Foucault's Pendulum

Jan 30, 2006 15:24

But the fact is that it doesn't take long for the experience of the Numinous to unhinge the mind.

This weekend, I finished re-reading Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum. Re-reading as I didn't have the patience to read it through the first time. I'm glad I tried again.

Parts of the book are absolutely enchanting. Even translated from Italian, Eco masterfully describes the tangible and elaborates the conceptual in a way that amazes and enthralls. Other parts of the book make my head spin, drowning in the myriad connections and details woven together from within the text and from external historical sources. Eco's specialty in semiotics shines through on almost every page.

I've heard this book called "The thinking person's The Da Vinci Code," even though it was written years before. My best description of it would be a "mind-trip." Not in a Gibson-esque way, better. Definitely recommended for the hardcore geeks on my f-list.

eco, book

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