Posted by Chris on May 09, 1998 at 13:08:33:
In Reply to: On Books posted by Carlos on May 06, 1998 at 10:53:02:
: Thanks for your list. I've read most of those books, but I've never been able to get into Eco. What about his writings do you find interesting?
And what do you and rpcman get out of Emerson? That's who I can't get into.
Not long ago I was really fascinated by medieval mysticism, the Templars and Rosicrucians, alchemy, etc. Not just fascinated (I still find it interesting), but I actually believed that some of it could be for real. This was back when I believed that Joseph Smith had restored secrets from ancient Egypt and Solomon's Temple, so voodoo and astrology didn't seem too far off. Focault's Pendulum was one of the most exciting books I had ever read. I was such a Mr. Buckley (remember Carl Sagan's driver from The Demon Haunted World?) Eco's book seemed to tie it all together into some cosmic consiracy; just the sort of thing that made me a fan of the X-Files for a time. But at the end of FP, I wasn't just disappointed--I was mad. Eco had cheated me. There was no sublime secret, after all. Here I had slogged through a very difficult book (Eco isn't the easiest guy to follow), all the while expecting a "reward" of sorts, and Eco basically ends the book by saying it was all a hoax. I guess I liked FP for its subject and (in retrospect) its theme--I definitely want to read it again now that my views have changed.
The Name of the Rose was different. The theme was clear from the start: science vs. superstition. The first 50 or 100 pages are tough, but once the story gets going it's a good mystery story. Not only does William of Baskerville have to use reason to solve a series of murders, he has to solve murders that nobody else wants solved, or that everyone thinks are already solved (the anitchrist did it, using witches and sinning monks). I would have to say I liked The Name of The Rose for its setting, its story and its theme.