Goodreads Mobile | see what your friends are reading

Mar 26, 2010

Tim rated it:

If asked, the easiest way to describe Foucault’s Pendulum is to say that it’s a distillation of every conspiracy theory you’ve ever heard into a single novel. I’ve seen many people describe it as the “thinking man’s” Da Vinci Code. Having attempted Angel’s and Demon’s years ago and giving it up after only two chapters – based on Brown’s fumbling with novelization, plotting, pacing, characterization, and even English grammar – I have to conclude that this is an extremely demeaning analogy for Umb More...

1 comment like (45 people liked it)

Mar 30, 2010

Willrad rated it:

Imagine three sarcastic, over-educated editors who work at a vanity publisher. Owing to their occupation, they naturally end up reading an abundance of books about ridiculously grand conspiracy theories and occult societies - the Freemasons, the Templars, the Rosicrucians, the Illuminati (Bavarian and otherwise), and so on. So they start to play a sort of free-association game: Let's connect all these things, using the same half-mad logic as the authors of these books, into one grand design. Th More...

2 comments like (17 people liked it)

Mar 30, 2010

This Is Not The Michael You're Looking For rated it:

This book consists of predominantly two things: (1) Endless dialogue by mentally unbalanced paranoid conspiracy theorists; (2) Endless dialogue by scholars who study mentally unbalanced paranoid conspiracy theorists. This is not a bad book, but its not an easy read, and not really a particularly enjoyable one. My enjoyment, or lack thereof, was tempered by the fact that I was apparently trying to read one story, but the author was trying to tell a different one. Put another way, I was trying to More...

4 comments like (23 people liked it)

Mar 30, 2010

Nathan rated it:

The best book I have ever read. It is the creepiest, deepest, and most brilliantly executed piece of literature. Umberto Eco is a genius, and if I could have a conversation with anyone, it would be him.

The book, however, is very difficult to read. The language is dense, and in the first 200 pages, it beats you over the head with history of the Knights Templar and the Rosicrucians. All of this history is necessary to make the second half cause you to shit your pants. It's basical More...

0 comments like (14 people liked it)

Jul 27, 2010

40 rated it:

Eco once said that author Dan Brown (Angels & Demons, DaVinci Code, etc) might have very well been one of the characters he created in Focault's Pendulum. Eco uses Focault's pendulum to showcase the absurdity in over analyzing ancient legends or secret societies and in the process creates an intellectual and dizzying tale that stands in direct contrast to the Dan Brown's of the world writing for the pop culture masses.

The work is a discourse in secret societies (Templar Knights, Fre More...

0 comments like (8 people liked it)

Mar 26, 2010

Gerard rated it:

One of those books where the author tediously says next to nothing, and all the semi-litterati can't figure out what he's trying to say, so they conclude he must be brilliant. A wasted effort by an otherwise talented (so I hear) author, and that portion of the gullible public that assumes that something profound is being said so long as they can't understand it.

3 comments like (8 people liked it)

Mar 26, 2010

Ben rated it:

I read a lot, and the people around me are used to seeing a new book in my hand every day or couple of days. Naturally, they ask me what I'm reading, usually in a way that implies I should divulge more than just the title and the author, which are plainly visible on the cover. How do I respond when I'm reading something so sublime and transcendental as Foucault's Pendulum? It defies ordinary description of plot, because Umberto Eco has again unified his narrative with his themes and character More...

1 comment like (12 people liked it)

Mar 30, 2010

Philip rated it:

This is without doubt my favorite book of the last 20 years. I re-read it every couple of years, but I no longer suggest it to friends. Too many people see me reading it and I have been so enthusiastic about it, they gave it a try but couldn't make it past the first hundred or so pages which are thick with historical and literary references.

It is a roller coaster ride through historical patterns, filled with wonder and human longing and error. Eco sets up the idea of patterns earl More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Sep 06, 2011

Giuseppe rated it:

In uno dei cablogrammi rilasciati da Wikileaks (non ricordo esattamente quale) v'era scritto che gli italiani sono un popolo con una tendenza un po' paranoide di vedere complotti e poteri forti nascosti un po' dappertutto. Un parziale riscatto a tale frase era presente nella susseguente: "è anche vero che tale convinzione è fondata storicamente".

