Rating: 
Summary: The Name of the Rose
Review: This book displays the quintessence of humanity's darkest side along with its most redeeming qualities. The book takes place in a medieval monestary. Steeped in medieval philosophical thought, this novel poses questions that would have been deemed as heresy by the medieval Church - all of which are carefully woven into a forboding tale that encompasses a mysterious library, and a series of bizarre deaths in which the monks are dying by the passages of the Book of Revelation. The answer lies somewhere between the writing of the classical world and the superstition of the medieval mind.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent and insightful
Review: I particularly enjoyed the insight into what people may have been thinking at the time the book was set. I felt like I understood much better the late Middle Ages and it's relevance to understanding human nature today. In particular, this helped me gain more insight into clashes of civilizations that is more important to understand in this century than ever before.
Rating:
Summary: Love books? Not if you haven't read this one yet.
Review: Wow. Just finished it. A philosphical medieval murder mystery about monks and books,sprinkled for flavor with untranslated Latin phrases. The ending will have you staring at the page, smiling, quietly saying out loud, "Bravo."
I never considered the importance of whether or not Jesus laughed.
Rating: 
Summary: Reason and Dogma
Review: This is a rather different book that will take a fair amount of effort on the part of the reader to understand and enjoy, but I think the effort is worth it. This is nominally a murder mystery at an isolated abbey set in the early 14th century, but there are several layers to this that will lead the reader down the course of actual history, into the dark sea of the minutia of Catholic dogma, follow the deep valleys of both base and ennobling human emotions, and into the rift of the meaning and purpose of language. The story is narrated by Adso, an apprentice monk to our star detective William of Baskerville, who has been obviously modeled on Sherlock Holmes. This narration provides a level of indirection, a distancing from the direct events, as it is supposedly being written by a very old Adso, long after the fact. It also allows Adso to make editorial comments along the way about his own feelings, the events and people around him, and the various Catholic arguments and historical personages and positions. In some cases this device works very well, providing a platform where the mind-set of the times can be clearly presented. At other points, it is a detriment, as you can't get up close to all the characters and see their inner motivations. And because of this, the murder mystery seems a little shallow, the reader can't get caught up in trying to figure out who is responsible for all the murders, at least not until very late in the book, as the reader has little of the motivation base to make proper guesses. But the mystery is almost secondary to the presentation of the religious points of view of the time that rocked the Catholic church to its foundations, points of view that are slowly revealed in the personal histories of the monks of the abbey alongside the 'official' positions of the papal and factional representatives. Here the book shines, showing not only the dogmatic points, but their (often ironic) effects on both high and low people. And while these religious points may seem somewhat minor to the reader at first glance, something like the debate about 'angels on a pin', after a while it will become apparent that these points really do have relevance to all people of any religious persuasion. At the denouement, the dogmatic persuasions of the various monks folds back into the reasons behind the murders, and here we finally get enough of individual character to make the reader care about both the situation and the people involved. The final arguments between William and the perpetrator are an excellent discourse on the right of man to know and investigate all things versus the point of view of 'There are some things only God should know', with another level of meaning behind the arguments on language symbols and their effect on human reasoning. Stylistically, this work is occasionally brilliant, especially in some of the descriptions of various religious artifacts and buildings, sharply different from the way things would normally be described by the average modern person, and provides a very effective setting of mood and mind-set while reading. There are some long passages in Latin, some of which are important to the story thread, and not all are translated, paraphrased, or meaning derivable from context, which forced me to try and puzzle out some of this from knowledge of word roots, as I don't read Latin. In this area I think it would have helped if there had been at least a foot-noted translation made available. Overall, a many-layered book with points of power and brilliance, a little weak in characterization and mystery action, but well worth the time and trouble to read, understand, and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: REALLY SO MUCH LATIN?
Review: Hello! I read the reviews about this book and I noticed that many people are complaining with the fact that this book is full of Latin sentences.
I am native Italian and I read this book in its original Italian version. I must say that Italian version of this book is not so full packed of Latin sentences as many of you say.
