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Umberto Eco: Foucault's Pendulum

kasuta

kasuta

New Member
OK I did a quick search and didn't see any threads pertaining to this book, so I apologize if I missed one. I can see why the book is recommended by so many readers of this forum, it's very deep and will take a while for me to chew on some of the themes I found in the book. But I have one, burning, simple question....

Was Aglie the Comte or not? My impression is that he is not, he is just another fool fooling himself into thinking that he is more than he really is. However there are lots of clues and hints in the book to indicate maybe he really is. Sorry if I'm just thickheaded for missing this one.

Incredible book, a must-read. Just slog through the slow beginning until it grabs you by the throat.
 
It is still on hold!! :eek:

Cannot bear it. should read this.

By the way, where is your second quote from, kasuta. Thanks :)
 
My quote is from a hilarious Saturday Night Live skit starring Christopher Walken as a man being interviewed by Tim Meadows, a census-taker.
 
I would leave this one open to interpretation. While the trio laugh off the suggestion there are certainly numerous clues that allude to him being the Comte de Saint-Germain; toward the conclusion it is almost certainly him.

Personally, I'm happy to believe the arguments either way in this situation. Eco is never going to tell us how - or who - he intended Aglie to be.

Fantastic book! :cool:
 
Thank you for your reply Abulafia :) I have another question that I have been pondering in the days since I have finished the book:

Is it possible that the events at the end of the book happened only in the protagonist's mind? The only reason I considered this while I was reading the book is, basically everyone he has come into contact with throughout the book shows up in this secret society, which indicates possible delusion to me. People he has met throughout the world incredibly enough all appear to have been part of the plot. You could argue that some of them sought him out and some were introduced by the infamous Count, but still when he saw the scar-faced man, and the druid priestess, and the guy who worked next door, all of them in the Tres society, I thought for sure it was him slipping further and further into hallucination. Just a thought. If you view the final chapter from the viewpoint of a man who has slipped over the edge of psychosis, I think it's quite possible that his wife was correct, and he invented the whole Tres and Pendulum thing in his head. Thoughts?

Sorry for the mammoth spoiler highlight!
 
Has this book already been discussed to death in another thread or something? I can't find much mention of it on the forums other than as a recommendation but if there is a good thread I would certainly appreciate being pointed that way. Thanks!
 
I was going to say that I don't think it was any sort of delusion but then, if Casaubon dies how does he narrate his story? He certainly hasn't been keeping memoirs - of a sort - the way Belbo did with Abulafia.

It's a nice suggestion. I think that it was real enough. Societies are so secret - so secret that they don't know what the hell they are secret for - that it is no surprise the other people turned up toward the conclusion - everyone's looking for something. Take a walk down any street you want just now; how many can you say for certain are a member of a secret socieity - a Freemason, for example, or something less well known?

His wife (who I see as being Foucault's Pendulum incarnate) was a very clever woman but I don't think he invented the whole thing. (for a good piece of invention see Eco's Baudolino; his most recent novel) The only thing that was invented was the history of the world and people's need for something more (as evidenced even by Belbo et al when there are so much simpler things that should be accepted. As he said, "what was wrong with just believing some guy died on a cross?" - no, everybody thought it couldn't be that simple and he, like Jesus, died for this.

I'm sort of rambling so sorry if I can't properly answer.
 
Read it. I've read all his novels and essays.

Now, you tell me, where did that extra 'C' come from?
 
what did you brush here? :( looked ugly. why not delete if you did not want others to know what you had written down.---- in curious tone.

got this book today, whoa, about 640 pages.
 
watercrystal said:
why not delete if you did not want others to know what you had written down
Click to expand...

Of course we want others to know what we wrote - we're hiding plot details and the denouement from potential readers of the book who would rather find out how it ends by actually reading the text than cheating here. Those who have read and want to discuss can read the spoilers and join in.
 
question to the FP experts:
SPOILER: Why the 600 years? What is the technology that the Templars forsee would take 600 years to appear in order for them to use the Umbilicus Telluris?
 
In my opinion, it's Eco's best. I read it in 2003, I think, and was just amazed at it. The story is long, I wouldn't want to ruin it for you, but consider the following as a plot summary.

Three Milanese intellectuals get a job in a vanity publisher (which deals with esoteric subjects) and can't help laughing at some of the crap that gets sent to them. One day a panicking guy comes to visit them with his manuscript to which we learn about the Knights' Templar and they laugh it off, send him packing. This, incidentally, is a small section of the book which pisses on the whole history in The Da Vinci Code, a book written almost 20 years later). The guy leaves but is soon found dead which leads our three intellectuals to wonder if, indeed, there is something in all this rubbish and they begin to create their own secret history of the world, developed from something found buy the murdered bloke. And they create it and create it and you, as the reader, can't help but marvel at how they reconstruct the whole history of the world. There are, of course, others who would kill for this knowledge.
Click to expand...
 
It's great. All I kept hearing when i started it was how difficult it was and that you needed to have a dictionary handy, but it turns out that was all lies. It was one of the most enjoyable books i have read this year. The plot held my interest, and the writing was able to secure a firm grasp as well. The book went very quickly after I got through the first chapter or so.

The first chapter or two don't make any sense until you have gotten through the book. Then it is suddenly perfectly clear. So, don't give up if it doesn't hook you right away.
 
thank god! i tried to read it and, at the end of the first chapter i put it down to do something and somehow never picked it up again (read: i was bored to tears). i will definitely give it another shot! thanks!
 
I'm currently reading it and yes, it was a great effort to get through the first few chapters. But I'd heard so many good things about Eco that I was determined to get into it and I'm very glad I did. I won't tell you about the plot cause I'm only about 3/4 way through, but it's definately gripping once you get into it. It's also the kind of book which raises your IQ hehe..how does this man .. know .. so much?! :eek:
 
Idril Silmaure said:
It's also the kind of book which raises your IQ hehe..how does this man .. know .. so much?! :eek:
Click to expand...
I better pick up a copy then. Banging my head against the desk is not so good for the IQ...

Thanks for the quick synopsis, Stewart... now the book is on my TBP (to be purchased) list.
 
I finished reading this book not too long ago. I will agree that it was hard at first, I started reading at my usual pace but after a few pages went back and started again. However it certainly holds your interest and makes you think.
 
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