Only read an eighth, like the language and writing, however the plot… couldn’t find it ( )

This book fits the pattern I've come to expect in Umberto Eco's writing: an excellent story lost in a haze of random thoughts, obscure references, and all together too many words. I would love it if someone took this book's concept and turned it into the brilliant book that it deserves to be. ( )

I was intrigued by the title and assumed eventually I would understand it. Eventually it made sense. It's about the International Date Line. While the concept has existed for centuries it has long been the subject of disputes especially which side of it something was on. Umberto Eco takes the ambiguity and runs with it. As the author is a well-respected scholar we can assume some if not much of what he'll be telling us about might actually have happened and this is likely a mixture of fact and fiction. And since much of the disputes over the International Date Line were based in ecclesiastical arguments the author probably knew more about this than most.

In the first quarter of the book it's hard to figure where this is all going. Nothing about the date line yet, just setting up a back story. I almost wish an editor had told the author to get the story moving. It does go a long way to letting you know the prime character didn't want to go on this journey, he's forced into it. It does set up two parts of the puzzle, the trip and more importantly how he's ineffective at letting the woman who has captured his heart know he's the one for her. The trip he's forced to go on is France's attempt to spy on what they believe is a rival country's attempt to solve the problem of latitude. If a ship is able to determine its full position, not just longitude, that country's fleet will have a major advantage over its rival's. He's been selected because he's shown some aptitude for understanding science, at least 17th century science.

The ship he is sent on is shipwrecked and after days floating with little hope of rescue, he encounters a ship, which once he gets himself aboard, he discovers there's no crew. Strangely he finds what appears to be unusual cargo. A room full of clocks, another filled with exotic birds, maps, water, provisions, but no crew and more importantly no boats which he might use to get to an island in the near distance. He soon realizes he is not alone. There is someone else on board who seems to be hiding from him and yet leaving traces to let him know he's not alone. He finds the phantom who turns out to be a learned aged Italian cleric who is able to explain where the crew went, what the ship was looking for and the mysterious island. The crew took the boats to get to the island where they were overcome by local natives who turned out to be cannibals.

Being marooned our main character has lots of time for day dreaming where we learn he has an evil brother, Roberto, who is angered because he believes he is entitled to the family's lands and wealth rather than the absentee brother. Roberto followed him to Paris and learns of his brother's love interest. She of course is beautiful and wealthy so Roberto masquerades as his brother who he has seen was interested in the lady. This story interweaves with the main narrative.

Back to the ship. The cleric explains how the ship was on a mission to test a method for determining latitude. The mission leader, Dr Byrd, explored whether a substance secreted by wounded animals has a mysterious power to be in communication with others located at Greenwich who will be doing something at noon every day, allowing a form of synchronization. He keeps the animal both wounded and alive. Gruesome. This is but one theory derived from various views of the heavens and the cosmos. Did the earth revolve around the sun or vice versa? The cleric also has his own poor man's chronometer which turns out to be impractical. Was Galileo a heretic or someone able to see what others could not. They believe the island they see is Solomon Island which no one has been able to locate. They believe it is the site of International date line and thus getting to it means being able to reach yesterday. Now does the title make more sense?

If you like thought experiments and the search for evidence to prove one view or another this book will keep you thinking. ( )

I really liked The Name of the Rose. This one, not so much. The author himself emerges at the end and calls it a series of intersecting or skewed stories, and that just about covers it. ( )

Weakest fiction effort by Eco to date (2012). Marred by a lack of plot direction and character development. The ending isn't too great either. Average Eco is still better than the fiction rabble out there, so I would still recommend this novel.

For all those that rate Eco's fiction in terms of Name of the Rose, he ain't gonna write that book again, he's not a crime fiction writer. It was just a genre he was playing with at the time. ( )