Product Description

Set in Italy in the Middle Ages, this is not only a narrative of a murder investigation in a monastery in 1327, but also a chronicle of the 14th century religious wars, a history of monastic orders, and a compendium of heretical movements.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15833 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-01
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

Synopsis
The year is 1327. Franciscans in a wealthy Italian abbey are suspected of heresy, and Brother William of Baskerville arrives to investigate. When his delicate mission is suddenly overshadowed by seven bizarre deaths, Brother William turns detective. He collects evidence, deciphers secret symbols and coded manuscripts, and digs into the eerie labyrinth of the abbey where extraordinary things are happening under the cover of night. A spectacular popular and critical success, "The Name of the Rose" is not only a narrative of a murder investigation but an astonishing chronicle of the Middle Ages.

From the Publisher
Beautifully bound, hardback edition of Umberto Eco's masterpiece.
Introduced by David Lodge; Novelist and critic. His novels include Nice Work, Changing Places and The British Museum Is Falling Down, and his critical works include The Language of Fiction and The Novelist at the Crossroads

From the Back Cover
The year is 1327. Franciscans in a wealthy Italian abbey are suspected of heresy, and Brother William of Baskerville arrives to investigate.When his delicate mission is suddenly overshadowed by seven bizarre deaths, Brother William turns detective. He collects evidence, deciphers secret symbols and coded manuscripts, and digs into the eerie labyrinth of the abbey where extraordinary things are happening under the cover of night. A spectacular popular and critical success, The Name of the Rose is not only a narrative of a murder investigation but an astonishing chronicle of the Middle Ages.

Customer Reviews

The Reader - The Detective
In the Name of the Rose, is in many ways a frustrating book to read, because the reader required as much perseverance as the monk-turned-detective protagonist, William. It is a very top heavy book, complete with Latin phraseology, which in spite of Umberto Eco's obvious gift for narrative, is testing to navigate; many will begin and not finish. However, if you are a curious sort, and love to unravel a good mystery, you will no doubt continue - seven deaths is no mean body count for a secluded monastery - and finally reap the rewards of crossing the halfway point. The unravelling of the plot is brilliant - it questions stereotypes, tests faith, interrogates purity and most of all entertains. The labyrinth at the centre of the monastery is in many ways a metaphor for how the plot unfolds, with one final room that one finds oneself outside, but cannot enter.

For the lazy readers, a tip; each chapter has a summary of its contents and so you can actually decide to skip some chapters if you want to get to the meat. In all honesty some chapters just serve to illustrate the intelligence of William of Baskerville or to discuss other works (underlining Eco's post-modernist outlook), so you can do that without missing much. This is exactly what I did my first time, but I enjoyed the end so much that I went back to do the hard work.

I recommend this book if you want an enjoyable but challenging literary read; if you want untaxing entertainment, forget it - or maybe watch the film.

Thwarted
Having heard so many people rave about this book, I had high hopes and desperately wanted to like it. I have now attempted to read it twice, and each time it has thwarted me. While the actual plot is interesting, it is buried under so much rambling that you lost the interest (and the will) to continue. I personally won't be recommending it to anyone else.

A very good historical whodunnit
Having read this first and then afterwards most of Eco's other books too, "The Name of the Rose" still remains my favourite. There's a very good balance here between the pure historical whodunnit and the knowledge & learning conveyed in the book (and necessary to understand the whodunnit, while to my mind in the later books the 'learning' is much too predominant).

The atmosphere of a medieval abbey is very well done and, as it is secluded from the outside world, an abbey where a killer's on the loose is the perfect site to build up the tension. Add to that plenty of colourful characters and, in the right measure, a wealth of information on religious strife in the Middle Ages and what you get is a top-notch historical thriller!