Foucault's Pendulum

Foucault's Pendulum

Foucault's Pendulum (original title: Il pendolo di Foucault) is a novel by Italian writer and philosopher Umberto Eco. It was first published in 1988; the translation into English by William Weaver appeared a year later.

Foucault's Pendulum is divided into ten segments represented by the ten Sefiroth. The novel is full of esoteric references to the Kabbalah, alchemy and conspiracy theory, so many that critic and novelist Anthony Burgess suggested that it needed an index. The title of the book refers to an actual pendulum designed by the French physicist Léon Foucault to demonstrate the rotation of the earth, which has symbolic significance within the novel. Although some believe it refers to the philosopher Michel Foucault noting Eco's friendship with the French philosopher, the author "specifically rejects any intentional reference to Michel Foucault" — and this is regarded as one of his subtle literary jokes.