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tristansreadingmania's review against another edition
5.0
Truth illusory
Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose can rightly be called the literary equivalent of a shrewd smuggling operation. Surreptitiously sailing under the banner of what seems at first glance to be a traditional – and thus holding the promise of mass appeal - detective story, the recently deceased Italian semiotician clearly is reaching for a far more rich tapestry of genres – some tropes of which maintained, others slightly subverted - and themes. In fact, he himself admitted as such, on the dust jacket of the first Italian edition of the novel, not even being sure about what he had exactly constructed:
Medieval theological arcana – while a passion of his – Eco realised full well would be of little interest to the layman, unless it was packaged in a certain manner. A murder mystery in the Sherlockian tradition would indeed serve nicely as a cover. As our Holmes, there is the seasoned monk, logician and erstwhile inquisitor William of Baskerville ( a clear reference to the famous Holmes tale Hound of the Baskervilles), ordered to investigate a mysterious death in an Italian abbey, and the young, impressionable novice monk Adso, performing the role of Watson, through whom the various events are described. A solution so exceedingly simple, yet ingeniously executed. The two make an intriguing pair of sleuths, to great relish of the reader.
The Name of the Rose is one of those singular narratives that attains that harmonious coming together of both place – the isolated, claustrophobic, wintry, damp 14th century abbey, a psychic pressure cooker of sorts, vomiting up monstrous monks whose illicit, “heretical” passions they have long since given up to sublimate – and a neatly compressed, seven day timespan (a clear Biblical allusion to Genesis) which ends in a final paroxysm of fire, death, and desolation.
Caspar David Friedrich: Abtei im Eichwald (1809-10)
As subtext to this “basic” plot (which naturally can only end in the finding of the culprit) there lies a tale of medieval theological embattlement, with the abbey serving as a microcosm of the disarray observed in the outer world. Various forces (both religious and secular) spring up in vigorous opposition to each other, deciding and fighting over whose truth/doctrine will hold sway in the earthly realm. Heretics left and right are pointed out, denounced and put to death, hints of revolution and turmoil are on everybody’s lips, and ominous adumbrations succeed each other at a rapid pace. An Apocalypse (worldly, spiritually, or both) is at hand, or so it seems.
That the pursuit of the one, absolute "truth" in all things (material, moral, and spiritual) as a goal in itself, is a dangerous one, seems to be the underlying message. For after its acquisition and its sealing off from harmful outer influences, there invariably follows its ruthless application by lesser, power-hungry, ideologically ossified minds, ending in brutal, totalitarian tyranny.
In the age of a still developing schismatisation and polarisation of the Western world through the renewed appeal of nationalism (ethnic and/or cultural), the disconcerting appearance of echo chambers on both sides of the political spectrum, and the unending plague of modern, religiously motivated terrorism, parallels are eerily easily drawn.
An accusation of thematic irrelevance, Eco’s tour de force is in no danger of having to suffer in the near future.
A warning to be heeded. Sic transit gloria mundi.
Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose can rightly be called the literary equivalent of a shrewd smuggling operation. Surreptitiously sailing under the banner of what seems at first glance to be a traditional – and thus holding the promise of mass appeal - detective story, the recently deceased Italian semiotician clearly is reaching for a far more rich tapestry of genres – some tropes of which maintained, others slightly subverted - and themes. In fact, he himself admitted as such, on the dust jacket of the first Italian edition of the novel, not even being sure about what he had exactly constructed:
“Difficult to define (Gothic novel, medieval chronicle, detective story, ideological narrative à clef, allegory) this novel.. may perhaps be read in three ways. The first category of readers will be taken by the plot and the coups de scène, and will accept even the long bookish discussions and the philosophical dialogues, because it will sense that the signs, the traces, and the revelatory symptoms are nesting precisely in those inattentive pages. The second category will be impassioned by the debate of ideas, and will attempt to establish connections (which the author refuses to authorize) with the present. The third will realize that this text is a textile of other texts, a ‘whodunnit’ of quotations, a book built of books.”
