Rating: 
Summary: A rose by any other name?
Review: First: An answer to a rather negative reviewer's cluelessness about the title. Obviously he/she didn't bother to read Eco's Postscript in which he says, among other things, "I liked it because the rose is a symbolic figure so rich in meaning that by now it hardly has any meaning left" and "A title must muddle the reader's ideas, not regiment them." It is generally a wise idea to read a book in its entirety before reviewing it.I fancied the book for the most part. It is much like Eco's other work, rich in (to me) fascinating historic detail, which, as another reviewer has pointed out, is not mere historic detail, but rather pertains poignantly to our own day and age. But I have the opposite of what seems to be the other reviewers' problem with the novel. The "detective story" somewhat detracted from the novel rather than vice-versa. One catches whiffs of the Brother Cadfael series here and there and some rather transparent Hollywood/BBC plot props which rather detract from one's appreciation. But I suppose this is the reason it is the only one of Eco's books to be made into a film. In the end, if you truly enjoy literature and reflection, any of Eco's other novels are far superior to this one. On the other hand, if you enjoy detective stories and strong plotlines than this is no doubt the only work of his for you. But I shan't try to regiment things either for the prospective reader. Perhaps you'll find some special nuances here that a necessarily brief review like this one can't cover. -- 4 Rosy Stars.
Rating:
Summary: Where's the Rose?
Review: I read the Divinci Code and learned that the word "Rose" has a special connotation in Christian history (or fiction). Friends told me that the "The Name of the Rose" broached the same subject. After reading the entire book, I don't see the connection. In fact, I didn't notice a single reference, literal or otherwise, to a rose. I waited for the the climax when the "secret" is unveiled and felt a let down because it had nothing to do with my expectation. The book is marvelous in its detail and depiction of the times of the Inquisition - how far the Church departed from its mission of Christ.
Rating: 
Summary: Worst book I have read in at least 20 years
Review: I'm being nice here. I feel guilty for wasting so much of my life reading this crap. Don't believe the hype. I have read that this book is "The Da Vinci Code" for people in Mensa. Well I am in Mensa and let me tell you that when I was nearing the end I was more interested in finishing it so I could paste this review than finding out the riddle to the mystery. If you came here cause of "The Da Vinci Code" read "Angels and Demons". If you already did that, do something more exciting than reading this book like stare at the walls for 16 hours. Just do not read this book. I was lured into reading it by the basis premise of murder mystery in a monastery, the library which no one can go into, what is in the library, et cetera. Unfortunately, that is about 200 pages and that part was pretty decent. The other 300 pages is about 14th century monks philosophising about religion and political issues of the day. If that interests you, today is your lucky day. If you are the other 5,499,999,973 of us, run for the hills.
Rating:
Summary: A rose by any other name, would smell as sweet?
Review: OK, I admit it! I saw the movie first and was enchanted by Sean Connery's excellent performance. After that I decided to read the book, and boy! This is what I would call an "intellectual thriller." It's not an easy read, but it is so emotionally gripping that you just can't put it down!
Eco is one of the better modern writers, and The Name of the Rose is his best work yet. It's highly recommended to all of you who like intelligent and entertaining books. If you're a Sidney Sheldon fan, don't expect to like this...
Rating:
Summary: Naming The Rose
Review: I was still in Year 12 when I first read "The Name of the Rose". A Greek friend of mine recommended it to me. I found the book very interesting. It really did transport me to the medieval monastery: The adumbral lives of hooded monks, usually spent over classical manuscripts and the patient compilation of codices, are suddenly made sinister by factional schisms, demonic possessions, heresies, and insidious, underground sexual activism. Indeed, it was the novel's description of the seven deadly sins and of unorthodoxy that eventually hooked me. With the benefit of hindsight, I can now say that the novel is still a good read, especially for those interested in Catholicism, medieval history and detective story (exactly in that order). But it's also got its weaknesses, or rather, its less appealing aspects. Prof. Eco, for one, writes very floridly. His long sentences (which would have been more lucid in the Italian) are rendered obscure in their English translation, a language (and a cultural milieu) which values clarity of expression above long-windedness. This is often compounded by the dry monologues of William of Baskerville which can go on and on and on....Once, I felt as if I was reading the script of a badly written lecture on the names of plants and herbs, rather than "The Name of The Rose". It even appeared that, sometimes, only the occasional sparks of sacerdotal hedonism could maintain my interest in the novel. We must, nonetheless, be fair. After all, Prof. Eco narrates his story through the persona of an elderly (and perhaps increasingly pedantic and slow-spoken) Adso. And he, in turn, is supposed to have written the narrative - his set of manuscripts - during the Middle Ages. The style, then, is probably called for, for historical realism's sake. (I have not read Prof. Eco's other works and cannot therefore say what his style may be like when writing a different genre.) This style probably also reflects something else: the idea that it's an old man telling you a story about his experience of youth. It is this nostalgia, I think, that is the "Rose" referred to in the title. For the Rose is left unnamed by Prof. Eco - he leaves the task of nomenclature to the reader. It is us who decide what (or who) the rose may be. In