The Name of the Rose

by Umberto Eco | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 0330284142 Global Overview for this book
Registered by wingcluricaunewing of Armagh, Co. Armagh United Kingdom on 5/12/2021
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Journal Entry 1 by wingcluricaunewing from Armagh, Co. Armagh United Kingdom on Wednesday, May 12, 2021
Umberto Eco is internationally renowned as an author, a philosopher, a literary critic and a historian. He is also a professor of Semiotics at the University of Bologna and lives in Milan. "The Name of the Rose", his debut novel, was first published in Italy in 1980 and became a bestseller throughout the world. It was also adapted for the big screen in 1986, a version that starred Sean Connery and Christian Slater.

"The Name of the Rose" is set in the fourteenth century and is told by Adso of Melk - an aged Benedictine Abbot looking back to a journey he took as a novice. Adso's father was a German nobleman loyal to Louis the Bavarian and arranged for the young Adso to travel with him to Italy - there, he hoped to see Louis crowned Holy Roman Emperor. However, with his father's time subsequently taken up with the Siege of Pisa, Adso was placed in the care of William of Baskerville - not only a shrewd, learned and wise Franciscan, but also a former Inquisitor. Together, the pair travel to a Benedictine abbey in the northern Italian mountains.

The arena in which William and Adso operate is at least as political as it is religious. There are great differences of opinion between the orders on a number of topics - the most relevant to the story involves a difference in opinion about poverty between the Franciscan Order and the Pope. Since the Pope and the Emperor don't see eye-to-eye either, Louis has obviously sided with the Franciscans. The Order's Head, Michael of Cesena, has been summoned several times to Avignon - where the Papal Court was held at the time - officially to deal conclusively with the matter. However, since many suspect this would actually involve Michael being charged with heresy, the Emperor feels it best if Michael travels as part of an official Imperial delegation. As the whole matter is proving increasingly difficult to deal with, a preliminary meeting has been arranged to lay out the opposing points of view. William has been appointed the Emperor's representative, and the meeting is taking place at the abbey to which he and Adso are travelling.

As it happens, the pair are given much more to think about than just the meeting. Not long before William and Adso arrived, one of the abbey's most skilled illuminators - Adelmo of Otranto - had been found dead at the foot of some cliffs beneath the abbey. The Abbot suspects the young monk was murdered, and asks William to investigate. Things are not made entirely easy for the pair : although Adelmo may have been pushed to his death from the upper floor of the library, they are forbidden from entering that area. Nevertheless, with the meeting imminent, they know it's vital to have everything cleared up as soon as possible - preferably with out any more deaths...

This is a hugely enjoyable book - the only real flaw is that it's occasionally a little over-descriptive. However, it makes a nice change to read a murder-mystery than relies solely on the skills of the investigator - particularly one as likeable as William - without any help from forensics, fingerprinting or DNA sampling. The 'back-story', relating to the meeting, added a nice political spin to things. It also added a certain amount of panic for some of the characters, as the Pope's representative is also a practising Inquisitor. Very highly recommended.

Journal Entry 2 by wingcluricaunewing at Armagh, Co. Armagh United Kingdom on Wednesday, May 12, 2021
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Journal Entry 3 by wingcluricaunewing at Hôtel Charlemagne in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Ile-de-France France on Wednesday, July 12, 2023

Released 8 mos ago (7/12/2023 UTC) at Hôtel Charlemagne in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Ile-de-France France

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