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    The Name of the Rose
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    The Name of the Rose
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    The Name of the Rose
    Ebook715 pages14 hours

    The Name of the Rose

    By Umberto Eco

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    About this ebook

    Now a series starring John Turturro as William of Baskerville airing on SundanceTV

    Umberto Eco’s first novel, an international sensation and winner of the Premio Strega and the Prix Médicis Étranger awards

    The year is 1327. Benedictines 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. His tools are the logic of Aristotle, the theology of Aquinas, the empirical insights of Roger Bacon—all sharpened to a glistening edge by wry humor and a ferocious curiosity. He collects evidence, deciphers secret symbols and coded manuscripts, and digs into the eerie labyrinth of the abbey, where “the most interesting things happen at night.”

    “Like the labyrinthine library at its heart, this brilliant novel has many cunning passages and secret chambers . . . Fascinating . . . ingenious . . . dazzling.” – Newsweek

    Editor's Note

    Beloved author’s debut…

    A medieval monk-turned-sleuth must employ classical philosophy and theology to decode ancient manuscripts to solve a series of murders in Umberto Eco’s mesmerizing debut.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMariner Books
    Release dateSep 28, 1994
    ISBN9780547575148
    Author

    Umberto Eco

    Umberto Eco (1932–2016) was the author of numerous essay collections and seven novels, including The Name of the Rose, The Prague Cemetery, and Inventing the Enemy. He received Italy’s highest literary award, the Premio Strega; was named a Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur by the French government; and was an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

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    Reviews for The Name of the Rose

    4/5

    4,177 ratings108 reviews

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    • 5/5
      9/10

      Just really delightful.
    • 5/5
      -- Driving home from work I listened to a radio interview with Umberto Eco, & a couple hrs. later I found his first novel in library Woman at circulation desk loves NAME OF THE ROSE & thought it might be too difficult for me. She said the writing as well as plot are complicated. (I didn't tell her I'm an English lit major.} I think everybody should exercise their minds as well as bodies. We talked about reading at least 100 pages. NAME OF THE ROSE is an enjoyable book. It's one to be read with fireplace not on beach. --
    • 4/5
      I liked The Name of The Rose. I think having a degree in Theology (or related subjects) would make me like it a lot more. Nevertheless, I still liked it.The Name of the Rose is a 13th century murder mystery told in the voice of a monk writing about 7 days from his youth he would never forget. I don’t know that many 13th century monks, but from what I can tell, the tone and style of the book is incredibly well done. At first it is so well done that it becomes irritating, but after a few chapters it is hard to imagine the story being told in any other way. Even though the book has very few jokes, the tone leads to plenty of really funny moments as undignified moments are being told of in a “dignified” manner, as well as a handful of beautifully absurd “proper” descriptions of things that are anything but. The two main characters of the story, and at times the plot, seems to follow the tried and tested Sherlock Holmes formula, perhaps just a tad too shamelessly at times. Still, the plot is solid, engaging, and exciting.Seeing as the story takes place in an abbey, and is told by a monk, discussions of a religious nature are to be expected. For the most part I found them rather fascinating. There are plenty of interesting thoughts on religion, morals, literature, knowledge, and different ways of handling, using, and interpreting all of these things. This will always be a balancing act. There should be enough philosophy to add to the story, but not as much as to bore the reader/detract from the flow. A few times The Name of the Rose falls of this tight-rope rather badly. There are places where, in my opinion, pages of discussion takes place that adds nothing to the story at all. I’m sure I’m probably missing something, but some places, especially where historical religious figures are discussed, the inclusion of the discussions seems a little forced. That said, on balance, I found the “philosophical stuff” to add much more than it detracted.Overall I thought the book was good, but inconsistent. There are plenty of really fantastic moments. There are also plenty of moments that are… well, boring, but these are made up for by the good times. It’s not an easy read, it’s at times a frustrating read, but when all is said and done, I think it is a very worthwhile read.
    • 3/5
      I gave this one 3 stars because for me, even though the story line & the characters were interesting, I found the book to be bogged down in the minute details, which I know were supposed to enhance the reading, but it slowed it down for me.Adso's memoirs of his travels with his master William, when he was a novice monk, right at first have a taste of hero worship :) William is a brother who used to be a dreaded Inquisitor, but, inexplicably QUIT when he realized that the "demons & devils" furor was causing innocent people their lives. He became a case investigator instead, solving mysteries along the way that in the 1300's people found sensational when to William, they are all easily solved using deductive reasoning, & attention to the details of the world around them.I had wanted to read it for years, & I'm really glad I did, even though it was hard to get through!
    • 5/5
      Brother William of Baskerville arrives at an Italian monastery to investigate charges of heresy. As he begins to arrive, some of the monks begin to die, one by one, with parallels to the seven trumpets of the Bible. The deaths appear to be related to a book found in the library which has its own mysteries. It's a powerful piece of historical fiction with a mystery theme. I must confess that I tried to read this book many years ago and gave up on it. My reading tastes have evolved through the years, and I found this one hard to put down.
    • 3/5
      I liked this book, but ultimately it gets too bogged down with historical and linguistic details (the curse of the first-time esoteric academic author I suppose), which is sad because the basic mystery plot is great.

