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A review by cattytrona
The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco
3.0
I think this is a good book in a lot of ways. It is very readable, somewhat perversely, given how numbing I also found it. There's interesting meaning to be found in my reaction to it, which was often to be lost in a dizzy daze of names, places and attitudes I either couldn't or didn't want to keep up with: the alienating nature of investigation makes it appealing to accept the easy lie (dnf), or something. But I'm not sure Eco meant for that. He might have, but he also might have meant for me to carefully pick over this, keep up with it all, learn the history.
I did not do that. I found the book compelling, but never appealing, and I remember very few names, dates, plot points, conspiracies, anything much. Also, and this isn't a point against the book (but might be a point against paying any attention to this review) I picked it up because I'm going to Prague soon and I wanted to read something set in Prague. This book is not set in Prague. I'm also not sure if that's supposed to be obvious, like if the title is supposed to generate recollections of a certain other (inter)text, but the contents of anti-semetic conspiracy theories is not a cultural touchstone for me, so it didn't.
I did not do that. I found the book compelling, but never appealing, and I remember very few names, dates, plot points, conspiracies, anything much. Also, and this isn't a point against the book (but might be a point against paying any attention to this review) I picked it up because I'm going to Prague soon and I wanted to read something set in Prague. This book is not set in Prague. I'm also not sure if that's supposed to be obvious, like if the title is supposed to generate recollections of a certain other (inter)text, but the contents of anti-semetic conspiracy theories is not a cultural touchstone for me, so it didn't.