The name of the rose

A mysterious journey through a mysterious monastery, The Name Of The Rose catapulted the Italian
professor turned novelist umberto eco to international prominence.eco’s debut novel set in a
fourteenth century abbey,a spectacular best seller of its kind holds a position among the list of much
acclaimed classics today.first published in Italy in 1980 as IL NOME della, the novel is Tanslated to
English by William weaner.the English version appeared In the US in 1983 and in England in 1984.unlike
other novels by eco ,this scintillating mystery enjoyed much more popularity and is widely read since
then.in an ancient monastery , br.wilaim of basker villes, a franscian monk to deal with a killer among
the monks.the abbey is shaken with many terrifying death.unfolding the riddle of the killer , be it a
human or super human is sure to shake the abbey and its inhabitants with many more secrets ;many
seemingly harmless facs are ripped of their masks

UMBERTO ECOdevelops the story of the name of the rose through an elderly
benediction monk’s recollection.Adso of melk is writing of its experience as a young novitiate when he
accompanied William of basker villes on his trip to a northern Italian abbey in 1327,where they
encountered series of murders.through Adso’s description ,an ancient chritian worald is created fresh in
the reader’s mind.as a young inexperienced novice ,Adso is pleasantly surprised by the enchanting and
equally mysterious monastery.he is charmed by its splendor and grandeur ,but not for long.many
terrible incidents await them.its through Adso’s eyes readers get to knowthe monastery ,its inhabitans
and most imporatantly his astute master ,William of basker villas.as Adso leans about new things ,so
does the reader.umberto eco creates a live world in front of the reader , through Adso’s fresh
experiences and realizations ,which could not have been so captivating had it been the mature William
narrative.even with the long philosophical discussions retellings of history and debates between the
different orders of Christianity , eco is able to retain the curiousity of the reader.the reader is hooked by
the myster.even when one wwants to keep the book away for the deep philosophical dialogues do
sometimes wear out the reader a bit, some thing drows back.the huge ancient buildings the puzzling
monks with their spooky stories and most of all ,the large historic and mystic and historic library do not
let go easly.the well drawn characters,the mysterious setting , and the detective fiction plot continue to
attract a diverse audience for the book.

The book opens with a preface ,in which a narrator most probably eco himself
describes finding a manuscript in 1968 that reproduced a fourteen century narration by the monk ,Adso
of melk .then follows the pronogue by Adso and seven hearts of the novel which are the seven days
,each day being structured by canonical hours,when the monks engage in formal prayers.

In Adso’s intelligent master one can see a Sherlock holme’s in a monks

‘habit’.wiliam and Adso have arrived at the abbey as representatives of emporer Louis IV in order to
participate in a debate with the papal legation over the poverty of Christ as well as the status of the
francisian order.willam is a true man of the early renaissance , he is just as interested in the secrets of
the books as in the secrets of nature .he has the benefit of en oxford education an d mentoring by roger
bacon and William of Ockham. The reader shares with Adso’s inexperience and it is through william’s
explanation of the baffling situations to Adso, the different levels of the mystery is revealed to the
reader.

The story unfolds in an atmosphere thick with hostility and intrigue.innocent

people are being burned as witches and heretics.and the corpses of monks keep turning up when least
expected.when eco is able to hook the reader owning to allthese breath taking situations despite the
lengthy philosophical discussions and debates regarding the different doctrines of different orders of
christianityin the 14 th century which may be of little inerest to the modern reader.the desire to find
out the truth,to discover the explanation of the the unexplained mystery of the forbidden library,which
is the largest of Christendom,and the bewildering monastery and the equally bewildering characters pull
the reader through the story.the monks ,both the living and dead, have too much to speak of,which
William and Adso will eventually bring out, but at what cost is for the readers to find out.all in all,the
name of the rose combines a best elements of a thriller , historical romance and a novel of ideas.

HIBA NABIHA