      I highly recommend reading the edition with the postscript by the author where he explains how he came to write a novel, his writing process, and his ideas on authorship and interpretation.
    • 3/5
      I went through a period in my late twenties of reading Big Ol' Books just because they were Big Ol' Books. I worked at the time as a receptionist at a university, in one of the graduate schools/institutes, and as at that time I had not finished college yet was surrounded by MS and PhD candidates, I found it intellectually intimidating. So I think the Big Ol' Books was an act of compensation.

      Truth? I remember what happened in this book mostly because I also saw the movie. I remember my horror at the scenes of torture and boredom at long passages of description of what I can't recall. Mostly, the book felt like a long, long hike through foggy, broken land -- I couldn't see much beyond my little space, a few feet ahead and a few feet behind. I kept going out of sheer determination. I didn't particularly enjoy the trip, but I had to get to the end (I didn't know, at that age, that I could leave a book unfinished without consequence.)

      I have no particular desire to revisit this one. Certainly I never want to read the torture scenes. It's not a period of history for which I have any romantic attachment. I know the book posited some Big Ideas, but they were lost on me. I only recall the dimness, the strange cries over the concealed landscape, the damp air, and not being sure where I was going.
    • 4/5
      This is as much a historical novel as a mystery novel; as much about philosophical debates within the church as about a series of murders. In short, it's not a simple, easy to read mystery novel. You can read it without caring about the background, and skip the parts about theological debates, but you're missing out on the richness of the novel if you do. Not that it's to everyone's taste -- I can imagine some people being bored stiff by it, because it simply isn't their thing -- but I found it interesting. There are long, long passages of description -- it's very dense. The actual mystery was reasonably easy to follow, though. Somehow I was always one or two steps ahead.Further to the debate about reading by identifying with characters that ended so abruptly, I have to say, I really don't identify with the characters in most crime fiction. Chandler's Phillip Marlowe isn't exactly loveable, for me, and there's no one in Thomas Harris' The Silence of the Lambs that I cared desperately about... Still, in all books with characters, if they're more than card-board cutouts there's something to relate to: some emotion or action, even the smallest things. The love of learning some of the monks have, perhaps, for me.
    • 3/5
      This was an erudite book about 14th century monks and the investigation of murders in a monastery famous for its library. I learned quite a bit about the period from the theological discussions concerning the poverty of Christ, the heresy of Fra Dolcino, and the debate over whether Christ laughed or not (!), however I felt they were too long and somewhat obtuse. I believe Eco was writing in what he calls "the opera-buffa structure, with long recitatives and elaborate arias," but the arguments were hard to get through as well as the numerous Latin quotations throughout. The abundant political maneuverings of the Abbots, Popes, and Emperors were eye-opening, but what interested me most was the mystery of the murders. I was disappointed that the resolution rested with Jorge's incredulous obsession against comedy.
    • 3/5
      3* for enjoyment
      5* for quality

      Eco is brilliant, but perhaps too much so for me. He is an amazing philosopher. The central arguments around the political and the theoretical aspects of heresy might be interesting to those who enjoy that type of discourse but for me, it was outside my area of interest. The arguments he makes and biblical references were a lot to absorb, and I had to be in tip-top mental shape during my reading. Although not a long book, plan on spending some time reading each chapter.

