I tried to read this book once before, several years ago. At the time, I was in grad school, overworked and underslept and generally a mess in most of the ways in which it is possible to mess oneself up and not die, and so it is not surprising that I failed utterly to succeed in reading this exceptionally densely packed depiction of a series of interrelated and convoluted plots, rendered in gorgeous if somewhat, er, baroque language. Even in my bedraggled state I was fully aware that the book was phenomenal, and that my not finishing it was entirely my failure and not that of the book.
I was careful to pick a time when I was not tired-in-the-brain for this, my second attempt at reading the thing. It's a good thing I did, too, because this is not a book that allows one to be a passive consumer, to say the least. It's absolutely wonderful, though, and I enjoyed every second I spent reading it (except the time I dropped it on my head, because it ain't no lightweight book). The dawn of the Enlightenment is a fascinating time in history, and reading this treatment makes me feel like I've lived through a chunk of it myself. I can't wait for the final installment to get to the top of my reading list.
Recommended for appallingly overeducated people who like history, language, science, and reason, and have a goodly supply of patience, a decent tolerance for scatological and other coarse humor, and are willing to put some effort into the role of reader. Other people will find it impenetrable and probably not worth the effort.
