Classic story... Difficult at times...

I have been looking forward to The Name of the Rose for some time. Unfortunately, I found it tough going with the narration and inflection. It was distracting from the story at times. Whilst I did make it through I picked up my physical copy to reread because I feel I missed parts of this story.

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detailed and long

fascinating but this is the one time I wished for an abridged version, many tangential diversions

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1 person found this helpful

Classical literature entwined in a mystery.

Absolutely wonderful story.The narration was excellent capturing all the nuances of a mystery set in the midst of monks, books and the eternal love of god.Scholarly, yet with the lingering angst of a novice in search of love and the meaning of life.

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Brilliant

A book which was recommended to me by a previous landlord who was somewhat of a philosopher, I was intrigued and must say very impressed and entertained by this book.
Different from anything I've read before. great read!

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Challenging but it kept me in

My lack of any Latin and the absence of desire for or trust in religion was a continual source of frustration however the plot had me in and I’m glad I persevered. I guess it served to reinforce my long held belief that the pope in rome and his henchmen are a far worse blight on society than that other evil the Italians export around the globe - the Mafia.

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Signs of (and for) the times

Eco's work can be unsettling to new readers and this is no different. Sleuthing Holmes-like for clues can easily lead to a long dissertation on the anthropomorphic carvings on a church door, the arrival of a classic baddie likewise leads to a history of theoretical and real poverty in the Catholic church. It can grate and cause the finger to head towards the fast forward button. But don't. Eco builds a universe that is physical, intellectual, and spiritual, each weaving around the other to construct a world (the abbey) within a world - part mirror, part reality, part neither. The novel builds and builds, the characters flitting back and forth with increasing urgency as time counts down to a long-promised armageddon. Let this version, beautifully narrated, flow over you and you will emerge from the other side refreshed, intrigued, and wary. Highly recommended.

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Brilliant

An incredible, erudite masterwork of crime fiction and spiritual philosophy, performed with an equal commitment and excellence.

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The narration brought the book to life.

I had read this amazing book many years ago & hoped to learn the meaning of the title by listening to the book. I have to say, if the title or its significance was mentioned I missed it.
But I still very much enjoyed this Audible version. Now I’m searching for the movie.
I enjoy mysteries & detective work & found the ancient version just as enthralling as a modern mystery.

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I found the narrators pacing a little fast.

I was intrigued by the story, but sometimes found long stretches of Latin to be disorientating, I don't think it translates into audio form very well. In the original book form, I could have looked up the words or taken a guess at the meaning from my primitive understanding of romance languages; in audio form they were meaningless. I sometimes found the narrator hard to understand even in English, having to skip back and listen intently, but his voicing of the various characters was quite good. If audible has a 0.75x playback speed instead of just 0.5x it would have helped.

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Narrative or Essay?

It’s a good book (eg it’s very well written, and provides an interesting depiction of that period). However, the book is effectively an essay about the history and hypocrisy of the Catholic Church disguised as a mystery novel. There are very distinct beats of narrative and essay. I think you could remove all the essay beats and have a decent, functioning narrative. Conversely, you could remove the narrative and have an essay by way of imagined conversions between monks - almost like a parable. The key conflicts of the narrative are a bit cartoonish (eg Jinkies! Ive lost my glasses. How will we decipher the secret code now?), and there aren’t any distinct character arcs or really cathartic moments; but it’s still an interesting mystery. There are several times where it feels like the author has done a ton of research and wants to include everything they’ve learned. This can be good when it functions to provide insight into the activities of the Church and Crown during the time; and bad when it’s a 20 min sermon or description of a tapestry etc.
Overall, I think this is an important piece of literature, but it’s more suitable for the classroom then it is for bedtime.

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2 people found this helpful