I loved The Name of the Rose--probably mainly because of that fascinating library!--got through Foucault's Pendulum, but didn't enjoy it enough to remember anything about it, and found myself utterly unable to get into The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana. Since then, I have not felt inclined to read anything by him.

Uneven. He is funny and an intellectual treat. Still, he can beat a dead horse like no other. While I usually enjoy reading him, I don't look forward to reading him. Does that make sense?

Ditto. Loved The Name of the Rose, disliked The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana. Not inclined to try any others just yet.

Jane
UK

Quite enjoyed The Name Of The Rose. Got part way through Foucault's Pendulum before I suffered total brainlock brought on by another author who thinks literary art equates to verbosity, obscurity and intellectual mazes. Give me a Barbara Cartland any day over these pretentious,onanistic wafflers.
Larry

Okey Dokey then!
I'm tossin' those Eco books right into my trunk to be donated to the local library sale!!

His books defeat me.

Well, I loved The Name of the Rose. I also quite enjoyed Foucault's Pendulum. I've bought two more of his books -- The Island of the Day Before (or it was something like that) and Baudalino. I couldn't get through either of these books. I haven't tried to read any other of his works although I may pick up the Queen Loana book one of these days. (But I won't pay full price!)

I'd suggest keeping The Name of the Rose and Foucault's Pendulum. The others books ....... Well, they're gathering dust in my basement.

I really don't know why I couldn't get through his other books. The Name of the Rose, I think, had a coherent plot (or plots) which he followed throughout the book. And, in the end, it all made sense -- even his seemingly meandering expositions on everything. Foucault's Pendulum made a bit of sense as well. Ok, it was HARDER to make Foucault's Pendulum make sense but it was a bit of a fun read. His other books, on the other hand, didn't seem to make sense and they weren't fun. It just seemed to me as if he was indulging himself by discoursing on anything that he thought of.

Larry, that's what I mean by beating a dead horse. Foucault's Pendulum was a way too long send up of conspiracy theorists, numerologists, astrologists and the like. He was mocking the verbose, the obscure, and the creators of meaningless intellectual mazes by creating the quintessential verbose, obscure, and meaningless novel.

Well Chris, guess he succeeded beyond his wildest dreams then. Tragedy that a perfectly good tree probably died to produce this unconscionable waste of good paper. Larry

I may give The Name of the Rose a try some day, since it seems to be a general favorite. I saw and enjoyed the movie based on this book, but have never read the book. I had thought not to try any of his novels again, since I don't enjoy feeling stupid and bored, which is how Baudilino and Foucault's Pendulum made me feel.

I loved The Name of the Rose (which I read with the translator's annotations at hand) and have Foucault's Pendulum on my TBR list. I have dipped into some of his other fiction, but not read any of it through. There are several funny pieces in his short essay collection, How to travel with a salmon & other essays, and some thought-provoking stuff in Travels in Hyperreality.
I happen to be translating one of his non-fiction books, which is challenging, but not nearly as much as one of his novels would be. While he writes novels full of all sorts of obscure and bewildering references and connotations, his books on linguistics merely demand a good knowlege of that field.

I have read several of his books and some I am only partway through. The Name of the Rose and Foucaults Pendulum were good I thought. Badalino I started but it got put aside. Travels in Hyperreality I have read about half way through. The others I have but have not read yet.

I dont think he is for everyone but at least try The Name of the Rose, if you can get through that you might like the others too.

Maria

I have read The Name of the Rose and liked it but I have little curiosity about his other books. I always smile at his name because he is nextdoor neighbour to a friend of my husband and me who has a summer house in the small village of Monte Cerignone in Italy where the Ecos live. Our friend is also a writer and in one of her books she thanks her "dear friends" in alphabetical order, beginning with my husband, myself, with Umberto and Liane Eco next (plus many more people). This is as close as I will ever get to this great man! Talk of meeting Lassie...

I enjoyed The Name of the Rose and Foucault's Pendulum.
Baudolino was not as good but I did enjoy it. The Island of the Day Before was just weird. I see that I have his Misreadings on my shelf but if I read it I must have been brain dead because I don't remember anything about it. I like the challenge of his books because there are so many obscure references to other things and I like it when I find them and can smile at them but I always wonder just how much went over my head.

I picked up The Mysterious Flame just last night to tide me over while I wait for my other books to come available. After reading the dismal reviews above, perhaps I should read something else . . . I still need to read Life of Pi . . . maybe I'll do that instead!

I have been interested in his other books, so I think I'll do those first (probably Name of the Rose and then Pendulum). There just isn't enough time in the day!

Yes. Having read his "Name of the Rose," it is one of my favorite books, and I would recommend it for anybody who likes a good historical mystery set in medieval Europe. The only other of his books I have read is "Foucault's Pendulum," and while I did enjoy it, I did not enjoy it as much as his "Name of the Rose," which is my favorite of his books, so far.

I just last week watched the movie The Name of the Rose from beginning to end. (I'd seen only portions of it before.) I really liked it, so I took the book down off the shelf and will probably give it a try soon, especially after so many positive remarks were made here on that one. I'd never even heard of him before coming to RP. I agree with the post above that the library in the abbey was fascinating! I kept thinking of The Dream of Scipio. If memory serves, the two touch on similar themes. (Grrr...the gremlins are still at work, buggering with the formatting!)