Reviews

Número cero by Umberto Eco

ifnotparis's review against another edition

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1.0

The novel's sole intrigue--a murder--comes 80% of the way through the book. This book is about insane conspiracy theories, and perhaps through a stroke of genius, the idea that this is a good book is in itself an insane conspiracy theory.

pixette's review against another edition

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3.0

I really liked the opening chapter which painted our protagonist as possibly paranoid that someone was out to kill him. The book then jumped back in time to the months leading to this situation. It ended not as strongly as it began. It was short enough but I couldn't really recommend it.

ahmadmtera's review against another edition

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4.0

The book is well written, and the story is interesting. It starts off with Colonna—who graduated from college, but didn't feel like he's done something— complaining about the water tap not working in his house. Braggadocio—who used to work for a previous magazine—let's say, disappeared from the story, and I guess you can figure out how yourself.
The story goes about a team of editors who work on a newspaper called Domani—which means 'Tomorrow' in English—a newspaper that brings the truth to its readers. The newspaper is not supposed to reach the public though.
Vimercate is the one who's in charge of financing the supposed newspaper. His intensions aren't necessary to bring the truth to the public, but would perhaps do so if his plan didn't work. His real intension is to put pressure on politicions and to force them to give him what he wants in accordance to not publish the newspaper to the public.
I like how the book contains many quotes. It ends with Umberto saying "(as Scarlett O'Hara said, another quote, I know, but I've stopped talking myself and have let others take over), tomorrow is another day".
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery. Reading it was lots of fun and I think you'd enjoy it.

sketchugo's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

zahraareads's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

ashfall's review against another edition

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funny mysterious

4.0

jfaberrit's review against another edition

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3.0

This novel(la?) is almost certainly better than its most negative reviews would indicate, but far from Eco's best; I still would have to place Foucault's Pendulum as my favorite novel of all time and one of the ten best. This story, a tale of journalism, conspiracies, and paranoia, is written perfectly well, and has more than a bit of humor throughout, but it simply pales in comparison to Eco's best work. In many ways, it feels like a deleted scene from Foucault's Pendulum, more of a curiosity left behind by a greater work than a fully fledged one in itself. In the end, not great, but not a huge investment of time either, so call it a wash.

humito's review against another edition

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informative tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

jashegerova's review against another edition

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2.0

napísané dobre, hovadina strašná.