      The mystery that is a sideline (I wouldn't call it the central part) of the story, was my favorite part. I enjoyed the deductive reasoning and the Sherlockian feel.

      The Latin throughout was a small hindrance but I could generally get the gist of what was being said. I spent some time looking up the different philosophies and monks in order to get a better understanding of each. I highly recommend this for those who don't have a lot of background in medieval history. It helped to clarify for me the stances that the monks took.

      A small complaint style-wise is in Eco's love of lists, some paragraphs were lines and lines of information which I thought could have been pared down.

      This is a future re-read in order to truly appreciate this incredible work
    • 3/5
      Set in the 1300s in an Italian monastery, The Name of the Rose is a mystery revolving around missing manuscripts, convoluted relationships and theological debates. William of Baskerville sets out to find the culprit who seems to be killing a monk for every judgment day listed in the Apocalypse. His helper, the novice Adso, narrates this tale from memory. Adso is a young man, just forming his theological ideas and beliefs, and finding them being stretched and challenged by the events happening around him.I enjoyed this book, the mystery was keen, the theology interesting, and the history revealing. I must say though, that while I enjoyed much of the talk between William and Adso, some of the other characters did go on a bit. It is a very long, slow paced book, and I found myself skimming some of the long lists of details and arguments near the end. I became impatient to get on with the mystery.
    • 3/5
      Reading this famous book 30 years after the first English edition was an interesting experience. The blurb says it was "a spectacular popular and critical success" but I was underwhelmed.Set in 1327, the book is, at heart, a period whodunnit, with the addition of a lot of largely extraneous information about the schisms and machinations of the catholic church of that era. As a detective story, it is well written and nicely crafted. The historical stuff is authoritatively written and informative. The problem is in the melding of the two parts of the book. The historical stuff is interleaved into the story as asides or artificial diversions to the whodunnit part of the book. As a result, there is no capacity for the author to provide the necessary context and background that would make the quite detailed information accessible and enjoyable. In the end, the historical stuff just tends to distract the reader from a fine detective tale.Read December 2013.
    • 1/5
      When this came out, I thought I would like it -- I generally like medieval mysteries, and I like Borges who influenced Eco. Others also assumed I would like it --a friend actually gave me a copy. But in fact I acutely disliked it because I love the fact that mysteries are about providing a rational explanation for chaos, and the whole point of this book is that such a rational explanation is a delusion. This is both emotionally unsatisfying and, I believe, factually untrue.
    • 3/5
      For the initial 200 pages Eco tries deliberately to make you throw the book at the wall, by being dense to the point of annoying. Be patient, and uh..keep a Latin-English translator handy.
    • 5/5
      One of my favorite novels, and the one I have most often recommended to family . . . and received enthuasiastic report.The movie of the book was a few flickers of shadow from the book's full effect, and may not even be worth watching, in comparison.
    • 5/5
      This will be a difficult novel for anyone that does not have an academic background in the Middle Ages. Luckily, I have spent the past 3 years preparing with excellent surveys such as Norman Cantor (The Civilization of the Middle Ages), Joseph Strayer (The Middle Ages, 395-1500) and Morris Bishop (The Middle Ages). There is hardly a sentence that does not connect with a scholarly topic on the Middle Ages, which should come as no surprise as Eco was foremost a medieval scholar before he wrote this his first novel. The first 100 pages of the novel are like reading a medieval manuscript, trying to piece together what is known of Medieval history and figuring out what Eco is talking about, not unlike what happens with the characters in the novel. With that said, the novel can still be enjoyed by anyone without a medieval history background because of the excellent plot and Gothic atmosphere. The novel needs extensive annotations to fully appreciate (such as The Key to The Name of the Rose, although I found it lacking in many ways).'Rose' works on many layers and can be approached from many perspectives. It's impossible to cover all the permutations in a single reading, indeed I have read it only once primarily a "reading for the plot" to understand the sequence of events. The movie helps in this regard, although it has some substantial "Hollywood" changes at the end and is much less subtle and interesting - recommend reading the novel first.Most valuable for me was Eco brought to life the Guelphs vs Ghibellines dispute in color, shape and form that only fiction can achieve. It's the difference between intellectually understanding history versus emotionally experiencing, and for this alone the novel is priceless, the best of what historical fiction can achieve.
    • 1/5
      Thank goodness I am done. I kept reading because it was on Rory's list AND 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die AND I purchased it. I wanted to enjoy this book but for several reasons which could be summed up with this: a 500 page novel that could have been enjoyable minus 300 pages. My 1 star rating is also a reflection on me as a reader. I WISH I could understand and appreciate works of this type but I do not. I keep trying though!
