Foucault’s Pendulum
Foucault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I think this book was masterfully written. I found it to be challenging to read because it was a translation, from Italian I believe. With the translation to English the author left chunks in French, Spanish, Italian and German scattered sporadically through out the book. It just made it a little more difficult because I had to go back and reread sections to make sure I understood what I was reading, and that pulled me out of the story from time to time.
The author included a ton of historical detail in the book, which shows he took the time to do some serious research on the subject or he is an avid fan of the subject matter himself. There were times when the detail that was included slowed down the pace of the story, throwing off my rhythm and nearly causing me to stop reading.
I liked that the interesting direction Eco took in telling this Templar/secret society story, very creative. The only reason I knocked off a star from my review is because I wasn’t personally satisfied with the ending. There were story lines that I wanted resolution to and at chapter 117 with less than 50 pages to go I knew they wouldn’t be.
All in all Foucault’s Pendulum was a really good piece of literature, and if you are looking for a challenging read I highly recommend it.
