The Name of the Rose
A medieval murder mystery written by a semiotician. Eco makes the labyrinth of the library the labyrinth of knowledge itself. Extraordinary.
The Forbidden Library
Umberto Eco's 1980 debut novel is set in a wealthy Italian Benedictine abbey in 1327, where the English monk William of Baskerville and his novice Adso of Melk arrive on a diplomatic mission and find themselves investigating a series of monk deaths. The abbey contains a legendary library of forbidden books, a labyrinthine structure no one is permitted to enter. The investigation is also a philosophical inquiry into the nature of knowledge, interpretation, and the danger of ideas. Eco was a professor of semiotics and the novel is dense with medieval theology and literary theory, yet remains a page-turning thriller.
Reading The Name of the Rose
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"Books are not made to be believed, but to be subjected to inquiry.
"Umberto Eco · The Name of the Rose
Eco was a professor of semiotics and medieval philosophy who wrote the novel as a game, saying he wanted to poison a monk and needed a setting. He invented a medieval Italy of such accuracy that historians have consulted the novel.
The novel was rejected by several Italian publishers who thought it was too complex for a popular audience. It went on to sell over 50 million copies worldwide. The 1986 film starred Sean Connery as William of Baskerville.