    • 5/5
      Further evidence that Catholics (lapsed or otherwise) write the best novels. As well as a compelling mystery this is as fine an evocation of another world (medieval Europe is much further removed from us now than any science-fiction fantasy) as I have ever read. For much of the time the novel feels like the monastery in which it takes place: a supposed oasis of calm and studied learning, infested and eventually overwhelmed by a lunatic and chaotic world of millennial cults, inquisitions and internecine accusations of heresy. When the mystery was resolved I feared the ending might fall flat but not at all, this is fascinating and challenging to the last.
    • 3/5
      This was a very enjoyable read, a sort of italian monk Sherlock Holmes/Dr Watson sort of thing, with interesting bits about italian history.
    • 5/5
      Aside from being a fun read (it's a medieval murder mystery), I liked "The Name Of The Rose" because it showed clearly the distinction between the medieval mindset and the modern mindset, at a time when the modern mindset was struggling to come into existence. None of the characters are truly modern men, but the two protagonists are the closest.
    • 5/5
      Like a creature from a medieval bestiary, Umberto Eco’s great novel is a fabulous monster of a book, conforming to neither the rules of nature nor of contemporary fiction. Summoned by the abbot of an Italian monastery to solve the mysterious death of a young monk, William of Baskerville, together with his assistant Adso, a novice, find themselves caught up in a series of bizarre deaths that seem to centre on the vast labyrinthine library and its precious, secret and avidly-guarded contents. This is a difficult book in places, slow to start and loaded with knowledge and intellect. Fluency in English will give one a sense of the meaning of some of the untranslated Latin that runs throughout the book, but I’d loved to have understood completely. Parts read like lessons in political history, and the intricacies of power struggles between popes and princes, scattered liberally with the names of lesser and more widely known figures, are gone into in some depth. Lists of fantastic creatures, medicinal herbs or the contents of a dream can dominate whole pages. Yet Eco has drawn William and Adso with a delicate and tender brush – each is recognisably human, each is flawed and easy to empathise with. The scene between Adso and the girl is beautifully described, and the writing throughout the 400 plus pages faultless. If at times I found the author’s intellect and knowledge daunting, even to the point of feeling unworthy to be reading, there were sections where I simply couldn’t put the book down, and I felt on turning the final page that without those passages mentioned above both the novel and its readers would be the poorer.
    • 5/5
      I enjoyed this book very much. I initially had a hard tiome getting started, some visulaization problems, I think, but pressed on and was drawn in. Very dark, but quite fascinating. Well written and translated. I've also read two of his other books but enjoyed them less.
    • 4/5
      Eco's writing stems from the head and less from keen observation or love of words.So, this mystery is full of information, puzzles, surprises, ideas. It is an intellectual pleasure to read.
    • 3/5
      I read this in college, when I aspired to be a well-read intellectual of the sort I thought they bred in England, able to quote Shakespeare and Cicero, Caesar and Chaucer, Aristotle and Aeschylus. Of course I'm not that sort (I imagine I'd have already become one by 18 if I were really so inclined.) Name of the Rose is a medieval detective story, a story of murder and of literary clues, and is, ultimately, about people who care more for books than for lives or the world they live in. Which I was when I read it. Which I am no longer, which is why I am not likely to reread it.
    • 3/5
      I really wanted to love this book. The monastery/library setting was superbly detailed and Eco is one of the few who can pull off the balance of philosophy and symbolism necessary to carry the reader along. However, the pace slows considerably and there are too many annoyingly predictable "twists and turns" that would be more suitable for a cheap mystery novel. Simply put, there isn't enough story to this labyrinth and, at best, this is a book of well written moments with scholastic fluff in between. Eco's postscript to this book is over-thought and overestimates the book's importance. Until he can craft a plot, he has not earned the right to fling untranslated Latin at me.
    • 5/5
      Philosophical work, political work, semitoics work, and also a little bit of a murder mistery. An amazing novel that it is enjoyable on so many levels.
    • 4/5
      This is another book that had been languishing on my shelves for a very long time. I liked the movie ages ago, and one of my best college friends is obsessed with Eco, so I'd bought a few books and have been moving them house to house forever. I'd tried to read this one before, too, but I don't know how many pages of church history and architecture I made it through before I gave up. Have you ever heard anyone say Moby Dick would be a fine book if it weren't for all the damn whaling? Well, I felt this way about this book and church history. But I needed a book for book bingo that was over 500 pages, and this is also on the bookslut 100, so I persevered.

