Book Reveiw: The Name of the Rose

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco is a captivating mystery story that takes the reader back in time to an Italian Franciscan monastary in the fourteenth century. The story starts when a British monk, Brother William, is called to judge a heresy case at the monastary. He arrives with his apprentice, Adso. But soon the abbey is plagued by seven strange deaths, and Brother William can’t help but investigate. Soon he is drawn into a complicated web of succession and lies… all which revolves around the abbey’s mysterious library…

The Name of the Rose is a book that draws you in slowly- but after you’ve been reading for a while, the book becomes difficult to put down. The characters are believable with faults similar to our own- even faults a reader would not expect to find in a 14th-century monastary, of all places. The book is, at times, wordy and difficult to read, especially in the beginning, but the plot is unpredictable and always exciting, once you can manage to get around the language.

The Name of the Rose is a highly recommended book, rated a 4/5 only because the language is difficult sometimes. The plot will keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat until the end. Make sure you have time to sit down and read this one! It gets a bit slow in places. I took two weeks to read it, and I’m a fairly quick reader. Because of a bit of mature content and language, this book is recommended for mature high schoolers and older.