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spoetnik's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Masterpiece, instantly went to my top ten.
Warning: the book is 100 pages plot and the other 500+ is 3 dudes conversing about the history of Western esotericism, mysticism, alchemy, gnosticism, the kabbalah etc, and a sickening amount of "secret societies", like the Knights Templar, Rosicrucianists, Freemasons, the Illuminati etc.
Aside from the insane amount of esoteric lore (which I personally really loved) the book is essentially about the human tendency to attempt to explain that which cannot be explained, often ending up in the creation of overarching conspiracy theories which have become more prevalent since COVID-19. Just look at this quote from Karl Popper Eco adds in chapter 118: "The conspiracy theory of society ... comes from abandoning God and then asking: 'Who is in his place?'".
The book revolves around 3 publishers working at a vanity publisher that voluntarily go down the road of conspiracy theories, creating their own overarching theory which they call "The Plan". Aside from the erudite style of dialogue, the over-saturation of literary referencing and the insanity-inducing prose, the book contains some of the strongest messages I have ever encountered in literature. If you manage to sit through the thing you will NOT forget it any time soon. Definitely re-reading this!!
Warning: the book is 100 pages plot and the other 500+ is 3 dudes conversing about the history of Western esotericism, mysticism, alchemy, gnosticism, the kabbalah etc, and a sickening amount of "secret societies", like the Knights Templar, Rosicrucianists, Freemasons, the Illuminati etc.
Aside from the insane amount of esoteric lore (which I personally really loved) the book is essentially about the human tendency to attempt to explain that which cannot be explained, often ending up in the creation of overarching conspiracy theories which have become more prevalent since COVID-19. Just look at this quote from Karl Popper Eco adds in chapter 118: "The conspiracy theory of society ... comes from abandoning God and then asking: 'Who is in his place?'".
The book revolves around 3 publishers working at a vanity publisher that voluntarily go down the road of conspiracy theories, creating their own overarching theory which they call "The Plan". Aside from the erudite style of dialogue, the over-saturation of literary referencing and the insanity-inducing prose, the book contains some of the strongest messages I have ever encountered in literature. If you manage to sit through the thing you will NOT forget it any time soon. Definitely re-reading this!!
karin_h_p_d's review against another edition
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
alyngee's review against another edition
4.0
Probably the best fictional description of psychogenic aphonia I've ever read.
brookst's review against another edition
5.0
Still great, these many years later.
Eco's brilliance is in placing interesting, introspective characters in the most elaborate traps, often of their own making, and playing out the real person's reaction to surreal events.
The story unfolds methodically, and just like the characters, the reader thinks, ah, what a coincidence. Or maybe what if that other thing happened? But it does; it always does, and with rhythmic precision that the whole world descends on our poor protagonists' heads, with reader and character alike left with nothing but to admire the trap.
Eco's brilliance is in placing interesting, introspective characters in the most elaborate traps, often of their own making, and playing out the real person's reaction to surreal events.
The story unfolds methodically, and just like the characters, the reader thinks, ah, what a coincidence. Or maybe what if that other thing happened? But it does; it always does, and with rhythmic precision that the whole world descends on our poor protagonists' heads, with reader and character alike left with nothing but to admire the trap.
merixcil's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
One thing about Mr Eco - he's gonna send his characters off on a tangent so long you'll worry you've missed the key moment the plot changed wildly.
Ultimately I do think the end of this is worth the huge quantity of info dumped about the Templars, Rosecrucians, Masons etc. though I do suspect the point could have been made with a bit less of that. But again, Umberto Eco
10/10 for bonkers characters though
Ultimately I do think the end of this is worth the huge quantity of info dumped about the Templars, Rosecrucians, Masons etc. though I do suspect the point could have been made with a bit less of that. But again, Umberto Eco
10/10 for bonkers characters though
caterinasforza's review against another edition
5.0
Başlarken çok umudum yoktu açıkçası, başlayıp yarıda bıraktığını söyleyenlerden tutun da sevemedim diyenlere kadar negatif yorum yapan dostların etkisiyle sanırım, çekimserdim ilk sayfalarda.
Okumaya düşüneceklere ilk önerim eseri basılı olarak değil, e kitap şeklinde okumaları yönünde olacak, bu şekilde yaparak kitabın sonunda bulunan "açıklamalar" kısmına gitme çilesinde kurtulabilirsiniz. Zira yoğun şekilde arkadaki açıklamalara ihtiyaç duyacaksınız.
