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3.29 AVERAGE
3.29 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I don't even know how to review this book. If you go by the writing style only, it is certainly not bad.
Eco is a talented author, no doubt about it.
However, considering the plot, I am more or less at a loss. Most of the time I was wondering if the publisher had put the wrong back blurb on the book! What was made out like one story stretching throughout the book was only slightly touched on at the end, and while of course it did feature the "Protocols of The Elders of Zion", they were little more than a side accessory.
Most of the story was, to be honest, one hateful anti-semitic (which of course was to be expected) and generally misanthropic rant that at some point devolved into a weird-as-fuck satanistic erotica. Don't get me wrong, I could have even liked that, if I had gone into reading knowing such ;)
Saving graces:
- above-mentioned excellent writing style
- the main character's scarily accurate prediction of what his forgeries would evoke in people later on.
- the beautiful illustrations in the German hardcover edition I read
Eco is a talented author, no doubt about it.
However, considering the plot, I am more or less at a loss. Most of the time I was wondering if the publisher had put the wrong back blurb on the book! What was made out like one story stretching throughout the book was only slightly touched on at the end, and while of course it did feature the "Protocols of The Elders of Zion", they were little more than a side accessory.
Most of the story was, to be honest, one hateful anti-semitic (which of course was to be expected) and generally misanthropic rant that at some point devolved into a weird-as-fuck satanistic erotica. Don't get me wrong, I could have even liked that, if I had gone into reading knowing such ;)
Saving graces:
- above-mentioned excellent writing style
- the main character's scarily accurate prediction of what his forgeries would evoke in people later on.
- the beautiful illustrations in the German hardcover edition I read
A dark, surprising, convoluted read in detailed Eco style. I gasped aloud at some of the plot twists, and actually found myself consulting other authors for their opinions on some of the historical content. (Mainly Proust and the Dreyfus affair.)
Read it all at once because there is too much detail to return to it after much time and still grasp what is happening. I even found myself occasionally flipping back through the book to clarify what I thought was contradiction.
Read it all at once because there is too much detail to return to it after much time and still grasp what is happening. I even found myself occasionally flipping back through the book to clarify what I thought was contradiction.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
In the Prague Cemetery, Eco has gathered a small haystack of historical details, lists, and observations and stuffed them into a pillow case of a man named Simonini, an anti-semitic forger, murderer and gourmand. He is a gruesome and comical figure, though it can be difficult at times to see beyond his malevolence to the humor. Conspiracy theory is the theme of Eco's book, which as we now know can be as ridiculous as it is dangerous. The topic is timely in a day and age when the President of the United States will not publicly dismiss QAnon, and who actively promotes and benefits from political fictions and fabrications, but there is only so much substance that can be wrung from the conspiracy phenomenon. Simonini is a shallow figure, despite his complexity and moral confusion. The final result is an intellectual beach book.
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Some interesting historical trivia keep this book from being a total waste of time. Otherwise, it is simply a vehicle for Eco to show how well he has research examples of antisemitism throughout history and how well he can weave countless historical figures into a common plot line. In addition, the book's historical setting could provide an interesting backdrop if Eco didn't assume that his readers knew the causes, personalities, and underlying issues of Italian unification.
I expect an Eco novel to require the reader to do some heavy lifting...no harm, no foul. This novel requires the reader to overcome a visceral and enduring hostility to its main viewpoint character, a man of despicable behavior, belief and attitude. I never really got there, unfortunately. It's socio-political context is interesting, and there's some of the "what is going-on"-ness of "Foucault's Pendulum," which I think is his masterwork, but nowhere near enough to overcome the fact that the reader has to spend all of this time listening to the rantings of a gold-standard anti-Semite.