The Name Of The Rose

This is more of a historical novel than a detective story.In a postscript the author admits that the first hundred pages or so are a test, to see if you a candidate to finish the book.I glossed over many paragraphs, which merely set the tone or background for the actions. I see this as analogous to the sections of Old Testament books where so and so begat so and so. But to persevere, you must have some interest in the religious, philosophical and political conflicts of the era.One reason to read history and historical novels is to see parallels in todays World, like banning of books.Don’t worry about translating the Latin. If it is important to the story, the meaning is paraphrased.

"The Name of the Rose " is a medieval murder mystery by author Umberto Eco. The paperback copy is 517 pages long and retails for $10.85 while the Kindle e-version is a 896 Kb download that retails for $3.28 at the time of writing this review.SPOILERSThe story is set in the 1327... William of Baskerville, a former grand inquisitor, has been called to a remote abbey in the north of Italy to investigate some rumors of heresy. However, a recent mysterious death sidetracks is original mission, and leads to many new and disturbing findings. The results are an investigation what will shake the Abbey to its very foundations and will affect nearly everyone associated with this Holy place of worship.With him is a young boy by the name of Adso, a monk in training, who also acts as his scribe. Their investigations meet obstacle after obstacle, but eventually enough information is gleaned between murders, to make our sleuths aware that the off-limits library seems to hold the answers to the ever increasing number of questions.END SPOILERSImpressions:The story, when it was able to stay on focus, was great...interesting, tense and even at times, harrowing. Dark recesses visible only by the ambient lighting from candles or oil lamps, affairs that were both secretive and illicit, clandestine meetings...all gave this book high marks for intrigue and maintaining the readers interest.But...as good as the main tale was, unfortunately there were long and drawn out segments that dealt with the religious ideology of the time. Differences in religious views that prevailed in neighboring areas of Italy, France and Germany in the early 1300s, resulted in the formation of several separate orders of Monks... each firmly entrenched into the thinking that their 'religious perceptions' were the only correct version.To illustrate some of the absurdity, two topic of great and prolonged discussion in this book were the interpretations of the 'vows of poverty' and whether Jesus ever laughed. Hard to believe that such insignificant sounding topics could dominate the religious politics of the day. And you had to be careful who you talked to, because your point of view could label you a heretic is the wrong circles.I'm not a historian, but if accurate, the detail in reciting some of the religious thinking of that era and the thousand years before it was truly impressive.Because of the rarity of books in that age (most were painstakingly copied by hand) most information of the millennium before the time of this story, was passed down by word of mouth or by fragile crumbling parchments. Not surprising then that accounts of events could change dramatically with the adding or dropping of an important word or phrase here or there. It also depended on the beliefs of the person telling these old accounts...adding a bit of personal 'color' to the history being related.Eco's book makes it perfectly clear that people of this era lived in a culture of ignorance, illiteracy, superstition and most of all, fear.In addition the book had a couple good maps at the beginning giving the layout of the Abbey, and one very informative map of the complicated series of rooms and hallways of the mysterious library.Conclusion:I loved this tale when it stayed on course with the story.The latter part of the book is somewhat different than what I remember from the movie.There is no questioning Eco's ability to write a great tale that can captivate a readers attention. That being said he also can drift off the subject at hand for prolong periods...side stories that although related to the story, have little to do with the actual substance of the plot. The number and length of these 'distractions' added significantly to the length of this book and to be honest had me skimming some of these sections.As it is...4 Stars (would have been an easy 5 if not for the 'diversions')Ray Nicholson

I'm fascinated by publishing phenomenons - books that just take over the public imagination. Sometimes you read them and you understand how they became a hit (the Harry Potter series); sometimes you may not like them but you can see why people love them (Twilight, The Da Vinci Code). But other times, what you get is something truly unlikely, such as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which I loved but is also a Scandinavian book about female empowerment that takes over 100 pages to get going, is filled with foreign names, and meanders its way around its story in an unorthodox fashion. (I really liked that book, but it's a truly bizarre best seller.)But if The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is an unlikely bestseller, The Name of the Rose is positively bewildering in its success. Here's a book that immerses you deeply in medieval life, gets into complex debates about medieval theology and 14th century schisms in the Catholic church, goes on page-long diversions into church art and the construction of manuscripts, features frequent interludes of untranslated Latin, and does all this while absolutely refusing to hold the reader's hand at all. Yes, there's a murder mystery at the book's core, and a lot of intrigue, and even a bizarre labyrinth and dream sequences, but this isn't what anyone would call an easy read.And yet, somehow, I couldn't put this down, despite my occasional frustrations at Eco's discursive style, complicated subject matter, and overall verbosity. Or maybe I enjoyed the book because of those things, because whatever else you say about The Name of the Rose, the fact remains that the book immerses you in the medieval era in a way that almost nothing else ever has. No, Eco has no interest in helping you navigate the text, nor its debates and themes, because the characters themselves are already immersed in this world, and they don't need to explain things to each other. Instead, Eco wants you to live in this world, see it through the eyes of contemporaries, and go back to a different time.The result is a book that's really hard to fit into any traditional genre classifications. Is this a murder mystery? Undeniably, with a series of grisly murders, unclear motivations, a possible conspiracy, mysterious labyrinths containing secrets, and a constant sense of danger (to say nothing of a Sherlock Holmes surrogate in the form of a monk). But to label it a mystery doesn't work, because no mystery would have this much debate about the role of poverty and material possessions in the Catholic Church, or a debate as to the legitimacy of the Pope, an element of the book that's given equal weight as the murders, and discussed possibly in more depth.So is it historical fiction? Maybe so...but it's also weirdly metafictional at times (with a playful prologue that establishes the book as a half-remembered re-creation of a manuscript that might or might not be fake), interested in the minutiae of theology and monastic life, all while being a thriller, but one that only seems partially compelled to follow the murder thread. It's a truly odd book, and one that really had no business being as popular as it was, if you subscribe to publishing wisdom - it's difficult, takes forever to get going, doesn't hold the reader's hand, and more.But while you're under its spell, none of that really matters, in the end; if the goal of a book is to transport you to another place or time, The Name of the Rose does that incredibly well. It's not always "fun", it's not always fast-paced, but it's immersive in a way that few books manage to be - and that, in of itself, is something worthwhile all on its own.

I can’t stress enough how delighted I am reading this book. First- the story is wonderfully written. Highly recommend!! Second- the book itself. It is sturdy, the pages are slightly silky and I can take notes in pencil and highlight (nothing bleeds and there is space to do so). I’ve read this book sitting down and laying down right before sleeping. Both are comfortable. I can clip on my reading light to the back and the book doesn’t flop around. In a way the sturdiness of the book plays to the feel of the story. Just an overall delightful reading experience.

Um romance maravilhoso do grande Umberto Eco, no qual a História é questionada quando fatos marginais são trazidos à luz e se tornam foco para discussão da influência da igreja católica na cultura ocidental.

arrivato in tempo e in ottime condizioni, ovviamente libro fantastico

j'ai bien reçu le livre commendé (The Name of the Rose) mais je suis étonné de ne pas voir le livre avec la couverture lors de l'achat c.a.d la photo de l'auteur :Umberto Eco. Que me proposeriez - vous pour cet incident ?Cordialement

I enjoyed the journey through this great novel. The author takes you through his perspective of an amazing historic image. That world, to my simple understanding, remained so steady and constant for many centuries. Post Reformation and Enlightenment things changed so dramatically.My first attempt at this book was in the Dark Ages before the Internet. This time, even with online resources the historic and multilingual references were almost impenetrable. I need to find a good companion guide next time I pick this book up.A wonderful read.