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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
challenging
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An excellent historical novel, though quite the challenge.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Once I had to face an exam which they said the most important in my life, and consequently the serious faces around made me panic. So now when I read this book I know what Jorge (the villain here) says about the second book of Aristotle which is said to be dealing with comedy is true. Laughter can dispel fear, it may change everything (possibly the outcome of my exam too, which was by the way, disastrous).
Detective novels are usually considered by the so-called scholars as not worth reading and so not in anyone's academic curriculum. But here Umberto Eco has succeeded in producing a scholarly work within the frame work of crime fiction. All these facts about the Dark Ages of the Catholic Church is pretended to be non-existent, so a common reader will have to struggle hard to make some sense of this religious dilemma. So what keeps the pace is the frame story, the seven murders and the mystery pursued by William, the follower of Roger Bacon (a monk who upholds scientific belief is a strange combination indeed!), who reminds us often of Sherlock Holmes.
Detective novels are usually considered by the so-called scholars as not worth reading and so not in anyone's academic curriculum. But here Umberto Eco has succeeded in producing a scholarly work within the frame work of crime fiction. All these facts about the Dark Ages of the Catholic Church is pretended to be non-existent, so a common reader will have to struggle hard to make some sense of this religious dilemma. So what keeps the pace is the frame story, the seven murders and the mystery pursued by William, the follower of Roger Bacon (a monk who upholds scientific belief is a strange combination indeed!), who reminds us often of Sherlock Holmes.
5 stars 🌟 I found ‘The Name of the Rose’ to be a masterful blend of historical fiction and philosophical inquiry.
Few books manage to combine the allure of a detective mystery with the gravitas of medieval theology and philosophical discourse. Umberto Eco's ‘The Name of the Rose’ does this.
It’s a book that demands you to think, to question, and to see the parallels between the past and our present society. The book suggests that the greatest sin is not heresy but the suppression of ideas. And isn’t this critique as relevant today as it was in the 1300s?
While it is dense and at times challenging, the reward is a story that lingers with you long after you’ve turned the last page.
This is a book that should be on everyone’s reading list—a classic that not only entertains but enlightens. After all, as Eco subtly reminds us, the pursuit of knowledge is the one true path to freedom.
Few books manage to combine the allure of a detective mystery with the gravitas of medieval theology and philosophical discourse. Umberto Eco's ‘The Name of the Rose’ does this.
It’s a book that demands you to think, to question, and to see the parallels between the past and our present society. The book suggests that the greatest sin is not heresy but the suppression of ideas. And isn’t this critique as relevant today as it was in the 1300s?
While it is dense and at times challenging, the reward is a story that lingers with you long after you’ve turned the last page.
This is a book that should be on everyone’s reading list—a classic that not only entertains but enlightens. After all, as Eco subtly reminds us, the pursuit of knowledge is the one true path to freedom.
mysterious
Wow!!! Eco gets a lot of shit for being deliberately dense, so I was intimidated going into this... only to get a really bright, light-of-foot narrative. He has a real fluidity and complexity of thought to envy. Really enjoyed the very thoughtful and interesting author's notes, where he specifically mentions that he writes for his and the reader's pleasure.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Very good but also very dense. Read it with book club which kept me going
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
So many things I appreciate about this book: the humour (I kept laughing out loud!), the epistemological thread and its (dis)satisfying resolution, the commitment to a fleshed-out historical setting with all of its peculiarities, and the enormous amount of knowledge and research behind it all. (See also: mysterious libraries, literary labyrinths, history of ideas.) The catch? I'm just not enough of a medievalist to fully enjoy it. I could practically feel the references ruffling my hair as they flew over my head.
I know that great novels can and will draw you in regardless of the subject matter, and I have experienced it before, so throughout the book I kept telling myself that I, too, would soon be enchanted by ecclesiastical debates, trudging through pages upon pages of them knowing that they would be relevant later and hoping that I might at some point find it in myself to give a damn. Alas, it turns out I just cannot bring myself to care about church history or Catholic theology that much.
I know that great novels can and will draw you in regardless of the subject matter, and I have experienced it before, so throughout the book I kept telling myself that I, too, would soon be enchanted by ecclesiastical debates, trudging through pages upon pages of them knowing that they would be relevant later and hoping that I might at some point find it in myself to give a damn. Alas, it turns out I just cannot bring myself to care about church history or Catholic theology that much.