Il che la dice lunga sul popolo italico, costretto a vivere all'ombra di grosse masse d'influenza come il Vaticano, la Mafia (la m More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Mar 30, 2010

Andreea rated it:

This was my second attempt at Umberto Eco's novel, the first time I only got through about half of the book before giving it up in favor of, simply put- more "exciting" books. I picked it up again because I had to read a book about secret societies for the Summer Challenge on The Next Best Book Club and the only alternative was Dan Brown's Angels and Demons (and I'm not that keen on Dan Brown's writing style). In the end, once I tried to think everything through, the book proved to be More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Mar 26, 2010

Jason rated it:

Between his home and his summer home, Umberto Eco has some 50,000 books to his name. I believe that he has read every one of them, some probably twice. Which is to say that this is an erudite novel. A warning to the reader: you will be wading into lists of reference materials. You are about to be presented with conversations that run for pages that are dedicated solely to the minutiae of conspiracies, most about the Templars. I warned you.

But this book is not just about secret societ More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Mar 30, 2010

Andy rated it:

This book is a conundrum to me. I liked the story of three book editors accidentally enmeshing themselves in the world of conspiracy theory. I liked the philosophical discussion of why we believe in things like Great Global Conspiracies. I even thought some of the history was interesting.

But LORD, did Eco need an editor. In parts of this book, the signal-to-noise ratio is distressingly low as Eco's talking heads sit and discuss the intricacies of Templar and Rosicrucian history More...

5 comments like (5 people liked it)

Mar 26, 2010

Heidi rated it:

Maybe this will make me look stupid... but this book was far too brainy, academic and philosophical to be a really engrossing read. I had to make myself slog through certain portions of this book -- Eco is clearly brilliant, but needs to learn to keep a plot together. Too much extraneous information, too many digressions, too much detailed background information, and you distract from the plot.

This is not an easy read. This book will take patience, ambition, and perseverence to read. More...

6 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 10, 2011

Cam rated it:

Foucault's Pendulum was a great read for me; I really liked it. That said, I might not read it again. The publisher's summary gives you an idea about what's going on here, but leaves out something major. I was expecting a thriller, but I got an extended treatise on the real and fake history of the Knights Templar, Rosicrucians, Illuminati, Cabbalistic Jews, Druids, Catholics, and more, with a healthy dose of philosophy, physchology, literary theory, science, and a smattering of philology. Don't More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 06, 2011

Halik rated it:

what can i say? Bit over my head. Picked it up cause i heard this was 'an intellectual's Da Vinci Code' not that i'm much of an intellectual but this notion challenged me.

But what we have here is a thriller probably meant almost exclusively for those with a steady background in occult sciences and European religio-mythical lore.

Eco explores how human desire to explore the 'world beyond senses' or reality beyond what we perceive leads them to create all forms of manifesta More...

4 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 26, 2010

Roberta rated it:

In my next life I want Umberto Eco's brain, but after struggling to read this novel (highly recommended by a friend who also loves Eco's work), I have to class it as unreadable. I enjoy challenging literature, but was unable to engage with the plot or the characters nor did I find their philosophical issues very compelling. So sad -- I want to love his novels but the only one that did it for me was The Name of the Rose.

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Feb 11, 2012

Linda rated it:

Casaubon, Belbo and Diotallevi work for a vanity publisher in Milan, and they are used to reading manuscripts with conspiracy theories. Eventually, they get bored and decide to create their own conspiracy. They use many historical mysteries and with some fantasy and creativity connect the dots between them. It's called "The Plan" and at first they have no idea how they could make people believe in it. But, scary as it seems, the longer they work with the story, the more they realize th More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Mar 26, 2010

Quentin rated it:

A critique of post-modern history, wrapped in one hell of a funny historical mystery. Taught me critical theory before I knew what that was.

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Feb 16, 2011

Weni rated it:

Luar biasa...
Maksudnya luar biasa lama waktu yang saya butuhkan untuk menamatkan buku ini :D
Mulai dibaca ketika malam tahun baru di Bandung, selesai pada hari Valentine.
*Hari valentine disini maksudnya versi umum tanggal 14 Feb, bukan versi sesepuh jaduler bernama Tomo yaitu tanggal 13 Feb dengan alasan muhamadiyah biasanya 1 hari lebih cepat*

Tidak seperti Qui yang tanpa ragu memberi 5 bintang, saya bingung ketika akan me-rating buku ini. Sebagian kisahnya terasa b More...

