A review by barebookbear
The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco

3.0

(My rating is more a reflection of my enjoyment of the book, and not on whether the book is "good" or not.)

Like much of his writing, I don't have the degrees in European history, religions, politics, etc for this reading to be fully, immensely pleasurable. Ok...it was a chore! But one I'm glad I slugged through. It reads like a psychotically erudite series of call-outs and in-jokes to any reader with a vast expanse of knowledge. "Hey, do you get this reference? COOL!"

Ok, that's a bit snarky on my part. But admittedly, much was lost on me. Unlike his more accessible Name of the Rose, this is a murky collection of historical points and people recalled through the confused mind of an unseemly and untrustworthy Diarist with multiple personality disorder, related by an unknown and equally untrustworthy Narrator. All leading to the creation of one of the more vile texts produced by Man.

If you enjoy political intrigue with more plot points and characters than Zelda Fitzgerald and Mary Todd Lincoln's mood swings combined, this one is for you.