      Of course, like the whaling in Moby Dick, it turns out all the church history was important to the book's plot. I just wish I had more hooks to hang it all on in my brain -- so many factions, so many unfamiliar names. I muddled through. But whatever details I missed, it ended up being a great framework for discussing big moral questions -- poverty and wealth, knowledge and who gets to have it, humility, humor, awe.

      The experience of reading this book was damaged for me by my partial memories of the movie. I remembered part of the final resolution, but only a small part, so the whole way though I was struggling to make that part fit in with the unfolding mystery at the abbey -- the increasing body count, the hidden heretics, the prophecies of end times.

      The more you read of any kind of church history, the more you realize how little of it changes. It must be the human condition. We're always dividing ourselves up and saying we have the true belief and you are infidels. But as much as it is unchanging, I am grateful that we've left some things behind. Like, you know, the Inquisition, and burning people at the stake.

      It was very good. Maybe someday I'll give that other Eco book that's been sitting on my shelves forever a try.
    • 4/5
      Medieval monks arguing the finer points of papal intrigue, some murders at the abbey, and a phantasmal library - wonderfully done, and translated at that.
    • 5/5
      Upon arriving at the abbey, Brother William and his apprentice Adso are greeted with a lack of co operation and a number of warnings and mysteries. The first death has happened before they arrived. Brother Adelmo is found at the bottom of the tower, from which he has fallen (or did he jumped? Or was pushed?). In their investigation they find that everyone seems to know something, but no one is willing to talk and they start running out of time as the bodies continue to accumulate and the Inquisitors are on their way.Eco has written a very dark but well designed mystery. Early on into the books I made up my own list of suspects, based on the many clues hinted at throughout the book. Despite my determination to figure out who was the cause of all the murders, the book kept me guessing until the end. As it turns out the culprit wasn't even on my suspect list!You are led through the mystery by Brother Williams young apprentice, Adso. A young novice Adso is both naive and intelligent. He is well versed in matters of theology (as are most characters in this novel- and they love to debate them!) but inexperienced when it comes to life. This makes him very human and relatable and in addition a reliable narrator. You trust what he is telling you and never question whether he is leaving anything out. He is telling you the story exactly as he saw it.Eco is a very descriptive writer and it is easy to lose yourself in the setting of a monastery in1327. Alternatively, however, there is a great deal of time spent on the politics of the time. At this time, when the fear of the Inquisition was felt all over, politics meant theology. Eco writes in detail about some intense theological debates, such as the poverty of Jesus. As a former student of religious studies I could follow some of these debates but even I didn't understand some of the references and arguments some times. These debates should not discourage anyone from reading the book, as it is easy enough to just the jist of them and continue of with the story.Overall an excellent read and a great mystery. Destined to be a classic.
    • 1/5
      I fail to understand as to how this book could be classified as literature. To me, it appears little better than Dan Brown. One can read the first 80 pages and last 80 and not miss much.