the film adaptation of the novel, it is certainly hinted that the rose is the villager with whom Adso shares an immaculately sublime and gentle lovemaking. For me, though, more than a Hollywood love story, "The Name of The Rose" encompasses Adso's nostalgia for a past that has glown under the patina of a blurring memory. More than an instant of forbidden bodily union, Adso's is a nostalgic account of being a novice under a reknown mentor, of the adventures they've shared, the mysteries they've solved, of the immersing experience of having been a part, albeit for a brief period, of an ancient seat of learning, and of a youth already lived through. The sexual aspect, without a doubt, is an important part of the experience of youth; it is then that candour is finally lost. But as any men in their twilight years would attest, there is more to youth than that: it's a period of life you remember first and foremost for its rosiness, and for the difficulty many of you will face when the time comes to naming it. (Partly because your memory is already bad and partly because the experience is simply too good to be named.) So, yeah, read it, and when you get bored, try to be fair to Prof. Eco and Adso, and to remember this: "I'd be like them when I'm old".
Rating: 
Summary: Intimidating but rewarding....if you are up to the challenge
Review: I think Eco himself sums up this daunting novel best when he states in his afterward that the first 100 pages are essentially a test. A test is right. This book is erudite, painstakingly reasearched and would be terrifying to the novice or casual reader. I enjoyed the book for its beautifully textured plot and descriptions and I loved the complexity of the central murder mysteries. Eco weaves a wonderfully dark and esoteric tapestry that kept me guessing the entire length of the novel. Unfortunately, the work is bogged down by needlessly long dialogues and page after page about the religious and political climate of the time....pages that are tedious at best. The main protagonist, William of Baskerville, is an intriguing character but I found his philosophical insights mind numbingly obtuse. I defy anyone to expalain some of his diatribes in a way that makes any sense. If you can stomach the passages on the various religious orders of the day and the nonsensical explanations, this book does contain an engaging story, full of hidden secrets and dusty corners dying to be explored. Plus, I am sure people will think you are smart when they see you reading it.
Rating: 
Summary: The bestseller that has never been read
Review: Some notes on this book; *You can read this book in a few days.*
*You can skip some of the psedu-quasi-religion on your first reading but it is easy stuff if you do not rush it.*
*Hollywood made it into a film so it can not be that hard*
*Christian Slater even managed to get it.*
*Try reading "The Tibetan Book of the Dead by W.Y.Evans-Wentz" if you think this is hard.* The Name of the Rose is quite complex in its initial appearance which according to the author is a work of non-fiction derived from an old manuscript written by a monk called Abo of Melk that Umberto Eco has translated for all the world to see and read. It is a 13th century tale of this monk's youth spent as an apprentice to an ex-inquisitor, Brother William of Baskerville, who has been asked by an abbot to uncover the truth behind a rather disturbing murder at his beloved abbey. The story is quick to adopt an investigative posture which not only involves all the hallmarks of a "whodunit" type story but also has Abo, and many other characters, questioning their own faith and the faith of others. The story is much more than just another detective yarn as Umberto Eco continues to depict scenes of spiritual debates, holy disorder, political corruption, religious rebellion, crimes of heresy and sexual misconduct which are as a contradictory to the life of a monk as the murderous crimes themselves. There is much in this book to dissuade many from reading it in its entirety. The Name of the Rose is often cited as the "bestseller that has never been read." There is much truth to this as I myself have often found that certain passages and lengthy debates would make one nod off as if listening to a sermon that carries with it a haze of sleepiness. No doubt many of the monks in this story have felt the same way too. There are many versus in Latin and references to historical religious figures that have no direct impact on the story but are only dished up to help Abo, and the reader, derive conclusions to many of the questions found in the mind of a novice that are philosophical and metaphysical in nature. You have these questions too. The Name of the Rose expounds on the correlations between order and chaos, much of which is linked directly to William's own ethics when carrying out his investigation of the abbey. It is a hard book to read or follow because of its many Latin references, pseudo-religious-philosophical debates (there is not too much of it though) but is as equally a hard book to forget or stop reading. No doubt without the "whodunit" elements this book would more suitable as special treatise hidden among the abbey's own Aedificium. Very few books leave you feeling somewhat attached to the story but The Name of the Rose ushers with it a very subtle relationship between you and William who acts as a farther type figure to Abo who is your eyes and ears in the story. Needless to say the actual impact of the book does not hit home until the final three or four pages. Everything else beforehand has been of interest to you but you don't quite know why. The book actually ends up posing more questions than it attempts to answer and this in itself is what is at the heart of The Name of the Rose. The final vestibule of assertion is made only in saying that nothing can be confirmed at all and good men should not seek to hold fast to Earthly possessions which eventually return to that from which they came. . . . including this story. You will read it again and that is why it is a keeper. Don't even bother looking for it in the library. Just buy it, appreciate it, take your time with it and raise your IQ.
