The Name of the Rose: including the Author's Postscript

This book is terrible! Unfortunately, I picked it for my book club, so I was obliged to read it. When I got to the book club meeting, the rest of the members told me that I owed them all a round of drinks for forcing them to read this. I thought I was picking a murder mystery set in medieval times ... and the part of the book that is about the murder mystery is actually okay. Too bad that you...more

This book is terrible! Unfortunately, I picked it for my book club, so I was obliged to read it. When I got to the book club meeting, the rest of the members told me that I owed them all a round of drinks for forcing them to read this. I thought I was picking a murder mystery set in medieval times ... and the part of the book that is about the murder mystery is actually okay. Too bad that you had to slog through nearly 200 pages of theology and the ethics of the inquisition to get to it. There was a note from the author in the book. He said that he was advised by his editor to remove the first 150 pages because it detracted from the story - but he wanted to leave it in - he wanted the reader to "earn" the right to read the rest of the book by getting through the first section. What a totally arrogant attitude. I had another book by Umberto Eco sitting on my shelf. I got rid of it without even opening it - an author with that kind of attitude doesn't deserve my readership!!   hide

The novel works on many levels. It is a compelling murder mystery, as young narrator Adso of Elk accompanies the wise William of Baskerville as he uses logic and semiotics to not only solve a murder mystery, but to decipher labrynths and hidden secrets of the vast monastery library. Interwoven with the murder mystery is a virtual course on philosophy and late Middle Ages religion, as Eco provides...more

The novel works on many levels. It is a compelling murder mystery, as young narrator Adso of Elk accompanies the wise William of Baskerville as he uses logic and semiotics to not only solve a murder mystery, but to decipher labrynths and hidden secrets of the vast monastery library. Interwoven with the murder mystery is a virtual course on philosophy and late Middle Ages religion, as Eco provides detailed accounts of the histories of various sects, includes scholarly debate on topics such as the poverty of Christ, and a history of the Catholic Church leading to the establishment of a papacy in Avignon, France. This is a demanding and very exciting novel!   hide

At his best Dan Brown is only a poor man's Umberto Eco. Eco, an Italian Professor of nearly everything Middle Ages and Semiotics, is not just brilliant, but an intriguing writer. Eco uses his vast (historically accurate) knowledge of the period to write an intensely intellectual, yet accessible, "murder-mystery" which takes place in a monastery on the eve of a very important conference...more

At his best Dan Brown is only a poor man's Umberto Eco. Eco, an Italian Professor of nearly everything Middle Ages and Semiotics, is not just brilliant, but an intriguing writer. Eco uses his vast (historically accurate) knowledge of the period to write an intensely intellectual, yet accessible, "murder-mystery" which takes place in a monastery on the eve of a very important conference between representatives of the Pope and the German Emperor. I'll admit that since my masters, and a good deal of my undergrad research hours, was spent working on the middle ages, I might be a little biased here.   hide

Eco è un Sapiente dettagliatissimo!

Wonderfully clever and stimulating. My chief delight in this book was the way in which it wove together various things I've already found stimulating over the years (in very different ways): Sherlock Holmes; the Benedictine and Franciscan Rules; the intricacies, follies and genius of Medieval theology and philosophy; Solomon's Song of Songs... (Parts, like the mysteriously encrypted hidden...more

Wonderfully clever and stimulating. My chief delight in this book was the way in which it wove together various things I've already found stimulating over the years (in very different ways): Sherlock Holmes; the Benedictine and Franciscan Rules; the intricacies, follies and genius of Medieval theology and philosophy; Solomon's Song of Songs... (Parts, like the mysteriously encrypted hidden library, even had the flavour of Harry Potter - though intellectuals may blanch at the comparison!) Sadly, though, I have to add a 'however'. The philophical conclusion of the book appeared to me to be that, though there are many signs in the universe which give the appearance of order, they do not ultimately add up to any meaning. Meanings, there may be, but they will ultimately turn back on themselves or lead to cul-de-sacs (like the rooms in the Abbey's secret library). Eco's universe, it seems, is without God and without meaning: a conclusion I not only thoroughly disagree with, but find a sad, contradictory and disappointing one for such a fine mind as Eco's - and such an otherwise exciting and stimulating book.   hide

An all-time favourite of mine. No one can portray the mindset of the Middle Ages better than Umberto Eco. I especially love the use of the original Latin passages, explained thoroughly along with additional and relevant information in the footnotes. At least my copy had that.

Much to hard for me... the movie is better :)

Tout le monde a vu le film et sait que c'est une histoire de meurtres dans un monastère, et que les gentils gagnent à la fin. En plus d'une intrigue policière largement enrichie et d'une fin non-hollywoodienne, le livre vous offrira en supplément un manuel d'herboristerie médiévale, un catalogue de monstres, des démonstrations de rhétorique, des joutes en théologie, et...more

Tout le monde a vu le film et sait que c'est une histoire de meurtres dans un monastère, et que les gentils gagnent à la fin. En plus d'une intrigue policière largement enrichie et d'une fin non-hollywoodienne, le livre vous offrira en supplément un manuel d'herboristerie médiévale, un catalogue de monstres, des démonstrations de rhétorique, des joutes en théologie, et pas mal de réflexions sur, en vrac, la science, le pouvoir temporel, l'hérésie, et j'en passe. Et si ça ne vous suffit pas, vous pouvez toujours vous amuser à trouver de quels livres sont tirées toutes les phrases du livre... Supporte allègrement (voire nécessite) des lectures répétées.   hide

Reading it again. Finding more interesting writing...