[tramadoldiscountes]

There are four kinds of people in this world: cretins, fools, morons, and lunatics. The lunatic is all id?e fixe, and whatever he comes across confirms his lunacy. You can tell him by the liberties he takes with common sense, by his flashes of inspiration, and by the fact that sooner or later he brings up the Templars. I consider Foucault's Pendulum Eco's best book by far. I re-read it two years ago and loved it even more the second time around; it's such a brilliant combination of lecturing, autobiography and viciously gleeful satire - the final few chapters make up one of the most satisfactory endings I've ever read. Eco has been quoted as saying "when people no longer believe in anything, they'll believe in anything;" that's this book boiled down into one soundbite.

There are definitely some similar ideas in FP and TNOTR; both sprang, I believe, partly from the political turmoil in 1970s Italy as much as from any religious concerns. After all, absolute dogmatism looks remarkably similar regardless of whether it's directed towards Marx, Jesus or the New World Order. Both Belbo and William of Baskerville are agents of doubt, of always wanting to learn more rather than settle for one absolute indisputable truth - especially if that truth leads to thinking you're superior to everyone else. To quote Swedish writer Tage Danielsson, "without a doubt you can't be wise."

As for the similarities between FP and the Dan Brown Book Which Shall Not Be Mentioned, I saw Eco give a talk in Stockholm when The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana was released. He was asked whether he considered Dan Brown his literary son, and replied (paraphrased from memory): "I haven't read it, but I could probably put together a bibliography on it... I think the difference is that while I wrote about the people who believe in conspiracy theories, Dan Brown actually believes in them himself. In that way he's not my son, but possibly my bastard."