Eco, am I missing something?

[JohannGE]

I am trying and failing to read Umberto Eco. This time The Island of the Day Before. I usually enjoy nautical tales and Eco's reputation keeps drawing me back for another go.

I am finding it impossible to read. There is no doubting the intellectual ability and broad knowlege of the author but I find the narrative gets lost in the mass of florid words.

Would anyone recommend me to persevere?

[JohannGE]

I will give up then... too many good books, too little time.

[MarxSchmarx]

Try "The Name of the Rose". It is a real page turner and has also been made into an awesome movie.

[Random Precision]

Try "The Name of the Rose". It is a real page turner and has also been made into an awesome movie.

That movie was the furthest thing from "awesome" that I'm aware of. Completely leaving aside why in the hell they thought Sean Connery could be Brother William, it shredded the philosophical underpinnings and the historical background that made the book so interesting, and made a fairly minor part of the book (the sexual encounter between Adso and the peasant girl) into a main storyline. They even made a dramatic ending out of it where she gets saved from the pyre- violating its claims of historical accuracy and faithfulness to the novel in one blow. :cursing:

The book is one of my absolute favorites, so I'm still angry about the movie years after watching it.

As for the OP I too found The Island of the Day Before to be a complete waste of time, and quit before page 50. If you haven't yet, Foucault's Pendulum is quite rewarding and Baudolino, while slightly unfocused, is well worth a read.

[fabiansocialist]

That movie was the furthest thing from "awesome" that I'm aware of. Completely leaving aside why in the hell they thought Sean Connery could be Brother William, it shredded the philosophical underpinnings and the historical background that made the book so interesting, and made a fairly minor part of the book (the sexual encounter between Adso and the peasant girl) into a main storyline. They even made a dramatic ending out of it where she gets saved from the pyre- violating its claims of historical accuracy and faithfulness to the novel in one blow. :cursing:

The book is one of my absolute favorites, so I'm still angry about the movie years after watching it.

As for the OP I too found The Island of the Day Before to be a complete waste of time, and quit before page 50. If you haven't yet, Foucault's Pendulum is quite rewarding and Baudolino, while slightly unfocused, is well worth a read.

You're coming down too hard on the film: sure, some of the history and philosophy is lost but quite a lot does survive -- for example, semiotics (understanding things on the basis of clues) -- something very dear to Eco's heart.

Foucault's Pendulum is denser with ideas and a more demanding read. Don't care that much for any Eco book other than Foucault's Pendulum and The Name of the Rose.

[MarxSchmarx]

That movie was the furthest thing from "awesome" that I'm aware of. Completely leaving aside why in the hell they thought Sean Connery could be Brother William, it shredded the philosophical underpinnings and the historical background that made the book so interesting, and made a fairly minor part of the book (the sexual encounter between Adso and the peasant girl) into a main storyline. They even made a dramatic ending out of it where she gets saved from the pyre- violating its claims of historical accuracy and faithfulness to the novel in one blow. http://www.revleft.com/vb/../revleft/smilies2/cursing.gif

The book is one of my absolute favorites, so I'm still angry about the movie years after watching it.

Touche, I saw the movie b4 reading the book and was sufficiently impressed by the movie to be motivated to read the book. But yeah I agree the book was better.

[JohannGE]

Try "The Name of the Rose". It is a real page turner and has also been made into an awesome movie.

I have seen the film, good but not my usual taste.

As for reading... since our recent discussion (?), I have gone back to Capital - Ch 1 Commodities. Seriously! I always found it one of the most difficult chapters but I still don't think I got it that wrong, need to check. :)

Eco's The Island of the Day Before in paperback available to the first pm with an address and a promise of a couple of quid to a good cause.

[JohannGE]

As for the OP I too found The Island of the Day Before to be a complete waste of time, and quit before page 50. If you haven't yet, Foucault's Pendulum is quite rewarding and Baudolino, while slightly unfocused, is well worth a read.


About the same for me. I can tell it's clever but get the impression it's clever for the sake of being so. Not good in books or people imo. Lovely artwork on the cover though. :)

I enjoyed the parts on the ship but lost it in the biographical memoirs. Perhaps of more interest for someone with a grasp of Spanish medieval history. My knowledge in that area starts and ends with Don Quixote, my favourite comedy novel of all.

I will look out for Foucault's Pendulum.

Thanks all.

[brigadista]

foucalts pendulum was a hard read but nowhere as turgid as anything by salman rushdie who i reccomend if you can't sleep.....