Anyone else had trouble getting through this book? I generally

I kinda compare it to The Crying of Lot 49 but really long. If you are not getting the paranoia and the ways in which the plot slowly works itself on seemingly random everyday events like suspicious last names, random occult references, secret rituals

>>9906914
Somewhat, yes, but it's still largely made of historical digressions and anecdotes about Belbo's childhood

>>9906914
The first time I tried I stopped about 100 pages in.
The next time I finished it. The ending is really great. Keep at it. Let all the historical stuff you don't understand just wash over you, don't sweat the small stuff.

>>9906928
But that's part of the thing. I'm halfway through the book and the only hint of paranoia I've observed was during the first pages (hiding in the museu, breaking into Belbo's apartment) and the situation with Ardentti.

>>9906933
I'm literally reading these long winded passages about Belbo's childhood and his hometown. It feels immensely out of place.

Thats not the kind of paranoia it intends to foster. It is not the implied threat to your or the protagonists well being but the implication that the occult knowledge that our protagonists mock is literally everywhere and apparently influencing mankind politics, the past, history. It is necessary to GET the occult references everywhere, from the templars to John Dee to The kabbalah to become properly paranoid. The trystero was also not of any apparent threat to Oedipa but it was everywhere. The Crying of lot 49 is more effective because the conspiracy is made up so you dont actually need to be familiarized with them beforehand and since it is ade up the book spends more time explaining it to you, although it is heavily influenced by some real life conspiracies that some tinfoil hat people actually believe but in Foucaults pendulum the conspiracies and occult groups are real, not real conspiracies of course but real people that think these things are real.

Now the book begins to show you all the phenomena, historical landmarks, and misterious stories that make them believe this stories are real and subtly begins to suggest that the characters are being affected by these conspiracies. Like unknowingly meeting with Rakozkys descendants or the suggestion that Aglie may be the actual Count of St. Germain or that there are actually occult meetings in Paris sewers. Now of course to become properly paranoid you must actually get these references when they appear. The paranoia is pretty much lost if you know next to nothing about occult philosophies for tinfoil hat people, because it never bothers to explain to you all the myths behing the paris catacombs, the weird stories behind the rotas square mysteries, the stories associated with the historical john dee or the historical cagliostro or st germain. Its also the protagonists slow realization that he is no longer living in his world but in THEIR world, whoever they may be, that drives the paranoid ambiance that i loved about that book.

>>9906914
> Anyone else had trouble getting through this book?
The middle 200 pages were a little dry for me, though not necessarily "hard to get through". I will admit, though, that I may be an atypical case since I was starting to get into conspiracies (ironically) right before FP. I recognized pieces of many of the theories Eco was throwing out and it was cool to see them "synthesized" into an attempt at an overarching superconspiracy. The way I interpreted some of the drier passages was Eco attempting to prompt the reader to make their own connections and get into a little theorizing of their own. Eco wants to you experience a little apophenia as you try to assemble all the information you're given, the overwhelming flood of information also makes it harder to just reject every single fact thrown at you.

>Does it get better
FP is usually my go-to when talking about books that are "redeemed" by their ending. Although I don't think the ending necessarily justifies the entire length (500 pages would have been good), the last 100 pages are really great and worth sticking around for. I'd encourage you to push to the end.

>>9906914

That part where the girlfriend (or wife, don't remember) explains the mystical conexions of the numbers and the light and darkness and a lot more things in layman and comprehensible and human terms is fucking beautiful.

reading is for queers die you fuciing bookfags

>>9906914
No one loves Umberto Eco. He is a stuck up bitch.

>>9907056
damn

I remember giving up reading this years ago, but I didn't realize this. Any recommendations for texts that could introduce me to those "occult philosophies for tinfoil hat people" 'cuz that's interesting in and of itself? I generally stick to non-fiction these days anyhow.

File: 51qIC5IW6ML._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg (56KB, 333x499px) Image search: [Google]

56KB, 333x499px

>>9908669
>Any recommendations for texts that could introduce me to those "occult philosophies for tinfoil hat people"
I believe this is what you are looking for.

>>9908736
thanks, buddy. this looks great