Review: The Name of the Rose

I've finished reading The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco and I'll give a few of my impressions. Overall, I thought the book was good, but not as good as many have claimed. It is really a great book in that it gives the flavor of the middle ages, the characters really think like people of the middle ages would have thought, at least as far as we can know. The detailed explanations of medieval philosophy and politics really livened up the story.

The mystery presented is: who is killing the monks at the abbey? Is it some satanic cult? Is it a homosexual cliche? Is it internal abbey politics? Or, is it something even more sinister? The heroes, Brothers William and Adso investigate the murders, explore the abbey and discuss the issues of the day.

The characters of William and Adso are really well drawn, William is a worldly monk with learning, common sense and a nice pair of glasses to aid him; Adso is a young, naive, and enthusiastic assistant. Adso tells the story, years after the events have taken place. I liked this approach as it allows us to see how Adso idolized his mentor without making his character weak.

I'm not much for mysteries, so I have to admit I didn't get too excited over the plot. I mainly read the book because of the time period it is set in. I love the medieval time period. But, the ending is not so far fetched that the reader isn't suspicious of who the bad guy is (even though it is disguised by some of the villains character traits). All in all I thought it was good, but it hasn't convinced me to read any of the other books by Eco. Maybe some day I'll crack Foucault's Pendulum, but no time soon.