R- The Name of the Rose (v,some x,b)

Umberto Eco is a historian and semiotician who has written numerous nonfiction works on the history of language and ideas. He has also written a handful of novels, giving him another medium in which to explore his infatuation with words, books and ideas.

The Name of the Rose: This novel is presented as if it were a memoir of an elderly fourteenth-century monk, Adso, who witnessed these events during his years as a Benedictine novice. During Adso's travels with his master, the Franciscan friar William of Baskerville, they visit an Italian abbey with a famous library. The Franciscans plan to meet here with the representatives of the Pope, in order to discuss theological differences between their order and the pontiff. However, before the two delegations arrive, monks in the abbey begin to die under mysterious circumstances. Some of the clues point to the library, its secret books, and its unknown dangers. William and Adso must try to unravel the mystery before the Pope's men use the crimes in the abbey as further fuel for charges of heresy that hang over the Franciscan order.

This novel is very erudite and may not appeal to readers who dislike authors showing off their cleverness, or who dislike lengthy exposition. However, those who enjoy immersion in words, books and ideas for their own sake will find much to savor here. Eco does a superb job of capturing the context of medieval monasticism, which is essential for making sense of much that happens in the book. Adso is an ideal narrator: His innocence and curiosity require much to be explained to him (enlightening both him and the reader), and his frankness helps make the characters (including himself) seem real, sympathetic and human. William is consciously patterned after the Sherlock Holmes model, but is perhaps less perfect--and more plausible--than Doyle's creation.

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Last Updated: December 6, 1999

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