machepol's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
2.0
laissezfarrell's review against another edition
2.0
A lighter spin through Eco’s favorite themes and bugaboos.
fclancy93's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
yers's review against another edition
3.0
Lamentablemente este no es uno de los mejores libros de Eco. Es lento, sobre descriptivo, redundante y el personaje principal es simplemente incapaz de inspirar o transmitir nada. Eco reveló en sus ultimas entrevistas que el libro estaba centrado en un grupo de perdedores (estoy de acuerdo), pero al menos la trama pudo haber tenido mas intriga o sustancia. Al leer el libro, se parece mas a una obra bibliografica de historia post-moderna despues de la segunda guerra mundial, que un trabajo de ficción. La historia de un hombre sin futuro o aspiraciones, en sus 50, y con una tendencia melancolica hacia "lo que pudo ser per no fue" resume las primeras 40 paginas del libro. El resto, es solo un marco general en donde se involucran conspiraciones politicas, personajes narcisistas y un final seco y apresurado. No es lo mejor que he leído de Eco.
glittercherry's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
jarichan's review against another edition
4.0
Mein letzer Eco war eine Enttäuschung, weswegen ich mehrere Jahre nichts mehr von ihm gelesen habe. "Nullnummer" hat jedoch für eine Challenge gepasst, also dachte ich mir, könnte ich es doch mal wieder versuchen.
Und dieser Versuch ist gelungen.
Das Buch liest sich ganz anders als andere Ecos. Die Sätze sind kurz, normal fast schon. Ungewohnt, wenn man die Schlangensätze des Autoren gewöhnt ist. Somit liest es sich wirklich gut und flüssig, immer wieder musste ich auf den Umschlag starren, um mich zu vergewissern, dass ich wirklich einen Eco in der Hand hielt.
Inhaltlich jedoch passt es. Teilweise ausufernd landen wir im Sumpf der Verschwörungstheorien und ihren Auswirkungen. Auf nur wenigen Seiten machen wir einen Ausflug in die Automobilbranche, zum Papst, in den Zweiten Weltkrieg, die Moderne etc. etc.
Neugierige Leser (wie ich) werden aus dem Googeln nicht mehr herauskommen. Jetzt weiss ich also dank Umberto Eco, was eine Stay-Behind-Organisation ist. Die nächste Runde Sonntagsmaler kann also kommen.
Und dieser Versuch ist gelungen.
Das Buch liest sich ganz anders als andere Ecos. Die Sätze sind kurz, normal fast schon. Ungewohnt, wenn man die Schlangensätze des Autoren gewöhnt ist. Somit liest es sich wirklich gut und flüssig, immer wieder musste ich auf den Umschlag starren, um mich zu vergewissern, dass ich wirklich einen Eco in der Hand hielt.
Inhaltlich jedoch passt es. Teilweise ausufernd landen wir im Sumpf der Verschwörungstheorien und ihren Auswirkungen. Auf nur wenigen Seiten machen wir einen Ausflug in die Automobilbranche, zum Papst, in den Zweiten Weltkrieg, die Moderne etc. etc.
Neugierige Leser (wie ich) werden aus dem Googeln nicht mehr herauskommen. Jetzt weiss ich also dank Umberto Eco, was eine Stay-Behind-Organisation ist. Die nächste Runde Sonntagsmaler kann also kommen.
rltinha's review against another edition
4.0
Tudo o que é bom na escrita do Umberto Eco está aqui. Mas como, culturalmente, Eco jogava numa divisão tão acima da minha que nunca vislumbrei a dele, não apreendi metade. Quiçá mais.
Do que espreitei vi a crueza irónica sobre estes media que subverteram tudo, tragicamente autofágicos, que nos deram o Brexit e o Trump, que deveriam ser o 4.° poder e são a ossatura invertebrada que vemos arruinar o amanhã. Que serão a nossa única salvação mas tresandam a cicuta.
