The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group discussion

Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco received the second most votes for the Jun / Jul 2015 Group Read along with another book. Both will have a thread set up. Enjoy reading this selection. Nicolas nominated this book and will lead the discussion.

Oh! Now this one I can contribute to :D

A stunning novel -- I'm planning to join in here and there as well.

Hi Nancy!!!!!

Hi Skye ! Good to be back.

:)
This novel looks good, but convoluted.

Definitely convoluted, but well worth every minute of reading time.

I have heard of this novel, but never really knew what it was about; heavy reading, I daresay.

I have started reading the novel and i believe that although it requires some background reading it is worth the effort

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by background reading, Nicolas. It seems pretty self contained to me.

Well what I mean is that i think that the novel can be better understood if you have some basic knowledge of some topics that Eco references in all the text such as the templars the 10 sephirot, the assasains and other similar secret groups.

I would say it is not neccesary to know all this info thoroughly, but it would enrich the experience.

Well, in the meantime, we can cross those bridges when we come to them. Right now, the important thing is that we start reading.

I'll post here what I posted in another thread. If you're a Templar nerd like me, or like esoterica, it helps to enjoy this novel. However, even if you're not, it's an incredible story, which certainly stimulates the brain. I hope you guys enjoy it! I'm looking forward to discussing it here with you!

Halfway through. I'd forgotten how very good this is!

Started reading this book earlier today. So far I've been finding it absorbing and challenging.

I think it works very well as a sort of "granddaddy of all conspiracy novels" type thing. It does take quite a while to get to the meat of the story (if you're focusing on the crimes, leaving aside the philosophical bent). I'm reading it again thinking how gullible people can be while really wanting to see some sort of underlying order to such randomness -- hence all of these random things (for instance numerology, the more esoteric lore surrounding the Templars, etc.) that in their minds when put together have some vast, underlying meaning. But I think that Eco is trying to tell us that while some people may devote their lives to searching for elements coming together as one underlying truth , it's folly to look for it because it doesn't exist.

Obviously, the bad guys in this book think otherwise.

It also really highlights the idea of "if it's at all believable, it can be real." But in whose reality?

Good points, Nancy, and since I'm not reading this, I am trying to make some sense of what you're saying. It seems as if you are making a 'Naturalistic' comment to the theme.

It's really a novel you have to read to understand. One of his main themes in this book is knowledge.

Nancy wrote: "It also really highlights the idea of "if it's at all believable, it can be real." But in whose reality?"
Now that is existential.
That I understand; sometimes it's difficult to capture ambience unless you are aware. I have researched this on neutral sites, and it sounds worth the effort ( back burner of course.). Enjoy, enjoy/

To anyone who's reading: I am having a blast with this book. The work of the self-financed authors on the occult that the main characters are pillaging are cracking me up.

Example
272: "Here's a book about gnomes, undines, salamanders, elves, sulphur, fairies, but it too, brings in the origins of Aryan civilization. The SS, apparently, are descended from the Seven Dwarfs.."

273: " A book on Christopher Columbus: it analyzes his signature and finds in it a reference to the pyramids. Columbus's real aim was to reconstruct the Temple of Jerusalem, since he was grand master of the Templars-in-exile. Being a Portuguese Jew and therefore an expert cabalist, he used talismanic spells to calm storms and overcome scurvy."

Oh! Further down on 273 - a review of Fortian sciences! You have to google Charles Fort when you get there -- you'll laugh.

Skye wrote: "Nancy wrote: "It also really highlights the idea of "if it's at all believable, it can be real." But in whose reality?"
Now that is existential.
That I understand; sometimes it's difficult to captu..."

It's a kind of spoofing of all of these crazy theories - but for a serious purpose. And then of course, the people who are willing to kill to obtain these "secrets."

I really need to make this a priority; someone else reading this in this group is blogging about it on her site, too, and I am simply fascinated.

Some of the comments remind me of the Opus Dei time frame related in another novel...I didn't read.

Opus Dei is in there, too -- but peripherally.

Skye wrote: "I really need to make this a priority; someone else reading this in this group is blogging about it on her site, too, and I am simply fascinated."

Skye, you've gotta read it so we can chat about it!!! :)

Skye wrote: "Some of the comments remind me of the Opus Dei time frame related in another novel...I didn't read."

I did read the other novel. Will be fun for me to "compare and contrast" ;-)

I just finished FC and loved it. I agree, it can be very funny at times and I think eco uses this resource to make his critique to the search of meaning even more thorough and ejoyable. But more than referring to the existence of a certain truth in a specific reality I think that the point of Eco is that the certainty that we have in our own perception of the truth may lead us to assume unveridical things and thus everything that may appear to be truthful or merely with sense should still be questioned to verify Its validity.

