Name of the Rose

Imagine a medieval Benedictine monastery, with cellarers, herbalists, gardeners, librarians, young novices. One after the other, half a dozen monks are found murdered in the most bizarre ways, and the reader very quickly finds out that the monastery, supposedly a place of piety and tranquility is the place of sin and corruption. William of Baskerville, a learned Franciscan who is sent to solve the mystery finds himself involved in the frightening events inside the abbey.

This is the story of "The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco. It is the year 1327 when William of Baskerville and his young scribe (Adso of Melk, who narrates the story many years later) arrive at the monastery. The monastery contains the greatest library of Christianity. The monks live "by books and for books" (351), however, only the librarian and his assistant are allowed to enter the stacks in the labyrinth of the library. The reason is that there are thousands of books by pagan, Jewish, Arab authors, and the librarian has the sovereign power to decide whose mind is mature enough to view these "heresies" (340). Naturally, the forbidden library, like heaven, becomes the place that all the monks crave for. Stra

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Adso questions whether William, his teacher, has lost his faith. nge intrigues develop among the monks, and suddenly turn to murder. " However, this does not make the book sound as a theology textbook while the reader learns a whole lot together with Adso during the seven days at the monastery. The author does so much more than just tell a story. The monastery is the place that seems to breed sinister plots while it supposedly remains one of the best and richest dwellings of the spirit of God.

Before they solve the mystery of the murders, the main characters have to encounter many philosophical questions about faith, the truth of the Christian Church, and the many different truths of numerous heresies. One might read the story as a cheap mystery novel, as a medieval history textbook, or as a book about theologian philosophy. In this book, all the monks who strove to enter the secrets of the labyrinth of the library in search of knowledge found themselves killed by the fatal book, who poisons its reader at the rate according to how absolved he is by the book. Horrible crimes that take place are committed for very noble purposes. The characters are a mere plot device, they do not seem like real people. A gifted young illuminator, Adelmo, is killed; the next morning a second monk is found dead, plunged head first into a barrel of pigs' blood. However, the narrative is amazingly engaging all throughout the book, which is a compliment for a book full of long descriptions of theological debates, ecclesiastical councils, and politics of the religious leaders of the time. "The Name of the Rose" is an exciting and thrilling book, in which the principal mystery is the truth itself.

There are many aspects of the book that might interest different kinds of people.

Approximate Word count = 800
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

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