49 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 27, 2011

Adam rated it:

Foucault’s Pendulum is like The Da Vinci Code on steroids. Not the kind of steroids that shrink your nuts, rather some sort of cerebral steroids that just beef everything up. I remember Dan Brown’s book being a non-stop action ride, each chapter ending in a scene that made it impossible not to keep reading. Eco’s book also had moments when I could read 100+ pages in one sitting, but it also had many parts that made me extremely thankful that each chapter was only a couple of pages, making it More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 23, 2010

Teresa rated it:

Back when the craptacular DaVinci Code was all the rage, someone recommended Foucault's Pendulum as an antidote to Dan Brown. Now, years later, I've finally read it, and I have to say that Dan Brown has nothing on Eco. Where Brown dabbles, Eco digs. Where Brown plants little puzzles, Eco builds labyrinths. Where Brown gets taken in, Eco finds the flaws. In a sense, Foucault's Pendulum, written in the late 1980s, is a critique of the very kind of conspiracy-mongering that Brown promulgated years More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 30, 2010

Minakshi rated it:

This is a difficult book to get into and wrap your head around. The complexity of Eco’s work is mind boggling. Thick with historical and literary references, Foucault’s Pendulum is a well-researched distillation of every conspiracy theory – ever – connected in a single story. Being an overly intellectual paranoid conspiracy theorist or Templar fanatic is not a prerequisite for this novel, but it might help when it comes time to slog through hundreds of pages of dialogue attempting to connect cen More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 26, 2010

Vishwas rated it:

This is a very interesting book.. one of a kind! Starts with a Latin phrase and a dramatic, yet scientific description of the Foucault's pendulum. Then, it seems to go back and forth for a bit till the three main personalities are well-established.

After that, the story goes way over your head for a while with monologues where the author describes the Templars, Rosicrucians and other secret societies. Brief respite is provided by lovely dialogues on morons and cretins as well as the n More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Mar 30, 2010

John rated it:

While this book is ostensibly about conspiracies, ancient orders, secret societies, codes, riddles, catacombs and satanic rites it is also about less esoteric themes - obsession, meaning, reality vs. fantasy. Possibly it is an analogy to the dangers of historical revision.

It attacks both modernism and tradition, the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. It derides false authenticity, and yet hints at a diffusionism in which nothing can be authentic. Eco combines scholarly treatises, huma More...

3 comments like (3 people liked it)

Mar 26, 2010

Rowena rated it:

Whew...this was a difficult book to get through. I truly feel bad for the copywriter that had to tackle this synopsis. Here's my attempt: three editors of a devious publishing house devise "The Plan" an attempt at rewriting history in relation to the Templar's plans at world domination. Unfortunately, "The Plan" gets out of hand and becomes entirely too believable and the three editors become targeted by certain suspect international groups.

The very beginning and More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Mar 26, 2010

Quinn rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 26, 2010

Damien rated it:

"Not bad, not bad at all," Diotallevi said. "To arrive at the truth through the painstaking reconstruction of a false text."

I read this book last year, but I liked it so much that I had to include it.

On its face, Foucault's Pendulum is an occult thriller, one amongst a throng of books on the Knights of the Templar, Hitler's researches into the supernatural, and Freemasonry that choke the bookshelves of your standard trashy book stand. But to dismiss Fouca More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 26, 2010

Maurean rated it:

*whew!* Well, after nearly two weeks of struggle, this very morning I have finished the final chapters of this tombe, and unfortunately, I am still struggling with my final thoughts of it.

Publisher's Weekly said that it is ..."Dense, packed with meaning, often startlingly provocative, the novel is a mixture of metaphysical meditation, detective story, computer handbook, introduction to physics and philosophy, historical survey, mathematical puzzle, compendium of religious and c More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 30, 2010

John rated it:

Several cultures, science, centuries of world events and conspiracy theories collide into a whacko's wet dream in Foucault's Pendulum. Three friends play at conspiracy theory, in their hyper-cynical "The Plan" game, and gradually lose themselves in it. Is their invention truer than they knew? Have they stumbled onto great truth? And the greatest question of the novel: can you keep up for five hundred pages of this? Because with a veritable bibliography of sources dropped into the dialo More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 30, 2010

javier rated it:

like catch-22... this is a tough book to get through. I actually can't recall the ending, so i think i'm going to have to read it again.

You can think of it as being dan brown for hardcore readers, rather than the pulp fiction crowd.

you get everything in here, backed up by cold hard fact... that is woven into a delicate story. Knights Templar, Kabalah, Paganism, you name the branch of occultism, and it's in here.

.... okay.... i take that back. You can't think o More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

reviews