I'm not so sure I agree with you there, Nicolas. For example, the SFAs have written their books basing their "theories" on what they see as the truth -- and in their minds, what they've discovered is verifiable once you link together certain "facts."

It's all about perception.

Portia wrote: "Skye wrote: "Some of the comments remind me of the Opus Dei time frame related in another novel...I didn't read."

I did read the other novel. Will be fun for me to "compare and contrast" ;-)"

Not even close.

I read this some years ago and enjoyed it, though I recall thinking "what else?" as I went through it. Dan Brown on steroids!

Well, sort of but not really. It's way more intense -- and his focus on the power of information is what makes this book work so well.

641 pages of small type.
Then I started to read.
THIS IS MY KINDA BOOK!

up to Chapter 58, but today I'm dedicating my time to nothing reading but this novel. I'm leaving on the 9th and I'm not lugging this behemoth with me.

This book (and the absurdities of "The Plan" ) is absolutely making me laugh. You have to love Eco here.

Aside from an earlier joke re Meyrink's The Golem', now I find this little gem on page 430: "One of the members of the Observance, the landgrave of Hesse, summoned the Comte de Saint-Germain, believing this gentleman could produce gold for him. And why not? In those days the whims of the mighty had to be indulged. But the landgrave also believed himself to be Saint Peter. I assure you, gentlemen: once, when Lavater was the landgrave's guest, he had a dreadful time with the Duchess of Devonshire, who thought she was Mary Magdalene."

Nicolas wrote: "I just finished FC and loved it. I agree, it can be very funny at times and I think eco uses this resource to make his critique to the search of meaning even more thorough and ejoyable. But more th..."

Another thing: The closer I get to the ending, the more I've come to believe that one of the key concepts in this book lies in the function of the computer, Abulafia, and in the Pendulum itself.

I've finished -- a totally different read the second time through. Now my brain needs a rest.

You don't need a PhD in western civilization to get thru this, but it helps!

I don't necessarily think that's true. And when you get stuck, there's always the Internet. I had my iPad at the ready whenever I opened this novel. And let's not forget -- much of what's in here isn't real.

Did you all quit reading this book?

I haven't started yet -- holiday and other books. Do you think the reading time should be extended? I'm still planning to start soon.

the threads never close, Portia. Take your time.

Okay :-)

I'm glad that it appears that you all found this book as intriguing as I did. I reread FP recently and got more out of it the second time around. Of course, the first time I read it, I was about 22 years old :-P

If you guys have recommendations for similar types of books, I would appreciate it! Thanks!

Haven't finished yet but going on a trip with lotsa flying time. If y'all recommend, I'll read it TWICE!

Leslie wrote: "Haven't finished yet but going on a trip with lotsa flying time. If y'all recommend, I'll read it TWICE!"

You are brave. I read it twice, got way more out of it the second time around, but I don't know that I could read it again so soon.

Foucault’s Pendulum, by Umberto Eco
At its core this is a mystery/suspense novel. An interesting premise intriguingly developed by a master storyteller. Putting the storyline aside one has to wonder just what Eco is doing. The degree to which he has woven a catalog of religious institutions, secret societies, and cults into the narrative must have a purpose beyond a mere display of his academic prowess.
What is it that compels people to join these organizations, adhere to their tenets, and in some cases engage in violent behavior for the sake of their beliefs? I can think of only one reason: to “touch the face of God,” - to feel and understand the universal connections between all things.
After all the inquiry and discovery by the central protagonists in the novel there is no breakthrough in this conscious or unconscious quest. Before one concludes that Eco is telling the reader that the ‘seeking’ is futile, I would suggest a re-reading of chapters 119 and 120 where Jacobo Belbo’s never ending note flowing from his trumpet connects him to the universe.
There is no need to seek the revelation. The trick is to recognize it at the moment when it occurs.
“You spend your life seeking the Opportunity, without realizing that the decisive moment, the moment that justifies birth and death, has already passed. It will not return, but it was – full, dazzling, generous as every revelation.”
I have not spoken to Eco to ask his intent, therefore my opinion is baseless.

'What is it that compels people to join these organizations, adhere to their tenets, and in some cases engage in violent behavior for the sake of their beliefs? I can think of only one reason: to “touch the face of God,” - to feel and understand the universal connections between all things.'

That's definitely one way to look at it. The other comes from understanding Eco's ideas about semiotics.

I LOVE the mystery novel hidden in this book, absolutely. But more to the point, he writes in his On Literature

"Recognizing that our history has been shaped by many stories that we now regard as false must make us cautious, ... and always ready to call into question the very stories that we now hold as true, since the criterion of wisdom of the community is based on constant wariness about the fallibility of our knowledge.”