Even taking into account the fact that Latin is obviously easier to me than to an English-speaking person due to Neolatin origin of my mother tongue and the fact that I studied little Latin at university, I did not notice that large amount of paragraphs in Latin.
Anyway... absolutely one of the best books I've ever read (and I read a lot!) :-)
Rating:
Summary: needed latin translation
Review: There are already plenty of reviews of this amazing book so I just want to add my voice to those readers who missed out on a large part of the book because it was in latin. While the particular characters in that time and place no doubt did use Latin, whole pages and paragraphs of it become impossible for many of today's readers to follow. There ought to have been more translation, especially in a mystery where the facts are important, and given the underlying themes of the book. Readers shouldn't have to buy a guide that costs more than the original book to understand what is being said. This is my one criticism. I found the book fascinating, learned a great deal and had trouble putting it down. I have no trouble giving it 5 stars, latin or not.
Rating: 
Summary: Got Latin?
Review: I bought this book after seeing the movie of the same name starring Sean Connery, with the view that the book had to be better than the movie. It wasn't. While admittedly a fascinating story, the book was saturated with dialog between Brother William of Baskerville and his pupil Adso of Melk, which made the reader feel as if he was intruding in a personal conversation. Additionally, there was entirely too much Latin used in the book. If the Latin were confined to an isolated phrase here and there, fine, but I found myself having to skip entire paragraphs, because they were written in Latin. This made the book very difficult to read, and although I knew the premise of the book from having seen the movie, very difficult to enjoy as fully as I'd hoped. It would be a much better book if footnotes translating the Latin had been included, but it was a fascinating story nevertheless.
Rating:
Summary: Must read more than once
Review: I first learned of THE NAME OF THE ROSE while taking a break from writing my dissertation -- sometime prior to 1991. I stopped to watch the morning news where the author, Umberto Eco, was being interviewed because his book, THE NAME OF THE ROSE, was just published. I took pause because Eco was an Italian Sociologist. So am I! I watched with great interest and learned that Eco employed sociological insights and historical scholarship in the development of a highly praised and highly complex story. I became very curious and made a mental note to read it after I completed my Ph.D. I did. In fact, I read it during the mid 90's and several times after that. There are few novels that must be read more than once. THE NAME OF THE ROSE is one of them. The plot is not complex. However, the dialog and symbols are. Thus, if one doesn't have a handle on church history prior to the protestant reformation and sociological theory, one will strain to comprehend much of the story. Even if one has an academic background in these various areas, one will need to read it closely. In addition, the novel was translated from Italian. I suspect many important ideas were lost in the translation. This is not your basic detective story - although it has most of the elements of a good detective novel. It is artfully done with wonderful descriptions. This is a novel of process not of outcome. It is a story of intrigue, mystery, and debauchery with a 13th century monastery as the backdrop. I've enjoyed this story EVERY time I read it.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect Mix of AC Doyle and Thomas Mann !!
Review: Anyone reading this somewhat difficult book will probably feel their head and mind expanding, no "drugs" required.Signor Ecco's magic carpet delivers you staight to a 14th century Catholic monastary. His Holmesian investigating skills soon are called upon as he and his youthful assistant (almost like Batman and Robin)trackdown the perpetrator of some gruesome ungodly murders. Along the way, you'll learn everything and more about religious schisms of the time, herbal good health concoctions of the time, the architecture of monasteries, and the bureaucracy of same. Just an amazing read!! Perfect for a long wintry,snowy,weekend!!
Rating:
Summary: When else did you wish you knew Latin?
Review: AN Excellent read! Although not the smoothest. For someone of Medium intelligence, like myself, this is a great book. It has all the stuff that a great mystery has, the kind of stimulating suspense that keeps the pages turning. But it also contains more than enough new information, the kind that makes you wish you lived next store to a library. I couldn't put it down, even when I was lost in the Latin that appears frequently or in the midst of a reccolection of the history of the Roman Catholic Church. Challenge yourself. You'll be happy you did.
|