Medieval theological arcana – while a passion of his – Eco realised full well would be of little interest to the layman, unless it was packaged in a certain manner. A murder mystery in the Sherlockian tradition would indeed serve nicely as a cover. As our Holmes, there is the seasoned monk, logician and erstwhile inquisitor William of Baskerville ( a clear reference to the famous Holmes tale Hound of the Baskervilles), ordered to investigate a mysterious death in an Italian abbey, and the young, impressionable novice monk Adso, performing the role of Watson, through whom the various events are described. A solution so exceedingly simple, yet ingeniously executed. The two make an intriguing pair of sleuths, to great relish of the reader.
The Name of the Rose is one of those singular narratives that attains that harmonious coming together of both place – the isolated, claustrophobic, wintry, damp 14th century abbey, a psychic pressure cooker of sorts, vomiting up monstrous monks whose illicit, “heretical” passions they have long since given up to sublimate – and a neatly compressed, seven day timespan (a clear Biblical allusion to Genesis) which ends in a final paroxysm of fire, death, and desolation.
Caspar David Friedrich: Abtei im Eichwald (1809-10)
As subtext to this “basic” plot (which naturally can only end in the finding of the culprit) there lies a tale of medieval theological embattlement, with the abbey serving as a microcosm of the disarray observed in the outer world. Various forces (both religious and secular) spring up in vigorous opposition to each other, deciding and fighting over whose truth/doctrine will hold sway in the earthly realm. Heretics left and right are pointed out, denounced and put to death, hints of revolution and turmoil are on everybody’s lips, and ominous adumbrations succeed each other at a rapid pace. An Apocalypse (worldly, spiritually, or both) is at hand, or so it seems.
That the pursuit of the one, absolute "truth" in all things (material, moral, and spiritual) as a goal in itself, is a dangerous one, seems to be the underlying message. For after its acquisition and its sealing off from harmful outer influences, there invariably follows its ruthless application by lesser, power-hungry, ideologically ossified minds, ending in brutal, totalitarian tyranny.
In the age of a still developing schismatisation and polarisation of the Western world through the renewed appeal of nationalism (ethnic and/or cultural), the disconcerting appearance of echo chambers on both sides of the political spectrum, and the unending plague of modern, religiously motivated terrorism, parallels are eerily easily drawn.
An accusation of thematic irrelevance, Eco’s tour de force is in no danger of having to suffer in the near future.
A warning to be heeded. Sic transit gloria mundi.
its_alex_stevenson's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
rena84's review against another edition
Not drawn to picking it up - other books call louder.
libofalejandria's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
vikiii's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
bookbelle5_17's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Review of The Name of the Rose
By: Umberto Echo
At an abbey in Italy, there is found a murdered monk, and Brother William is called to solve it. It turns out that the monk was murdered for having a special book that could harm the Abbey’s reputation. With our narrator, a young monk Brother Adso, Brother William investigates this murder and the book.
I think because of the setting and premise this reminds me of a Dan Brown novel, but it’s mostly a different thing entirely. It takes place in the past and there is a lot of discussion on religious politics. The religious politics do slow down the mystery and focus a lot of what is going on with the church. It was intriguing, but because I don’t know the history, it was difficult to comprehend the discussions on what is going on with the church. The dynamic between Brother William and Adso is entertaining with its mentor/mentee relationship. Brother William is hard at times on Adso and expects the young man to keep up with him. He often forgets Adso, but he also has a willingness to teach the young man. Adso admires and respects William, but questions some of his judgements and doesn’t always agree with him. The story explores the idea of religion taken to the extreme and the consequences of believing your beliefs are the only true one. The premise with the book is intriguing as you only receive bits and pieces about what’s in the book throughout adding to the mystery. I do wish I knew some of the Latin that they use throughout. I did still enjoy the plot, despite not knowing Latin or understanding the religious politics.
rita89's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
almastella's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
libraryofdreaming's review against another edition
2.0
This book was another classic that has long languished on my to-read list and I was in the mood for a mystery so I gave it a try. On one hand, it was a very interesting read. Umberto Eco's crazy detailed world-building made me feel right in the midst of Medieval Europe. I also feel like he deserves an award just for his detective, Brother William of Baskerville, who is (you might have guessed) basically the medieval version of Sherlock Holmes. Genius! I want to give the book stars just for that. While the world-building was incredibly immersive, it was also overwhelming and at times extremely dry. Only Umberto Eco (or any other medievalist ;) could handle pouring out pages and pages of obscure monastic history. Yes, some of the bits about different heresies was interesting and I'm sure there was plenty of modern political subtext there as well, but after a while it just got boring. I came to the book with no context for all the hordes of information that was dumped on me. I couldn't keep everyone straight while I was reading the book and it certainly didn't stick with me afterwards. Perhaps if I was more interested and well-versed in medieval history I would have been thrilled by all the easter eggs of trivia in this book, but as it is I was simply overwhelmed.
