The Name of the Rose in 101 Books to Read Before You Die

May 31, 2015 Alana rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, political, boxall-s-1001-books, books-to-film, mystery, thriller-horror

Good grief, this book falls into a lot of categories! First, it's set in the 1300s, a tumultuous era in Church history, which I oddly had recently studied, so I had some idea of the infighting to which many of the characters referred. There is a murder mystery, the secrets of the cloister, the role of poverty vs. wealth, numerous philosophies, debates and arguments amongst monks of varying sects (including one debate which read more like a brawl in a pub than a theological debate and was quite h Good grief, this book falls into a lot of categories! First, it's set in the 1300s, a tumultuous era in Church history, which I oddly had recently studied, so I had some idea of the infighting to which many of the characters referred. There is a murder mystery, the secrets of the cloister, the role of poverty vs. wealth, numerous philosophies, debates and arguments amongst monks of varying sects (including one debate which read more like a brawl in a pub than a theological debate and was quite humorous) and above all, the hoarding of knowledge and a beautiful library. What more does a book nerd need?

I understood most of the biblical references, although I'm a little fuzzy on some of the post-scriptural Saints, so I didn't catch all those nuances. I felt like when the story actually moved toward the conclusion of the deaths, it was fast-paced and very interesting, like any current murder mystery, but when it sidelined into long philosophy sections, it seemed to lose itself a bit in its own thoughts. Yet, the philosophy and debates about it seemed to be so essential to the outcome of the story.

The ending hearkened very much to the gothic novels and dark secrets in old manors, giving it a definite dark edge. The main characters attempting to solve the mystery (well, more like mysteries) are quite a character study, one very Sherlock Holmes-esque and the other a combination of Watson and I'm not sure whom. The final explanation got a little confusing for me, but it worked into the flow of the story, so it didn't feel that it didn't match the rest of the book.

The treatment of women was definitely interesting. It's really a small sidebar to the story, but it leads to questions about what happens when there is a complete lack of the feminine influence in a secluded world.

There are sections and sections and sections of debate amongst monks, etc, most of which sounds just like a theological argument today. Though the themes and the names of the groups have changed, religious groups are still fighting in the same way, 1000 years later. Maybe the main lesson is to learn from the mistakes of the past?

There are definitely some very weird moments in this book, but overall I found it very mentally stimulating. 4/5 ...more

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Jun 08, 2022 Cosmic Arcata rated it it was amazing

Shelves: classic, midieval, game-on-challenges, philosophy, inspired-by-ulysses, occult, mystery, metaphysics, tbr-twin-2022, the-cosmic-leap

I like the book. It gave me a lot of rabbit holes to jump down and get lost in.

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Jun 27, 2015 Irene rated it liked it

On one level, this is a murder mystery set in a 14th century monastery with a hidden library and a secret book. But, with the enormous amount of time dedicated to obscure ecclesial debates and philosophical discussions, this novel is about the meaning of truth, the place of knowledge, even the perception of God. I can certainly recognize the quality of the writing, but a murder mystery did not work as a conduit for conveying existential questions. I simply could not keep my eye on so many juggli ...more

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