Lynness: November read

My November read, The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana by Italian author Umberto Eco, was long (500ish pages in 3 parts), compelling, odd, and somewhat testosterone addled. I really liked the basic premise and storyline. At the beginning, the reader wakes up with him as he is awaking from a coma of sorts after a stroke. He does not know who he is. He has forgotten all memories that have to do with his own experiences but can recall things he read or learned about. As part of trying to 'find himself' again, he goes back to the home he grew up in and immerses himself in the books and music that he grew up with to try and trigger some memories. I have said for years that I would love to take an American history class that teaches the events through an analysis of political cartoons, songs, advertisements, pop culture, etc.. This is basically that class, but with Italian history. It is obvious that this part of the book is highly autobiographical and is the main reason for writing the book and required much research.
There are a couple of narrative devices: a hidden room, which doesn't seem too far-fetched; and finding a rare-book dealer's dream in the last box of the attic- a 1623 Shakespeare print, giving him another stroke. (This does seem too much of a coincidence). This second stroke leads to the last part of the book. He is in a coma-like state again and sees his life passing before his eyes and is able to remember (and thus show the reader) all the things that he struggled to discover and fit into his past through the first two parts of the book. He is aware that he now remembers and wonders how real this is or if the previous was all a dream.
Now for testosterone addled bit: being a man, especially one trying to rediscover (literally) his youth, and one who has had many affairs (though he doesn't remember them) there is a lot of attention to sex. Actually, not so much sex as sexuality- him remembering looking at National Geographic-type naked women as a kid, conflicting feelings and advice on his body and on girls, his growing awareness of the opposite sex and their effect on him. This comes to a climax (well, what else would you say?) toward the end of the 3rd section just before he dies, his memories marching by him. Characters and songs from his youth that the reader has become familiar with through his readings in the attic in the second part start to intermingle and take on a life and story of their own in a fantasy.
Throughout this whole 3rd part you and he have no idea of the passage of time- it could be months or seconds- and then he dies. The story is well written, it ends right, it is a very masterful translation, but I don't really think I'd recommend it. I would, however, like to see this sort of idea used with American history!