The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
It is the year 1327. Brother William of Baskerville is called to an affluent Italian convent where Franciscans are thought to be practising heresy. Brother William turns detective as seven strange deaths abruptly overwhelm his delicate purpose. He gathers proof, deciphers coded documents and secret symbols, and explores the dark labyrinth of the abbey where incredible things are occurring at night. “The Name of the Rose,” an astounding popular and critical triumph, is not simply a story about a murder inquiry but also an astounding history of the Middle Ages.
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
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The success of The Name of the Rose is positively mind-boggling. Here is a book that completely refuses to hold the reader’s hand while immersing them in medieval life, engaging in intricate discussions about medieval theology and the Catholic schisms of the fourteenth century, taking lengthy detours into church architecture and manuscript construction, and frequently interspersing untranslated Latin. Yes, the book’s central mystery is murder, and there is much intrigue as well as a strange labyrinth and dream sequences, but no one would describe this as an easy read.
The end result is a novel that defies easy categorization into any established category. Is this a murder investigation? Undoubtedly, there is no denying that there have been a number of gruesome killings with unexplained motives, a potential conspiracy, intriguing labyrinths with secrets, and a perpetual sense of danger (to say nothing of a Sherlock Holmes surrogate in the form of a monk). The book is given equal weight to the murders and is maybe address in greater detail. However, calling it a mystery is inaccurate because no mystery would include this much discussion of the Catholic Church’s views on poverty and material things.
