Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant
Review: This is one of my favorite books -- it's truly brilliant, and more accessible than some of Eco's other work (such as Foucalt's Pendulum).
Rating:
Summary: A great book
Review: However, The Name of The rose is not just an ordinary histirical fiction book where the elements of the traditional fictitious story give way to a historical-documentary motive. Here we can distinguish two interelated topics: real historical time and time related to ideological moral values. Namely, the last thing makes the book a unique one and I can give advise to everybody to read it.
Vilimir Yordanov Plovdiv Bulgaria
Rating:
Summary: Mystery, philosophy, theology and humor--odd bedfellows?
Review: "The Name of the Rose" is a smart, very European mystery combining chunks of theological controversy, history, mystery and a good lashing of humor thrown in. Eco is a very clever writer; he can combine these seemingly incompatible elements and make a book that's hard to put down. I certainly couldn't put it down as I followed Brother Adso, the monk who narrates the story. When a novice in a monastery in 1327, Adso accompanied the brilliant William of Baskerville on an investigation into mysterious deaths amongst the monks. Each death is more and more bizarre; the method of murder perplexing. The key to the murders is locked in the labyrinthine passages of the monastery, incredibly well-described by Eco. The library, in particular, is fraught with dangers. The descriptions are so vivid that I can close my eyes and picture the scenes in the bath, the kitchens and the library with great detail. Eco is masterful in creating visual richness. The novel is larded with Latin phrases, theological and literary arguments which may annoy readers who have not included these weighty subjects in their education. No matter, you can read this mystery and enjoy the clever revelation of clues and solution. Eco does play on "Sherlock Holmes" with "Baskerville" as a clue to the mental prowess of Sir William. If you like a good mystery and historical fiction, it doesn't get a lot better than "Name of the Rose."
Rating: 
Summary: Seductive but ultimately nihilistic attack on truth
Review: Eco is an adherent of Structuralism (similar to Nominalism)
and his book reads like a manifesto of this
philosophy, which holds that behind language, there is
nothing. Or, as the author expresses it (in Latin, which he uses
liberally throughout the book) "we have only bare names."
In other words: don't go searching for the truth; you won't find it! This poisonous doctrine, as it plays out in the story of William's
futile attempts to unravel a murder mystery, paints a defamed, demoralizing portrait of the Middle Ages. The scenario unfolds according to Eco's
firm belief that everything is nothing -- in his protagonist's
words "there is little difference
between the ardor of the Seraphim and the ardor of Lucifer." It doesn't take too much erudition to see where we end up.
Thus, sin and virtue can be equally scoffed at.
Eco may be a great scholar of nothingness; I frankly don't
know. But his fiction (you'll find similar "true is false" plot
devices in ) is meretricious,
promoting a miscreant view whose
telos is an atheistic mocking of Christianity.Admittedly,
is filled with elements that pique our curiosity, the reason for
the book's success, although one wonders whether the millions
who bought the tome actually read it all...........
As a more wholesome alternative,
I recommend by Ross King; not a lesson in
pedantry perhaps, but at least a good, unpretentiousmysterty/adventure, something Eco's
nihilism precludes him from ever achieving...
Rating:
Summary: A medieval tour de force
Review: Umberto Eco has had a long and illustrious academic career; a seminal figure in the quintessentially metalinguistic discipline of semiology and author of numerous works of fiction, his writing has been described as dense, obscure, pompous, brilliant. For all his many accomplishments, nowhere else, in my opinion, does he succeed in marrying his phenomenal erudition to a narrative so well. The Name of the Rose, in short, is his fictional masterwork. The story takes place in 1327, when a novice monk accompanies the remarkable Franciscan William of Baskerville to an unnamed Benedictine monastery on a political and theological mission. The monastery, it turns out, is home both to one of the most remarkable libraries in Europe and to an unfolding, bizarre series of murders, and Brother William works to solve the mysteries of both in the tense atmosphere leading up to a dangerously confrontational conference between his order and other representatives of the Church. To truly appreciate what Eco has wrought, it does help to be proficient in Latin, Italian, and the history of the high and late Middle Ages, especially with regards to the evolving theological struggles of the Catholic Church. The library in particular is a conceptual work of art, organized and managed in a way that will puzzle most modern readers, but be instantly recognizable to anyone intimately familiar with the world of the medieval manuscript. For those who aren't, it is a wonderful and thorough introduction. But the narrative gently escorts the reader through this erudite wilderness, with the wonderfully human William and Adso as guides. William of Baskerville is a marvelous accomplishment; somehow, blending a variety of medieval schools of thought, Eco has produced a remarkably plausible philosophical detective with the acumen of Sherlock Holmes (perhaps "Baskerville" is a nod, conscious or not, to Doyle's sleuth). Admirable in his successes and human in his defeats, William's ultimate quest is Truth, and his zeal for this, carefully revealed through his inquiries over time, is infectious. The Name of the Rose is a tour de force both as a mystery and as a poetic ode to the tangled complexities of the Middle Ages. Nowhere else does Eco equal this balancing act with such artistry and finesse. The book's not for everyone - particularly those who are completely unfamiliar with any of the subject matter - but it is enchanting on several levels, and can be appreciated by experts and laypeople alike. I suspect that, for all Eco's many accomplishments, the Name of the Rose will loom largest in years to come.
