Foucault's Pendulum

[SGSMOOT at pwinet.upj.com]

Egad! Am I the only one who enjoyed _Foucalt's Pendulum_? I read it as a 
self-reflexive (yes, and multiple-ly redundant) comment on deconstruction (or 
something). While the Templar/Mason conspiracy theory _is_ old hat (at least as 
old as the disbanding of the Templars), it gets a better writeup in _FP_ than 
anywhere else I looked.
        
For this academically-challenged individual, I found _FP_ to be similar to _GR_ 
in one specific way - they are both models of that "more is less is more" 
practice: each novel contains so much, so many references that potentially 
requires outside reference for understanding. I still miss most of the 
war-related cultural references in _GR_ - I mean, I recognize them, I 
acknowledge them, but I miss the real connexions. I always thought that was part
of what made _Vineland_ so much more accessible - the cultural references were 
mostly quite familiar. What would someone, never exposed to late-60s USA, make 
of the Beach Boys or a blacked-out Camaro?