From: m.driussi@genie.com
Subject: (urth) Eco's tic
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 98 20:21:00 GMT

Rostrum,

Re: FOUCAULT'S PENDULUM (which incidentally ties in with PEACE by way
of NECRONOMICON).  I know what you mean in saying "we want more
mysteries, not answers," and I know you don't mean to be absolutist
about it--since there =are= limits: if an author keeps providing
mysteries without =satisfying= solutions, that's no good either.

But mainly I want to argue that FOUCAULT'S PENDULUM, which I didn't
like very much (agreeing with you, I'm guessing), is on second glance
rather a lot like THE NAME OF THE ROSE (which I liked better).  They
both in their conclusions involve a destruction of the "fiction"
which has been so carefully built up between the author and the
reader over the course of the novel.

This amounts to a visceral "thumbing of the nose" or sucker punch
from Eco to reader.  Very po-mo.

Or in a different harsh light, one might say it points to a failure
of artistic vision--at the very least, it suggests that Eco is a one
trick pony: the guy can't write an ending; he loses steam and takes
it out on the reader in his frustration.

So, IMHO, ILLUMINATUS! and HOLY BLOOD, HOLY GRAIL and THE CRYING OF
LOT 49 (to name just three works that cover similar territory) are
successful and satisfying where FOUCAULT'S PENDULUM is not; yet these
three works give plenty of answers to the mysteries they pose.

=mantis=

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