Rating:
Summary: The Name of the Rose: (Harvest in Translation)
Review: The Name of the Rose written by Umberto Eco is a book seeking the truth . Wrapped in a well-plotted mystery, this adventure will keep you well engrossed with all of its trappings sown by a master storyteller. The book is set in Italy, the year 1327, as Brother William of Baskerville arrives on the scene to investigate a series of bizarre deaths. This is a well crafted mystery that has the cunningness of a fox as Brother William turns detective and trys to solve these crimes... logic, theology, and insights play to the advantage of Brother William. As the evidence is presented, Brother William has to decipher secret symbols and coded manuscripts making this a most intriguing who-done-it. This book will keep you on the edge as the seven deaths are finally resolved... this is a cleverly crafted brilliant novel. Written to keep your interest, "The Name of the Rose" will fascinate you. This book has a lot of Latin and Italian phrases in it so, unless you know both languages, I'd suggest that you buy "The Key to the Name of the Rose" by Adele J. Haft, Jane G. White, and Robert J. White. I know some of you would skip right over these parts, but there is some very intriguing information embedded in these phrases, as Brother William goes about solving these deaths. This deepens your reading experience as this delightful guide is full of bizarre characters and mirthful anecdotes. Someone said, "You can't tell the players without a program." Well, the key will demystify "The Name of the Rose."
Rating: 
Summary: Painful book for a mere mortal but you gotta read it !!
Review: Well, well so many smart, well-read intellectuals we have here. :-) I want to say I loved this book but it'd be lie if I didn't admit it also gave me serious pain. Almost every reviewer is complaining about the Latin passages. How about the rest of this book? I had trouble just following the business of all the Benedicti, and Francescans running around. This murder mystery is written in an obtuse language, and ad nauseum minute historical, and philosophical info. Throw a bunch of incomprehensible Latin passages in for spice, you get the picture. Don't get me wrong it aint' all bad but for one moment of "Oh, I get it", there are dozens of "What the heck is he talking about now?" At least for me it was that way. Some sentences you have to read about 5 times and you may still not get the meaning. No wonder philosophy has never been my cup of tea. Trying to understand philosophy through an Italian writer was doubly painful. Let's put it this way, there is no way I would date Umberto. Just when I was about to throw up my hands in total desperation, the author refocused and got his main characters (the Englishman and his sidekick Adso) back to the business of murder mystery so I kept reading. Now I am going to try the Turkish historical mystery genre guy, Mr.Orhan Pamuk, who is supposed to be an Umberto twin, and attack his "My name is Red". Wish me luck ! :-)
Rating:
Summary: A Classic!
Review: Eco has woven a tale of mystery, intrigue and heresy into this volume set in the Middle Ages. Aside from the underlying theme of discovering who is responsible for the murder of several monks in the abbey, this volume deals with larger issues. Prevalent amongst these is the role of inquisitor and the eradication of heresy. What effect does heresy have on the Church? How can this heresy be met by anything but force when men in the hierarchy don't have the moral high-ground to deal with it in any other way? These are a few of the broader issues that are entombed in this novel. Aside from the story and the several subplots, Eco writes exceedingly well. Please don't be mislead; this novel is not so complex that it cannot be enjoyed like one would enjoy a Sherlock Holmes story. This is its charm. The reader takes from the novel precisely that which he or she desires. Because the novel allows this, I recommend it highly.
Rating:
Summary: Holmes v Borges revisited
Review: This novel captures the human spirit in all its paradoxical splendor. The story is a mystery about mystery with wonderful literary references, some subtle, some even more subtle. It may be read casually or it may serve as the central book in a course on medieval history and theology. Eco evokes a sense of vastness and awe of the infinite in his fictional account of serial murders of monks living in a medieval monastary, murders which on the surface seem historically insignificant. There is a strong sense that the author worked very hard in weaving this tale, ever crafty and inventive, ever watchful of his creation and all who dwell there; yet at times the tale seems to tell itself, rather, the writer was merely re-iterating a story told to him. The margins dividing fact and fiction become arbitrary and all that remains is our belief (or suspension of disbelief) in the story. Indeed, important literary and philosophical questions remain unanswered in the end despite the conclusion of the murder-mystery. Our curiosity and need for an answer are temporarily satiated, until we realize that while the story is over the mystery continues. This book is obviously the result of painstaking labor and momentous inspiration, the finite and infinite united in art. Wonderful stuff.
Rating:
Summary: This Book Made Me Smarter
Review: I guarantee you my IQ jumped a point or two just from reading this monolithic work. I cannot fathom how a work with this complex structure in utterly simple who-dunnit fashion came from a human hand. I had to work hard to complete this book, but the way my mind raced forwards and backwards through what I know of history, language, and human behavior was like a mental amusement park. This ranks as my FAVORITE book of all time--unfortunately none of Eco's other novels do it for me...
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