously as well as the subject material written in this book. If you've been diligent enough to read the book you'll be amused with the book's surprising end. Like I said before the book's a torture and its probably more understood if read more than once but then again not for the fictional value as opposed to the historical value. Only bother to read it if you're really interested in this material.
Rating:
Summary: The Weight of Trivia
Review: This is an interesting work, but ultimately not an absorbing novel. It staggers under a wealth of detail for detail's sake (try reading the dictionary as if it were a novel), rather than providing texture for characters, or propelling the plot forward (I'm 90% of the way through as I write this, and other than the hints dropped in the prologue, I'm still waiting for the plot to begin). If you like Perec in translation, you may enjoy this. If you thought this would be a fun romp through Illuminatiland, you should definitely steer clear. Note: 3 stars, for me, is a pretty good review. 4 is for extremely distinguished works, and 5 only for those I consider classics. Most of what is published is, unfortunately, a 2 or less.
Rating: 
Summary: Demonstration in the historically obscure
Review: Some bullets, in the spirit of brevity and clarity: - If, as I have seen some reviews, this was originally written in Italian, my review may be different. This is assuming I could read Italian, and understand all nuances. - I found the book to be a demonstration in th historically obscure, and thus, trivial. I enjoy history immensely, but found the reams of names, dates, and places too much for me to mentally digest. - In my humble opinion, the book spent a significant amount of text and pages wandering to and fro amongst these historical references. This is intertwined with the lead character's wandering to and fro amongst hermetic and occult people, places, and occurrences which did little to move the plot forward. - I'll be honest, boredom set in. I greatly enjoy reading and greatly enjoy history. I did not feel sated in either department. I resent the fact that one (maybe more) reviewer actually stated that if lacking a high school education, you might not enjoy (or understand) this book. Get off your high horse. PS - To plunge through the entire novel and have it be proclaimed a parody (another review), it's too much read for too little funny. - In summary, I found the book to have a vague, wandering, and sluggish plot, with awkward characters, intellectual bludgeoning, and very little real depth (despite the reams of information). I plan to read Name of the Rose and see what Eco's premier (or so I've been lead to understand) work can do. Further PS - Just because something is stuffed to the rim with intellectualism, historical trivia galore, and encyclopedic references, does not make it a fantastic NOVEL. Many other components contribute to create such. My recommendation to the reviewers extolling the virtues of the this novel is that they lighten up and try not to be so easily bedazzled. Unless they are egocentric megalomaniacs that like to dump on those who they feel are beneath their superior brain size (depite their deep down honest opinion of the work in question) and just "don't get it." Graciously, J
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