false 10507 39 The most playful of historical novelists, Umberto Eco has absorbed the real lesson of history: that there is no such thing as the absolute truth. In <I>Baudolino</I>, he hands his narrative to an Italian peasant who has managed, through good luck and a clever tongue, to become the adopted son of the Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa, and a minister of his court in the closing years of the 12th century. Baudolino's other gift is for spontaneous but convincing lies, and so his unfolding tale--as recounted in 1204 to a nobleman of Constantinople, while the fires of the Fourth Crusade rage around them--exemplifies the Cretan Liar's Paradox: He can't be believed. Why not, then, make his story as outrageous as possible? In the course of his picaresque tale, Baudolino manages to touch on nearly every major theme, conflict, and boondoggle of the Middle Ages: the Crusades; the troubadours; the legend of the Holy Grail; the rise of the cathedral cities; the position of Jews; the market in relics; the local rivalries that made Italy so vulnerable to outside attack; and the perennial power struggles between the pope and the emperor. With the help of alcohol and a mysterious Moorish concoction called "green honey," Baudolino and his ragtag friends engage in typical scholastic debates of the period, trying to determine the dimensions of Solomon's Temple and the location of the Earthly Paradise. And when the Emperor needs support in his claims for saintly lineage, who but Baudolino can craft the perfect letter of homage from the legendary Prester John, Holy (and wholly fictitious) Christian King of the East? A giddy and exasperating romp, <I>Baudolino</I> will draw you into its labyrinthine inventions and half-truths, even if you know better. <I>--Regina Marler</I> 234717 book 2000 Baudolino total:2097|5:368|4:733|3:686|2:242|1:68| 2097 7382 3132 177 2 1 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 01 21:35:21 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 14 20:50:53 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 23 09:59:46 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 23 10:33:53 -0800 2008
Predictably, t...more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Mar 10 11:35:50 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 11 22:41:32 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Jan 04 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 04 22:28:16 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 04 22:46:41 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sat Jan 12 00:17:12 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 12 00:18:48 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Mon Nov 02 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Oct 11 10:11:35 -0700 2009 Sat Nov 07 11:15:15 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Jan 28 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Dec 28 18:34:50 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 28 18:56:43 -0800 2009


Baudolino


The story of a peasant who rises to power when he's taken under the wing of Frederick Barbarossa, adopted in all but name.

A story full of inextricable ambiguities because Baudolino's special talent is to lie persuasively, and ...more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Oct 29 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 29 20:53:53 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 29 21:17:08 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri May 02 06:35:08 -0700 2008 Tue May 13 11:00:43 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Tue Feb 12 09:03:09 -0800 2008 Tue Feb 12 09:03:09 -0800 2008
As the story ope...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Tue Jan 01 19:41:31 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 02 18:28:18 -0800 2008
It's set in the 12th/early 13th century, and follows Baudolino through his youth and adulth...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Jul 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Dec 19 11:52:09 -0800 2007 Sat Jul 25 14:23:57 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu May 28 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 19 10:09:23 -0700 2008 Thu May 28 11:06:50 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Sep 20 07:17:53 -0700 2007 Thu Jul 10 07:17:03 -0700 2008 more...]]> 1 0 false false Fri Apr 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 30 06:02:44 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 10 06:01:29 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Sep 05 13:57:19 -0700 2008 Tue Nov 04 08:27:08 -0800 2008 The Name of the Rose, so I had high hopes for this book, but it didn't live up to my expectations. It was was just too long, too full of unnecessary detail, and ultimately just too boring. I really had to fight to make myself finish it.

The premise is go...more...]]> 2 0 false false Sat Jun 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 27 08:31:14 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 27 08:31:14 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Wed May 13 12:02:39 -0700 2009 Wed May 13 12:07:08 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed Jul 15 21:05:05 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 16 18:00:11 -0700 2009 brilliant !
Eco is able to create an amazing romance which is mix of adventure, History and Philosophy but you don't have time to think about it while reading just because the narrative is so good that keeps you lost inside this book.
Hard to know what's true and what's fict...more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Tue Oct 21 20:10:04 -0700 2008 Tue Oct 21 20:24:26 -0700 2008 1 more...]]>