Kitaba dair fikirlerimi yazmadan önce spoiler teşkil etmeyeceğini düşündüğümden gizleme gereği duymadığım alıntılarımı paylaşayım:
#1 Gerçek büyücü, hiçbir şey anlamadan işleri yüzüne gözüne bulaştıran, gözleri korkulu adam değildir. Maddenin gizlerini bulup ortaya çıkaran bilim adamıdır.
#2 Claudicat ingenium, delirat lingua, labat mens... - Zeka bocalar, dil sürçer, zihin tökezler.
#3 Dinin yetersiz kaldığı yerde sanat başlar.
#4 En olmayacak şey, mucizeye en çok benzeyen şeydir.
#5 İn humane dignitatis opprobrium - Insan onurunun utanci
#6 Historia magistra vitae - Tarih yasamin ogretmenidir!
#7 Aptal gibi davranırsan sonsuza dek gizemli olursun.
#8 Suçluluk duygusu dostluğu zehirler.
#9 Bilinçaltı kendi bekçilerini de ısırır.
#10 Işık az ama öyle olması gerekir. Çünkü sezmek görmekten daha iyidir.
#11 Anahtarı olmadan filozofların gül bahçesine girmeye çalışan kişi, ayakları olmadan yürümeye kalkan birine benzer.
Bunlar yer imi koyduğum alıntılardan sadece bazıları... Okuyacağınız bir roman, hem de en sürükleyicisinden, en öğreticisinden...
Öyle akıcı ki, sayfaların nasıl aktığını anlamadı.
Ölmeden önce bu eseri okumazsanız büyük kayıptasınız bence bilin istedim...
Okumaya düşüneceklere ilk önerim eseri basılı olarak değil, e kitap şeklinde okumaları yönünde olacak, bu şekilde yaparak kitabın sonunda bulunan "açıklamalar" kısmına gitme çilesinde kurtulabilirsiniz. Zira yoğun şekilde arkadaki açıklamalara ihtiyaç duyacaksınız.
Kitaba dair fikirlerimi yazmadan önce spoiler teşkil etmeyeceğini düşündüğümden gizleme gereği duymadığım alıntılarımı paylaşayım:
#1 Gerçek büyücü, hiçbir şey anlamadan işleri yüzüne gözüne bulaştıran, gözleri korkulu adam değildir. Maddenin gizlerini bulup ortaya çıkaran bilim adamıdır.
#2 Claudicat ingenium, delirat lingua, labat mens... - Zeka bocalar, dil sürçer, zihin tökezler.
#3 Dinin yetersiz kaldığı yerde sanat başlar.
#4 En olmayacak şey, mucizeye en çok benzeyen şeydir.
#5 İn humane dignitatis opprobrium - Insan onurunun utanci
#6 Historia magistra vitae - Tarih yasamin ogretmenidir!
#7 Aptal gibi davranırsan sonsuza dek gizemli olursun.
#8 Suçluluk duygusu dostluğu zehirler.
#9 Bilinçaltı kendi bekçilerini de ısırır.
#10 Işık az ama öyle olması gerekir. Çünkü sezmek görmekten daha iyidir.
#11 Anahtarı olmadan filozofların gül bahçesine girmeye çalışan kişi, ayakları olmadan yürümeye kalkan birine benzer.
Bunlar yer imi koyduğum alıntılardan sadece bazıları... Okuyacağınız bir roman, hem de en sürükleyicisinden, en öğreticisinden...
Öyle akıcı ki, sayfaların nasıl aktığını anlamadı.
Ölmeden önce bu eseri okumazsanız büyük kayıptasınız bence bilin istedim...
bvzm's review against another edition
3.0
Micro-recensioni per questo e per altri libri in questo post sul mio blog.
Ho letto, per alimentare la mia nota (e probabilmente patologica) passione per i complotti, Sarà vero e Non ce lo dicono di Errico Bonanno, La Q di complotto, di Wu Ming 1 e, dopo averci provato invano quando avevo sedici o diciassette anni, Il pendolo di Focault di Eco. Tutti, a modo loro, mi hanno insegnato qualcosa, e mi hanno confermato nell'idea che il complottismo, in tutte le sue forme, è una questione estremamente seria, estremamente difficile da affrontare ed estremamente pericolosa.
