Reading Foucault's Pendulum

November 17, 2020 12:21 PM

Hi, AskMe. I've started reading through Foucault's Pendulum, largely on a lark, as I have little exposure to the subject matter outside of the horror stories of Dan Brown. I was wondering if anyone had tips or advice to offer as I dive in.

I've read works which were a little linguistically dense before, the Aubrey-Maturin sequence and Ulysses come to mind, but the Pendulum thus far seems to operate in a different register. I'm wondering how much I'm expected to understand or can afford to let slide by me, much as I've gotten used to ignoring the technical descriptions of tall ships and the like.

I was bemused/amused to read what seems to be a working BASIC program at one point thus far, and my ears glazed over at the 720 anagrams of YWHW (I'm reading the book in audio format, which is perhaps not ideal but here we are.)

Any advice would be very much appreciated. :)

posted by Alensin to Writing & Language (20 answers total)

Okay, in my wheelhouse - studied medieval/renaissance lit and critical theory in the early 90s

Have you read The Name of the Rose?

Have you read any critical theory from the 80s? EG Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, and friends?

Have you read any Jorge Luis Borges?

It is helpful.

The story is good entirely on its own. I promise.

The audiobook format is a hinderance, perhaps, but I'm hesitant to say that definitively. Some works gain depth in that format. (See/Hear: Heart of Darkness)

But there are things happening here that really deepen with the ability to see how things are depicted *as texts*.

One piece of advice: everything that seems important needs your most critical attention. No matter what your assessment, you will be rewarded.

If I could spend a night in any literary bar, it would be in Eco's Pilade's...
posted by Caxton1476 at 12:42 PM on November 17, 2020 [8 favorites]

My mom kept several dictionaries, including one for Latin, close by when reading it. I personally just let it all wash over me, and didn't worry too much about getting every reference.

I preferred The Name of the Rose (more accessible!) but I'm not sure I would have the patience to reread either at this point in my life.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 12:56 PM on November 17, 2020 [1 favorite]

The first half of it was something I had to push through. I read the second half in one sitting.
posted by mhoye at 1:00 PM on November 17, 2020 [4 favorites]

I read it without reference material and really enjoyed it, more than expected. It certainly seemed easier than Ulysses! I think the audiobook format is probably really problematic with this work- both because it’s easier to get the gist of a dense section visually, and because, similar to lots of dense works, it’s written with deliberate reference to its appearance as a printed work in mind.

Also, The Name of the Rose +1
posted by q*ben at 1:04 PM on November 17, 2020 [3 favorites]

In my experience, first reading it in my late teens, it's pretty enjoyable even if you aren't super-into hermetic philosophy. The important bits of history (e.g. the trial of the Templars, the various accusations/denials/confessions aroundabout the time Rosicrucianism was becoming a thing) are pretty explicitly shared in approachable, down-to-earth dialogue between the characters in the story. Yeah, occasionally someone will drop an unelucidated reference into some bit of Kabbalistic esoterica or whatnot which everyone in the story knows about and you know nothing of, but it's never, AFAICT, something which would make or break the book; if you dig the book's style, you'll enjoy it even if you don't get every last reference.
posted by jackbishop at 1:06 PM on November 17, 2020 [2 favorites]

ears glazed over at the 720 anagrams of YWHW

Heh, they actually replicated that verbatim in the audiobook? I would have thought they'd find a rephrasing to work around it.
posted by jackbishop at 1:07 PM on November 17, 2020 [2 favorites]

Eco and Pynchon both affect me the same way when I'm really in a groove reading them. They seem to encourage my mind to lift from the page and wander in interesting ways. Once I realize it's happening (and realize that it's not an urge to stop reading, just, perhaps, a way to deal with the density on the page) I let it happen, and find that I can process and enjoy the reading experience itself all the more.
I wish there were more writers who made this happen for me.
It's been years since I've read FP, but I found myself concentrating harder later in the book, rather than trying to absorb it all in the beginning, and it worked for me.
posted by OHenryPacey at 1:08 PM on November 17, 2020 [1 favorite]

I've read it twice, and each time I just let it wash over me with zero knowledge of critical theory, Rosicrucianism or Borges, whom I read at university and failed to 'get' (I got the Borges references in The Name of the Rose but not so much in Foucault's Pendulum). I would recommend an approach that doesn't focus too much on reading the book in the right way and just... reading it like it's any old book. I don't know how well this would work with the audiobook as I have limited experience of audiobooks. It's really just an enjoyable, exciting story when you get into it.
posted by unicorn chaser at 1:26 PM on November 17, 2020 [2 favorites]

To learn if you like Eco’s books, start with Name Of The Rose.

If you like it, there's a very good chance Foucault's Pendulum is worth your time.

No spoilers: By 1/3rd into F’s P the author pretty much explicitly states the premise of the book. At around halfway or 2/3rds in the reader is on a meta-premise rollercoaster.

