Umberto Eco - The Name of the Rose

Pros: Fascinating story, vivid characters, meticulous representation of history, intriguing themes.
Cons: Some may be put off by the complexity and the volume of information presented.

Introduction. Ordinarily, the idea of a novel about the Middle Ages conjures up the images of jousts, plated knights, and military and amorous conquests intertwined. Putting aside the kind of fiction which represents a waste of recycled ...

Pros: Rich writing; a fair historical mystery, with great coverage of mediaeval philosophy, religion, and politics.
Cons: WAY TOO MUCH rich writing and extraneous rambling. Also, keep a Latin scholar handy.

A friend of mine sometimes jokes that she squeezed a 4-year college degree into 7 years. A similar ...

Pros: Astonishingly intelligent thriller; interesting for history buffs
Cons: Perhaps too steeped in obscure medieval history

The year is 1327. A young novice, Adso, and his respected master, Brother William, are invited to an ancient abbey in Italy to discover the truth behind a curious suicide - or murder? - that has recently taken place. On top of this, two rival clerical ...

Pros: A philosophical treatise on truth & postmodernism, intense in every respect
Cons: Intense in every respect

The Blue Or The Red Pill
I must admit that this review has been writing itself in my mind ever since I first learned of Epinions… and to be honest I have been rather cowed by the whole concept. I mean really, who am I to review an Eco...

Pros: Matlock meets Medieval Theology in this gripping tale of medieval monastery.
Cons: Obscure references, and liberal latin usage, demonstrates the author's intellectual conceit.

Perhaps Umberto Eco's most readable book, this murder mystery set in a medieval monastery has an engaging story while being fixed firmly in the medieval world. Eco uses this medium typically used for flights of frivolity to paint a picture of the...

Pros: Brilliant cocktail of mystery and philosophy. A pageturner and a thought-initiator.
Cons: A bit slow-starting.

So you thought the medieval world long gone. You thought wrong! It reappeared with a vengeance in 1980 when acclaimed Italian semiotician and literary scholar Umberto Eco released his first novel, "The Name of the Rose". The book was an instant...

Pros: a solid, logical and gripping mystery brimming with intriguing talk
Cons: none for the painstaking brain-engaged reader

The Name Of The Rose begins with monks suspected of heresy -- or heresies as it turns out. Brother W ...

Pros: Well written, subtle, thought provoking
Cons: Not good for a light, entertaining read

Umberto Eco is one of my favorite authors. He writes with an air of mystery that goes beyond the apparent plot and further into the realm of human experience and spirituality. My favorite book of his by far is "Foucault's Pendulum," but I...

Pros: The time capsule. Full of everything you wanted to see in your favorite book.
Cons: When the book makes you think, is it a disadvantage? Decide for yourself.

You like history? Philosophy? Nice suspense and mystery crime? Great! Here is a nice chance to enjoy all of those in one package! The great talent of the author creates a marvelous world just for you.

When I was reading the book, I could not...

Pros: Very informative on historic events
Cons: Very big book

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

If you have seen the movie with Sean Connery in the lead role and you liked it, I must say this book will blow you away.
It is a big book, therefore, the movie could never give you all the information...

Pros: Brilliantly conceived and executed.
Cons: Not the choice for beach reading.

A masterpiece of the bibliomystery genre. Set in the end of the fourteenth century, it tells the story of a German monk (Adso) in the Benedictine order, who narrates the startling sotry of a murder in an Italian abbey (the exact location is left...

Pros: As accessible as Eco gets...
Cons: ...but he's still a professor of semiotics.

The central premise of the work is surprisngly light for Eco; the concept of a murder investigation in a medieval monastery. This baseline provides the driving force for a book which you can handle at almost any intellectual level. Want to read it just...