Ho letto, per alimentare la mia nota (e probabilmente patologica) passione per i complotti, Sarà vero e Non ce lo dicono di Errico Bonanno, La Q di complotto, di Wu Ming 1 e, dopo averci provato invano quando avevo sedici o diciassette anni, Il pendolo di Focault di Eco. Tutti, a modo loro, mi hanno insegnato qualcosa, e mi hanno confermato nell'idea che il complottismo, in tutte le sue forme, è una questione estremamente seria, estremamente difficile da affrontare ed estremamente pericolosa.
andrewlawston's review against another edition
5.0
Perhaps the funniest part about this very wry look at conspiracy theorists is that it actually predates all that Dan Brown nonsense. Oh, and the writer of Doctor Who and the Abominable Snowmen gets a namecheck.
jamichalski's review against another edition
4.0
Lately I’ve been slipping into the trap of resemblance, the feeling that everything is somehow the same or at least connected. Dissonantly, it has also seemed (seems) obvious that nothing is the same, or ever could be. This book may have rescued me from the depths of connectedness, returning me to the plateau of knowing-nothing.
What is the meaning of meaning? As I understand it, meaning can only be understood as the connection(s) I create between two things. Anything more than that, and I find too many exceptions to my definition too quickly. There are no inherent meanings, there are only meanings I subjectively assign or accept. From this premise stems the expansive world of connectedness. Why not connect the number 5 with the patterns of traffic? Further, I figured, is not my spontaneous creation of meaning an ongoing force of creativity, and thus beauty?
But there is apparently little art in these raw acts of creation. Creativity is not necessarily artful, beautiful, or even useful. The wrong creativity can produce significant negative externalities on the producer, the people around them, the world around them. Anyone can produce meaning (in fact, everyone DOES produce meaning, constantly), but a lazy, cynical, disordered batch of production is just that, nothing more.
So I appreciated that about this book, very much. Nothing else before this had been able to change my mind on this topic.
But, I think the book lacked in form. Much of the content of the middle sections (like, the 400 middle pages out of 520 total pages) was tedious and tiring. It wasn’t old info, which was nice, but it was just a lot of no-movement, a lot of listing of names and dates and places and texts. This meant that the experience of reading was itself tedious and tiring, at least some of the time.
It also was frustrating to have to spend so much time on Google Translate. I think there were at least 5 or 6 different languages used in this.
Many of the references flew over my head too, especially references to Jewish spirituality. Eco neared that Joyce, Nabokov, Borges territory of intertextual genius.
It was overall a positive experience, but I’ll be taking a break from Eco for a while. I did preemptively buy The Name of the Rose, which I look forward to eventually reading.
What is the meaning of meaning? As I understand it, meaning can only be understood as the connection(s) I create between two things. Anything more than that, and I find too many exceptions to my definition too quickly. There are no inherent meanings, there are only meanings I subjectively assign or accept. From this premise stems the expansive world of connectedness. Why not connect the number 5 with the patterns of traffic? Further, I figured, is not my spontaneous creation of meaning an ongoing force of creativity, and thus beauty?
But there is apparently little art in these raw acts of creation. Creativity is not necessarily artful, beautiful, or even useful. The wrong creativity can produce significant negative externalities on the producer, the people around them, the world around them. Anyone can produce meaning (in fact, everyone DOES produce meaning, constantly), but a lazy, cynical, disordered batch of production is just that, nothing more.
So I appreciated that about this book, very much. Nothing else before this had been able to change my mind on this topic.
But, I think the book lacked in form. Much of the content of the middle sections (like, the 400 middle pages out of 520 total pages) was tedious and tiring. It wasn’t old info, which was nice, but it was just a lot of no-movement, a lot of listing of names and dates and places and texts. This meant that the experience of reading was itself tedious and tiring, at least some of the time.
It also was frustrating to have to spend so much time on Google Translate. I think there were at least 5 or 6 different languages used in this.
Many of the references flew over my head too, especially references to Jewish spirituality. Eco neared that Joyce, Nabokov, Borges territory of intertextual genius.
It was overall a positive experience, but I’ll be taking a break from Eco for a while. I did preemptively buy The Name of the Rose, which I look forward to eventually reading.
mary_bear's review against another edition
5.0
One of the best, funniest and most clever books I have read so far. After a first 50 pages quite difficult to get into, the story and the characters completely sucked me in. I loved the fact that the main character gets caught up in his own scam and you barely see it coming. Mr Eco is a genius.