This book has the distinction of being an oddly approachable work of Umberto Eco. I love Umberto Eco’s writing, even if it can be a struggle. Eco admitted to deliberately making the first hundred pages of The Name of the Rose difficult to plow through before you reach the reward – which, let me assure you, is most definitely worth it. And then there’s the morass that is Foucault’s Pendulum – again, a thoroughly enjoyable work but just too many different names of sects to keep track of.
So it was a little shocking to pick up Baudolino to find that it was a rollicking, easy read. Nothing that scares the reader away, and a level of detail that is refreshing without being overpowering. It has a good mix of the historical and the fantastical. I think the strength of this story does lie in its historicity, much like The Name of the Rose. Well, that and the connection that is forged with the main character, Baudolino.
Definitely a must read for anyone who’s read any other Eco, or wants to read Eco but is put off by the others.