(A minha gata Maya, por desatenção de outrem, ficou registada como Maia. Depois desta personagem deliciosa, considero-me em paz com a confusão registal)
Do que espreitei vi a crueza irónica sobre estes media que subverteram tudo, tragicamente autofágicos, que nos deram o Brexit e o Trump, que deveriam ser o 4.° poder e são a ossatura invertebrada que vemos arruinar o amanhã. Que serão a nossa única salvação mas tresandam a cicuta.
(A minha gata Maya, por desatenção de outrem, ficou registada como Maia. Depois desta personagem deliciosa, considero-me em paz com a confusão registal)
borumi's review against another edition
2.0
I think this might have been more enjoyable if I knew more about the Italian history and politics. However, I still enjoyed Eco's acerbic yet nonchalant sense of humor. However, I didn't find the intricate depth I found in his previous works and this whole minor work seemed like your small daily dose of a satirical column seen in many op-ed sections of the newspaper, instead of a novel. Maybe that was his intended effect, but I didn't particularly like it that much.
It felt like Eco's writing was reflected in Mussolini's retreat in Argentina or the passive surrendering of Colonna and Maia to the winds of change: I'm too old for this shit and maybe I should just go with the flow. Not a very impressive finale for one of my favorite authors.
It felt like Eco's writing was reflected in Mussolini's retreat in Argentina or the passive surrendering of Colonna and Maia to the winds of change: I'm too old for this shit and maybe I should just go with the flow. Not a very impressive finale for one of my favorite authors.
garrid's review against another edition
5.0
Es un ensayo sobre medios gráficos de comunicación disfrazado de una ficción de intriga, crimen e historia. De lo mejor escrito por Umberto Eco y una impecable traducción se Helena Lozano de Miralles.
jmatkinson1's review against another edition
5.0
English Edition
Colonna is a middle-aged writer who has never really made a success of his life. Dropping out of University he has had a series of failed jobs and relationships and lives in a run down apartment. Approached by a professor he worked under at university Colonna is commissioned to write a book about the launch of a new newspaper, a newspaper that is defined to fail. The money is good and Colonna accepts the job, working as a journalist on the launch issues but knowing that the plug is about to be pulled. Then 'stories' are pulled for no good reason and the journalists are asked to produce investigations to order. One, Braggadocio, exposes a set of complex conspiracy theories about the supposed death of Mussolini and the involvement of the Vatican and the Mafia. Then Braggadocio is murdered...
I am a big fan of Eco's writing but he is not the most straightforward or direct to read. In a previous book, Foucalt's Pendulum, the reader was lured into a complex plot which involved a conspiracy theory. Or did it? I really loved the development of paranoia and interpretation in that story. However it was a real doorstop of a book. This is completely different.
Eco picks up that idea about crucial events in history being the subject of a huge cover up and that a small group of people discover the truth but he places it in the paranoid Italy of the early 1990s. The book is short, very tight and an exhilarating read.
Colonna is a middle-aged writer who has never really made a success of his life. Dropping out of University he has had a series of failed jobs and relationships and lives in a run down apartment. Approached by a professor he worked under at university Colonna is commissioned to write a book about the launch of a new newspaper, a newspaper that is defined to fail. The money is good and Colonna accepts the job, working as a journalist on the launch issues but knowing that the plug is about to be pulled. Then 'stories' are pulled for no good reason and the journalists are asked to produce investigations to order. One, Braggadocio, exposes a set of complex conspiracy theories about the supposed death of Mussolini and the involvement of the Vatican and the Mafia. Then Braggadocio is murdered...
I am a big fan of Eco's writing but he is not the most straightforward or direct to read. In a previous book, Foucalt's Pendulum, the reader was lured into a complex plot which involved a conspiracy theory. Or did it? I really loved the development of paranoia and interpretation in that story. However it was a real doorstop of a book. This is completely different.
Eco picks up that idea about crucial events in history being the subject of a huge cover up and that a small group of people discover the truth but he places it in the paranoid Italy of the early 1990s. The book is short, very tight and an exhilarating read.