EAT MY DUST CADFAEL! (The Name of the Rose - Umberto Eco)

Member Name: alma1

Product:	The Name of the Rose - Umberto Eco
Date:	27/03/03 (281 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Remarkably well written

Disadvantages: A bit heavy going at times

The Name of the Rose is the first novel from Umberto Eco. At the front of my book we're told he's a world-famous specialist in semiotics, a distinguished historian, philosopher etc., who teaches at the University of Bologna. Hmm...specialist in semiotics ay! For all I knew, that could just be some kind of Italian pudding. However, on further investigation, it turns out to be "the study of signs and symbols in various fields esp. languages"! Well that explains some of the books inspiration. And that is about as technical as I hope to get. This is not a thesis. It is an op for ordinary readers. Like wot I am!

First off, some of you may remember the film with Sean Connery. Forget it. Or at least do your best to forget it. The book is in a different league. I don't even know why they gave it to Sean Connery! Surely Peter O' Toole would have been perfect for this role. But that's just my opinion.

It's written supposedly, from the point of view of a narrative of Adso of Melk. Now a very old monk, Adso in his youth spent some time as the scribe of William of Baskerville, an English Franciscan Brother, Adso being a Benedictine novice at the time. Adso also becomes his disciple, learning much of life from the older, wiser William.

We join William and Adso as they reach an Italian monastery, which throughout the book remains un-named. William is asked by the Abbot to investigate the mysterious death and possible murder of a young monk at the monastery. Adelmo was a talented illuminator, who was found dead at the bottom of a cliff below the Aedificum, which is an enormous building, housing on the third floor, a remarkable library for which the monastery is famous.

William displays his skills of observation and logic in a very Sherlock Holmes way, but with a dramatic twist, which I won't spoil. Soon we are introduced to Ubertino, an old friend of William's who is in hiding. Salvatore, a mis-shapen le
y brother who may in fact be a heretic. Severinus, the herbalist brother, who knows much of the herbs properties of healing and sometimes otherwise. He is very interested in William when he finds he has a similar interest in herbs.

They are allowed to visit the scriptorium, which is on the second floor of the Aedificum, where they may request books, which the librarian or his assistant will fetch. Both these posts are jealously sought after and guarded, since only these monks and the Abbot are allowed to enter the actual library. Whilst in the scriptorium, they meet not only Malachi, the librarian, but also Berenger, the assistant librarian and the aged but slightly terrifying Jorge.

As the Abbot has granted them freedom to go almost anywhere in the monastery other than the library, they make use of this freedom by exploring the compound. That night they have supper with the Abbot and are once again drawn into an angry conversation with Jorge. William confides in Adso that he is almost certain Adelmo took his own life and was not in fact murdered. The next morning however brings a new mystery, when a monk is found upside down in a vat of pig's blood in which he definitely did not drown. This time it really is murder.

William must follow the clues and reveal the murderer and the Abbot would like him to do it before a papal delegation arrives accompanied by Bernard Gui, an inquisitor with a fearsome and cruel reputation. The meeting with the delegation is the primary reason for William and Adso's presence, but increasingly they are occupied with solving the mystery as more murders take place. The pressure, like the body count, is mounting!

This is a superbly written book with an intricate plot, which is nevertheless understandable. Well drawn characters compliment a marvellously detailed background and realistic feel for the politics and attitudes of the age, which we are told by Adso is 1327.

There are many more
characters than I have named above. That is merely a taster to give you some small idea of the variation and complexity of the population of the monastery. This is a real working monastery, with all that that entails, including cellarists, swineherds, glaziers and gardeners as well as a sizeable contingent of illuminators and scribes.

These are harsh times, where the power of the church vies with the power of Kings and poor people are as nothing. Umberto Eco captures the spirit of the times perfectly in his descriptions of the wealth of the church and his reflections of the poverty and hopelessness of ordinary peasants in fourteenth century Europe.

Now, in a perfectly captured setting, he gives us a mystery full of twists and turns which takes place in only seven days. Predictable it definitely isn't. Even if you remember the clever ending from the film, I doubt if you'll remember all the subtle puzzles Brother William encounters.

This is more than just a story or a mystery. It is literature. But do not be frightened off by that term. Some of the descriptions, though necessary, can become heavy going, but the plot will keep you interested enough to make up for it. This isn't Cadfael I'm afraid. This is the real thing. No convenient, warm, happy ending here. But it is the right ending even so.

Small parts of the plot and clues are given to us in Latin. I once read somewhere, that if you could understand Latin, you could work out the solution to the mystery almost as quickly as Brother William did. I rather like not knowing. It keeps the level of anticipation going longer.

My copy is translated by William Weaver, and therefore I am assuming all British copies are likewise.

Amazon price £6.39

I love this book! It's one of the most absorbing, complex and detailed mysteries I've ever read. Magnificent!

Thankyou for reading.

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