The Name of the Rose [Audio Download]

My favourite Eco novel and one of my all-time favourite books. I keep returning to this informed and wonderfully crafted story time and time again. It _is_ very dense but Eco's narrative style is so smooth and captivating that it's not at all intimidating.

Just like 'Foucault's Pendulum' with all its Hebrew, mysticism and Kabballah (which I love), if you don't like the incidental stuff (like the Latin) in Name of the Rose then just plough through it - and then savour the richness of the characterisation and the clever and meticulously dove-tailed intricacies of the plot which is unravelled at a perfect pace before you.

The basic story is pure Conan Doyle - with the aptly named main Holmes-esque character William of Baskerville being one of the most wonderful characters of any book I've read (on a par with John Le Carre's Barley Scott Blair - coincidentally both characters being played by Sean Connery in the movie versions of their respective books). Baskerville makes the same observations and inferences as the Victorian detective and even says, "elementary" as a playful reference to his fictional mentor (Eco has that sense of fun - like concluding that an encoded scrap of paper thought to hold the secrets to an ancient secret world order of Templars (in Foucault's Pendulum) was actually just a shopping list).

The other characters at the Monastery are utterly vivid, disturbing and grotesque - straight out of an Hieronymus Bosch painting. I really can't rate this book highly enough. Eco needn't be hard work, he does try and be clever (which, let's face it, he is.....very, very clever) but there's no need to get bogged down by the peripheral stuff and commentary if that's not your thing. If it is your thing then this novel will become one of the most cherished and well-thumbed items in your book case - just don't lick your finger when turning the pages.......(you'll need to read the book to understand that last comment).

People will probably either love or hate this book. Those expecting a straight forward medieval 'whodunnit' in the tradition of Ellis Peters might be in for a little surprize, as Umberto Eco adds a great deal of background information (history, theology, linguistics) to his murder mystery. For Adso, the narrator of the work, there is much more to discover than just the identity of the murderer.

I would also like to reassure readers, who might think that knowledge of Latin is essential to understanding and enjoying this work. It is not. A good grasp of Latin will add to the enjoyment, no doubt, but the casual reader can just skip through the quotations. What is given in Latin is background information, also making the work more authentic. However, nothing relevant to the actual plot is hidden from the reader who only knows vernacular languages.

All in all a gripping read, which will change the reader's perception of libraries for ever!

The first time I tried to read this book as a 19 year old student desperately trying to impress my peers I abandoned it after less than a hundred pages as I found just too hard going. Several years later and at the insistence of several friends I tried again, this time determined to see it through to the end. It was, and remains, a revelation.

First of all, dispel any thoughts of the rather tame and dreary film that cam out in the 80s as it just did not do justice to this remarkable novel. Yes, it is frighteningly dark and sinister but there's a real warmth and kindly wisdom about Willaim of Baskerville and an endearing naivety from his young charge, Adso, to help the reader through the very grimmest of the plot developments.

While the setting provides a suitably unsettling backdrop to the grisly goings on, the heart of this book is in it's characters from the pious abbott, the disturbing Salvatore, the sinister Jorge and the downright terrifying Bernardo Gui of the dreaded Inquisition, all of whom are fleshed out with their own stories. Adso asks he questions the reader wants answered in a Dr Watson type way, while sleuthy William of Baskerville ( a none too subtle tip of the deerstalker hat to Arthur Conan Doyle by the author) provides the answers... and answers them with riddles.

The Name Of The Rose sheds a glimemr of light on a disturbing period of European history when plague and famine were a constant concern and religious fanatacism was the real power governing people's lives. While set several centuries ago, the theme of dogmatic zealots throwing their weight around to the peril of ordinary people is all too familiar in today's troubled times and modern day parallels are, sadly, all too easy to draw. That said, Umberto Eco does not launch an unbridled attack upon religion as he is very sympathetic to the genuine faith of many of the characters. Instead he targets those with blind faith who do not question themselves and use "the will of God" to subjugate and punish others, whether it is the men of the Inquisition or the heretical Cathars. That's not say it's a book about religion as that would miss out the murder mystery element, the sex, the architecture, the red herrings, etc.

Umberto Eco's The Name Of The Rose is a magnificent book of masterly storytelling and enlightening prose. Yes, it's hard work to get into, but then many great books are and the rewards are worth the effort so don't be put off. Ideal reading material for dark winter nights.