F’s P was formative for me, and taught me lifelong scepticism. And for me it also has largely been the case that the premise is true in real life. YMMV.

(Caveats: I still reread NOTR for fun, last read F’s P decades ago for only the 2nd time. And up until a decade ago I recommended some of Robert A. Heinlein’s novels, and very much don't do that any more.)
posted by lothar at 2:06 PM on November 17, 2020 [2 favorites]

I read Foucault's Pendulum in my early 20s without any of the theory background. The beginning was a slog, but I didn't take notes or look anything up, just kept swimming. Eventually, the book picked up and it felt like I was being swept into the latter half with much left effort. I think it might have been a combination of getting my mind into the setting more and also the content coming together over time.

For what it's worth, I later tried to read Name of the Rose and bounced off it.
posted by past unusual at 2:12 PM on November 17, 2020 [1 favorite]

I much preferred Foucault's Pendulum to Name of the Rose, so I wouldn't say enjoying or not enjoying one definitely means you'll like or not like the other. I do, however, suspect FP is a better book to read than to listen to because if something does make you go "hmm. now what was that again?" it's easier to flip back a few pages or a few chapters than it is to call up the relevant portion of the audio file again. That action can actually be part of the fun, active reading experience.
posted by sardonyx at 2:32 PM on November 17, 2020

I read this sort of book like I kayak across a big river* - sometimes I dig deep, sometimes I am carried on the current, sometimes I get to the rocky bottom and sometimes it's just mud down there. I read Foucault's Pendulum before I dove into critical theory in grad school. While I enjoyed the book I would suggest a brief overview of some of the ideas suggested up thread would help immensely in keeping your bearing reading it. Reviews are also useful.


*I just previewed and saw past unusual's swimming - which implies sustained effort, while a boat can just take you along.
posted by zenon at 2:35 PM on November 17, 2020 [2 favorites]

Reading the above comments I'm realizing that I was probably prepared for this book by being familiar with a lot of Borges' short fiction. YMMV but I found his short stories to be extremely enjoyable and fairly accessible, and he has a way of including some lightweight exposition in the middle of a story that prevents too much extra research. A lot of the ephemera is shared between Borges and Eco's fiction, which can be helpful.
posted by q*ben at 3:27 PM on November 17, 2020 [1 favorite]

I agree with everyone, in the first half he throws a pile of random ideas at the reader, in the latter half he gets down and deals with things.

(If you like this kinda thing, there's also his novel Baudolino, which is a weird Medieval yarn about a quest in search of the mythical Prester John).
posted by ovvl at 3:36 PM on November 17, 2020

Response by poster: Hey all,

Thanks for the advice. I believe I started the Name of the Rose at least fifteen years ago, probably longer, but don't remember anything distinct about it. Someone first mentioned Eco to me as a kid but I have since lost touch with that person, sad to say.

I'm enjoying the trip through Foucault so far, it seems a little easier now that I'm around chapter 12 or so. I appreciate all the suggestions, and will definitely look into them as interest allows.
posted by Alensin at 4:10 PM on November 17, 2020

My own experience was to read Foucault's Pendulum once then immediately read through it again. Eco throws a lot of stuff at you as the story progresses, but after my first read-through, I realized that he was deliberately trying to bury me under a load of detail that, ultimately, means nothing whatsoever. That's sort of his point: a theory or idea doesn't obtain meaning or "truth" just because it's complex or detailed. Consider QAnon, where familiarity with all the red strings and hidden symbolism somehow conveys "expertise," even if details lead nowhere.

The second read-through was much more enjoyable, once I understood what Eco was trying to tell me.
posted by SPrintF at 4:57 PM on November 17, 2020 [3 favorites]

I read it when it was first published (I was in 6/7th grade or so) and liked it, so I think it's fine to let it wash over you for the most part and just look up stuff you're actually interested in knowing more about.
posted by juv3nal at 7:20 PM on November 17, 2020

Response by poster: I just decided to grab the book in Braille, which is the closest I'm able to come to reading it as it was meant to be read. i was amused and befuddled to see that the Hebrew (?) inscription at the front of the book was transcribed, without any prefatory notes to warn that, hey, this is probably best read right to left. I know nothing about Hebrew Braille, so it was nonsensical to me, but I'd guess few people would, so I'm not missing much meaning, per se.
posted by Alensin at 7:34 PM on November 17, 2020

Response by poster: Looking up Hebrew Braille apparently is meant to be read left-to-right. So it's still cool, albeit marginally less so :)
posted by Alensin at 7:38 PM on November 17, 2020 [1 favorite]

Came here to also compare with Pynchon, and perhaps Butor. I read FP and those authors as quickly as possible, letting everything wash over me, missing stuff probably, but all where some of my favorites experiences ever. Hope you enjoy FP.
posted by anzen-dai-ichi at 7:46 AM on November 18, 2020