(translated from
Italian by William Weaver)
But whatever
the rhythm was, luck rewarded us, because, wanting connections, we found
connections – always, everywhere, and between everything. The world exploded
into a whirling network of kinships, where everything pointed to everything
else, everything explained everything else…. ~ narrator Casaubon
Foucault’s
Pendulum is a satirical novel set in 1970s Italy and Paris. An Italian academic
named Casaubon is the narrator, though probably not entirely reliable. The book
satirizes conspiracy theories and secret societies. It opens with Casaubon
hiding in a Paris museum after closing, anticipating the arrival of a secret
society that he believes has captured his friend and colleague Jacopo Belbo.
While Casaubon waits, he recounts the events that led to this climax.
You remember so
much while you wait for hours and hours in the darkness. ~ Casaubon
Casaubon’s
recollections make up the majority of the novel and concern publishing business
interest in secret societies and corresponding research conducted by Casaubon,
Belbo, and another colleague, Diotallevi. Together the three “discover” a plan
to take over the world, though they know it is a farce contrived by forced
connections. The problem is that their work becomes known to some adherents, giving
them renewed conviction and resolve.
I’ll only
mention one of the many other characters, Casaubon’s lover Lia; she was the
voice of reason and nearly saved him.
As a satire, I
suppose it is effective. It is a dizzying compendium of occult actors, secret
societies, and conspiracy theorists – the main groups: Knights Templar,
Freemasons, Rosicrucians, Jesuits, and Baconites. There were many more, plus a
few charlatans and madmen thrown in. All complicit and all connected over the
centuries. Foucault’s Pendulum has been called “the thinking man’s Da Vinci
Code.”
Well I must be
a dunce. I understand that Eco was satirizing, and he does a good job of explaining
how people get caught up in these things – wanting to find “connections” and
therefore seeing them. But for me, the story was just absurd.
There are four
kinds of people in this world: cretins, fools, morons, and lunatics. ~ Belbo
My Rating: 3 out
of 5 Stars
The title
refers to an actual pendulum designed by French physicist Leon Foucault. It
demonstrates the Earth’s rotation. In the novel, it is on display at the Musée
des Arts et Métiers, France. It has a role in “the plan”.
It’s been
nearly three months since I reviewed a novel. I haven’t been slacking, but this
is a long novel, and I wasn’t enjoying it. That always takes me more time. But
more significantly, I’ve been busy. I retired and moved six states away to my
dream retirement home in Michigan. More about that transition HERE.
.