Rating:
Summary: A great fusion of scholarship and entertainment
Review: The famous Name of the Rose has been on the market for ages now. People generally tend to either love it or hate it - and I belong to the former category. I think that it makes for great reading. The story of the book is about an educated monk in the 14th century (William Bakervile) and his novice-monk protege Adso. They come upon an abbey in the mountains of Italy for William to participate in a conference. However, their stay is complicated by a series of murders in the abbey which William and Adso begin to investigate. As a result, they step on some toes and disturb some powerful and vengeful ghosts. The book is a hybrid. It can be seen as a detective story told in a very erudite and philosophical manner OR a book about semiotics, history and meaning disguised as a detective story. The book explores many medieval worldviews on the nature of humanity, religion and civilisation (as expressed by the characters). It speaks in detail of several topics related to Christianity - such as the poverty of Jesus and his laughter. It's amazing how such seemingly above-the-world ideas can be an integral part of a murder investigation! But the main focus of the book is on knowledge - largely represented by the library in the abbey which contains a great collection of arcane and mystical texts. I found the book very enjoyable to read as it combines intellectually dense material with a popular, almost pulp-like way of presenting it. As for people who accuse Umberto of being pretentious in his descriptions, in this book I think he sometimes gives more information than one would ask for to make the reader look deeper into the story (probably most useful for rereading). A great, clever, funny book - and a very modern medieval tale!
Rating:
Summary: Two Books in One
Review: Interesting murder mystery; boring and obscure book on philosophy. Clearly Eco is a brilliant guy, but not every brilliant guy makes a great novelist. None of the characters really comes off the page. William is nicely complex, and Bernard Gui is an interesting villian, but the convoluted plot is hard to follow and some of the incidents and characters eventually become dead ends. Not that interesting considering all the glowing media praise. I was ultimately disappointed. Now I want to watch the movie and see if the adaptation is more entertaining. I saw it years ago, but hardly remember it.
Rating:
Summary: The Emperor Has No Clothes
Review: You'll have to bear with me, because this is going to take a minute. It's worth the wait though... A few years back, a friend of mine who was an assistant publicist in Hollywood told me that there were some prominent actors (Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Ted Danson, Kirsty Ally, Richard Gere and several others) who discovered through focus groups that the general public's net impression of their powers of intuition, perspicacity and discovery were idling just to the south of those of Elmer Fudd (you know, the fat cartoon guy who twied to shoot the wabbit). More succinctly: people thought they were stupid. This was a serious problem for the actors and their financial backers as it was apparent that this would limit the range and type of roles that they would be offered. And since these were proven, bankable stars, this was a problem that needed fixing, and fixing fast. Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, the solution was not to get these folks into classes, or have them give speaches on erudite matters or become involved in intellectual pursuits. No, the solution was much more Hollywood than that -- and here it is: each one of these stars was to be photographed ("candidly" -- wink, wink) at outdoor cafes or parks or wherever, casually leafing through one of two books: Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon, and Foucault's Pendulum, by, you guessed it: Umberto Eco. Now, neither of these books were chosen lightly. And I won't get into the why's and wherefores of the selection process, but suffice it to say that these books were chosen because they were so completely and totally unapproachable that no one connected with the Hollywood scene would ever, and I mean never, never ever, spend the time required to ask the stars questions about the material -- most would just assume that anyone who even bothered owning one of these books was smart. The good news for several of these stars is that this harmless ploy worked (a truly victimless crime!) What's my point. My point is that The Name of the Rose is just slighlty more approachable than either Gravity's Rainbow or Foucault's pendulum. And even though I believe that Eco did a pheneomenal job of weaving a very interesting and engaging story, the pages are so heavily laden with religious, linguistic, semiotic and historical esoterica, that to enjoy the depth and breadth of the subject matter and plot, one would require a PhD in Medieval Arcana. My suggestion is to let all these people here who gave the book five stars go on thinking that people think they're smart, and the rest of us can go on and enjoy our lives.
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