However, I did find portions of Umberto Eco's info dump to be truly fascinating. I loved the library and its hidden labyrinth. The traditions of the monks and their scholarly ways were also super interesting to me. All the bits about illuminating manuscripts basically made me drool. The prose made me feel like I was right beside the monks as they explored the abbey and its dark secrets. There were a few bits that genuinely creeped me out. While the book was immersive in its history, it was also unsettling. There was a historically-accurate but no less unpleasant aura of misogyny over the entire book as well as a lot of creepiness regarding the medieval Church.
Some of the heresies were unpleasantly graphic as well. I don't think The Name of the Rose was meant as a quiet, thoughtless mystery. It was definitely intended to create questions and stir up a mood of unease. One theory is that Umberto Eco wrote this book as a critique against fascism and while I can see that, I don't feel like I had enough context or knowledge to let this added facet enrich my reading experience. I was here for the mystery and I got a lot more than I bargained for. I guessed the culprit fairly easily but it was a very interesting and tangled web to the ending. I just wish the explanation for his actions hadn't been so wrapped in philosophy. I THINK I understand but the reasoning was so foreign to modern readers it broke my suspension of belief. I saw it coming from a mile away but the ending still made me sniffly.
I'm glad I read this book and got it crossed off my list, but it was more graphic than I expected and nearly wiped me out with all the discussion of history and philosophy. The characters were very rich, but also frustrating in their historical accuracy with regards to issues like heresy and the Inquisition. Medieval philosophy has never been a burning passion of mine and I can't say this book inspired me to go into the field. I would like to learn more about the history, however, and then perhaps I would have a better handle on this book and its many intricacies. I certainly applaud Umberto Eco for his ambitious attention to detail even if I didn't enjoy it entirely. Not many other authors have the knowledge or the will to execute such a hefty, time-sucking book!
However, I did find portions of Umberto Eco's info dump to be truly fascinating. I loved the library and its hidden labyrinth. The traditions of the monks and their scholarly ways were also super interesting to me. All the bits about illuminating manuscripts basically made me drool. The prose made me feel like I was right beside the monks as they explored the abbey and its dark secrets. There were a few bits that genuinely creeped me out. While the book was immersive in its history, it was also unsettling. There was a historically-accurate but no less unpleasant aura of misogyny over the entire book as well as a lot of creepiness regarding the medieval Church.
Spoiler
I was dismayed when the only female character in the entire book sleeps with the main character (who happens to be 15 *cringe*) seconds after meeting him without even speaking his language. Later she's burned as a witch and the main characters don't even fight against it... Double cringe.Some of the heresies were unpleasantly graphic as well. I don't think The Name of the Rose was meant as a quiet, thoughtless mystery. It was definitely intended to create questions and stir up a mood of unease. One theory is that Umberto Eco wrote this book as a critique against fascism and while I can see that, I don't feel like I had enough context or knowledge to let this added facet enrich my reading experience. I was here for the mystery and I got a lot more than I bargained for. I guessed the culprit fairly easily but it was a very interesting and tangled web to the ending. I just wish the explanation for his actions hadn't been so wrapped in philosophy. I THINK I understand but the reasoning was so foreign to modern readers it broke my suspension of belief. I saw it coming from a mile away but the ending still made me sniffly.
I'm glad I read this book and got it crossed off my list, but it was more graphic than I expected and nearly wiped me out with all the discussion of history and philosophy. The characters were very rich, but also frustrating in their historical accuracy with regards to issues like heresy and the Inquisition. Medieval philosophy has never been a burning passion of mine and I can't say this book inspired me to go into the field. I would like to learn more about the history, however, and then perhaps I would have a better handle on this book and its many intricacies. I certainly applaud Umberto Eco for his ambitious attention to detail even if I didn't enjoy it entirely. Not many other authors have the knowledge or the will to execute such a hefty, time-sucking book!