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3.29 AVERAGE
3.29 AVERAGE
An interesting review of the historical basis for many of the conspiracy theories I've read about over the years. It's not my favorite Eco book. Definitely not on my list for re-read, but I'm glad I read it. Eco's ability to present volumes of information in a way that doesn't make me feel lost is truly amazing. He continues to be one of my favorite authors.
A late 19th Century, French-Italian amnesiac with exceptional skill in document forgery and a penchant for the continent's finest dining establishments attempts a Freud-like psychoanalysis upon himself via a chronological journal of his life, beginning with his earliest memories and all in hopes of figuring out who he is. As to be expected with Eco, the tumult of emerging European liberal political philosophy against the machinations of secret societies and their bigoted nationalists conspiracies—based on known historical documents—figures prominently in the gradual reveal of the diarist's identity.
This was just a generally amazing book. I need to read more Eco and I need to read it now.
I really enjoyed The Name of the Rose and was hoping for something like it but this fell short for me. It’s still an impressive book that seems like it took a lot of skill to put together, it just wasn’t a “thriller” for me. Plus main character is awful, which is kind of the point but still hard to read some of his ideas. Though like Name of the Rose, I did learn a lot about parts of European history I didn’t know of!
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Not for the faint of heart. I have a stubborn loyalty to Umberto Eco, but you need a really thick shield of literary irony and historical cynicism to tackle this book. I was glad to get to the end.
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Sexual content
I'll be honest, I'm in two minds about this book. It took ages to get into and get my head around who was telling what and what the sequence of events was but once I managed that I did actually start to enjoy it (kind of). It is an interesting tale of conspiracy with our main protagonist suffering from a dilemma of identity, which the reader discovers along with him. In addition to that we have an unknown narrator providing summaries and filling in a few of the gaps left by the protagonist and his alter ego. Eco uses a lot of real events and characters in this work and a knowledge of 19th Century Europe would certainly help or if not just do as I did and don't worry about it and just enjoy the story. Overall not a bad read but one that requires a little more brain power than I expected, still enjoyed it though.