[.ca] The Name of the Rose (ISBN 0307264890)

Not a status symbol:
I am confused by those who wrote that people only say they read this book because they want to sound smart. I hate to break it to you, but this book is actually good and enjoyable, and I hope you will try again. This book is for people who love mysteries, but are frustrated at how fast they are read. Christies go in a day, as does Da Vinci Code, whereas this one has more to chew and the mystery doesn't insult your intelligence like the "Da Vinci Code" (e.g., reminding you that Da Vinci is Italian, that Paris is indeed in France, etc.). I mean, I don't get daunted by long books anymore because I like the act of reading itself, and having a long book means not having to look for another for awhile. Another thing: I took a course on heresy in college, and many of conclusions that can be drawn from this book are right on. The more he discusses the distinctions between the different sects, the less the distinction can be made between holy orders and heretical sects. He really brings you through the whole argument, from different characters' perspectives, so you get the whole picture. I also learned more about the Middle Ages from this book, about how rich their lives were even then, albeit with different information, theories, heroes, etc., than we are used to.

NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition !:
Umberto Eco is internationally renowned as an author, a philosopher, a literary critic and a historian. He is also a professor of Semiotics at the University of Bologna and lives in Milan. "The Name of the Rose", his debut novel, was first published in Italy in 1980 and became a bestseller throughout the world. It was also adapted for the big screen in 1986, a version that starred Sean Connery and Christian Slater. "The Name of the Rose" is set in the fourteenth century and is told by Adso of Melk - an aged Benedictine Abbot looking back to a journey he took as a novice. Adso's father was a German nobleman loyal to Louis the Bavarian and arranged for the young Adso to travel with him to Italy - there, he hoped to see Louis crowned Holy Roman Emperor. However, with his father's time subsequently taken up with the Siege of Pisa, Adso was placed in the care of William of Baskerville - not only a shrewd, learned and wise Franciscan, but also a former Inquisitor. Together, the pair travel to a Benedictine abbey in the northern Italian mountains. The arena in which William and Adso operate is at least as political as it is religious. There are great differences of opinion between the orders on a number of topics - the most relevant to the story involves a difference in opinion about poverty between the Franciscan Order and the Pope. Since the Pope and the Emperor don't see eye-to-eye either, Louis has obviously sided with the Franciscans. The Order's Head, Michael of Cesena, has been summoned several times to Avignon - where the Papal Court was held at the time - officially to deal conclusively with the matter. However, since many suspect this would actually involve Michael being charged with heresy, the Emperor feels it best if Michael travels as part of an official Imperial delegation. As the whole matter is proving increasingly difficult to deal with, a preliminary meeting has been arranged to lay out the opposing points of view. William has been appointed the Emperor's representative, and the meeting is taking place at the abbey to which he and Adso are travelling. As it happens, the pair are given much more to think about than just the meeting. Not long before William and Adso arrived, one of the abbey's most skilled illuminators - Adelmo of Otranto - had been found dead at the foot of some cliffs beneath the abbey. The Abbot suspects the young monk was murdered, and asks William to investigate. Things are not made entirely easy for the pair : although Adelmo may have been pushed to his death from the upper floor of the library, they are forbidden from entering that area. Nevertheless, with the meeting imminent, they know it's vital to have everything cleared up as soon as possible - preferably with out any more deaths... This is a hugely enjoyable book - the only real flaw is that it's occasionally a little over-descriptive. However, it makes a nice change to read a murder-mystery than relies solely on the skills of the investigator - particularly one as likeable as William - without any help from forensics, fingerprinting or DNA sampling. The 'back-story', relating to the meeting, added a nice political spin to things. It also added a certain amount of panic for some of the characters, as the Pope's representative is also a practising Inquisitor . Very highly recommended.

And you thought nothing happened in the Middle Ages!:
I read this book for the first time in college, for an Art History class. I devoured it in a week, completely caught by it, and thought I would end up reading it again sometime. I just did. The story takes place during one week in November 1327, in a benedictine abbey of Northern Italy. It is to this place that a Franciscan friar, William of Baskerville, and his young disciple Adso of Melk, arrive. Baskerville is here to lay the groundwork for a controversial meeting between pope John XXII's people and the head of the Franciscan order, Michele of Cesena. But as soon as William and Adso arrive a monk shows up dead. And others start joining him in heaven as days go by... The name of the rose is dense at times, and it seems that Eco wrote certain chapters, (i.e. first day "where Adso admires the church's façade"), as a filter to discard impatient readers and keep the "good" ones. Don't despair, keep reading, and you won't regret it. Finally, this novel combines real and fictitious characters. If. after reading the book, you feel curious about some of the actual people and events, check out the website "newadvent.org/cathen", a catholic encyclopedia. ( At least, I found it a useful reference).

Nearly as complicated as Aristotle himself!:
This book is not an easy read that can be read in one weekend or a whole week for that matter. This novel compares to Conrads "Heart Of Darkness" a novel of equal density however while "Darkess" is only about 100 pages long "Rose" is five times that! IT is important to take the time to understand the story and characters because there is so many of them. If you lose track of one character for an instant it tends to throw the reader completely off track. I sometimes felt that the author while very well accomplished and learned in the subject of which he was writing was to overly detailed in the descriptions of the enless problems that needed deciphering. Unlike many authors which tend to "fill" in their novels with tedious text Eco seemed to know exactly why every piece of text needed to be there.The problem with this is that the reader is left out of the plot in many situations that only Eco seemed to know. I give great applause to Eco for his knowledge about his astoundlingly well written novel. Im sure he spent ages gathering information on this subject and he places most of his knowledge seemlessly from his mind into his novel. This novel deserves to be read if even at times it seems overly tedious believe me it pays off!

Wow...:
...I finally gave up on this book and came here to write a review, expecting that everyone would say the same thing: this book is a behemoth. Well, they did, but then they gave it five stars!! I consider myself quite smart, well educated, and pretty good at wading through a tough text like Faust. But this book was more than I could take...I initially gave up around page 80, but relented after reading the encouragement in the afterward to stick it out-it supposedly improves after page 100. Page 300 was the final draw-I just couldn't take it any more!! The author regularly takes you on a 8 page diatribe about philosophy and religion. Quite honestly if you took out all the fancy verbage, you would be left with about 40 pages of a really fantastic intense mystery. This is the kind of book that everyone lies and says they read because it makes them sound smart and literary. I despise all the fluffy fiction pumped out and splashed all over the Top 100 lists, but after putting in my years dissecting the heavies in University, I now prefer to enjoy what I am reading! Buy this book if you want to recollect how painful your 400 level romance lit class was (and you have your own espresso maker).