What more can I say about The Name of the Rose, besides adding that I loved it?
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“Until then I had thought each book spoke of the things, human or divine, that lie outside books. Now I realized that not infrequently books speak of books: it is as if they spoke among themselves. In the light of this reflection, the library seemed all the more disturbing to me. It was then the place of a long, centuries-old murmuring, an imperceptible dialogue between one parchment and another, a living thing, a receptacle of powers not to be ruled by a human mind, a treasure of secrets emanated by many minds, surviving the death of those who had produced them or had been their conveyors.”

nBrilliant, another of my all-time-favorites!

Ho letto le ultime pagine, compreso il rogo della biblioteca, questa mattina sul tram che mi portava al lavoro. Ho seriamente pensato di prendere un giorno di permesso per ansia da libri immaginari bruciati e libro reale finito.
Potrei scrivere tante cose, ma mi sembrano banali. Per quanto mi vanti di aver capito molti dei riferimenti del romanzo so anche di non avere una competenza tale da poter recensire seriamente un libro come questo. Qui Eco mi fa sentire molto socratica: so di non sapere.
Mi limito quindi ad invitare chi ancora non l'avesse letto, magari per paura che sia un mattone, o perché non conosce il latino, a prenderlo in mano. La lettura è più semplice, in fondo, di quanto non si creda e tutti possono godersi l'apetto giallo della trama.

Valiéndose de características propias de la novela gótica, la crónica medieval, la novela policíaca, el relato ideológico en clave y la alegoría narrativa, El nombre de la rosa narra las actividades detectivescas de Guillermo de Baskerville para esclarecer los crímenes cometidos en una abadía benedictina... Y a esta apasionante trama debe sumarse la admirable reconstrucción que no se detiene en lo exterior sino que ahonda en las formas de pensar y sentir del siglo XVI.

Eco elabora una novela que podría etiquetarse tanto como ficción histórica, misterio, teología y filosofía. Hasta algo de sexo en una trama que se va cocinando a fuego lento pero seguro.

Sin embargo, no es un simple thriller basado en la trama. Eco nos trae un libro de historia medieval y religión. Lo interesante es que lo hace como una obra de la época y educando al lector además de entretenerlo.

Tiene lugar en un momento de la historia en la que el Papado se trasladó de su ubicación tradicional en Italia a Avignon.

El actual Papa, Juan XXII, llevado a la cabeza de la Iglesia por el rey de Francia.

Año 1327, un momento lleno de incertidumbres en una Europa que está insatisfecha con el hecho de que un rey francés tenga tanta influencia sobre la Iglesia. En una época que la protección secular de la iglesia había recaído en el poderoso Emperador del Sacro Imperio Romano Germánico. En ese año, Luis IV se autoproclamaría rey de Italia y en 1328 se coronaría a sí mismo como el próximo Emperador.

Tiempos oscuros que ambientan la novela a la perfección.

Así pues el propósito de nuestro protagonista Guillermo de Baskerville es ir a la Abadía de Melko como emisario para negociar una reunión entre las legaciones para resolver el conflicto entre el papado, las órdenes franciscanas y el rey Luis.

Sin embargo la misión se retrasa. Porque, a su llegada, descubre que un joven iluminador en el scriptorium de la Abadía ha sido tocado por la blanca mano de la muerte de manera prematura.

Asesinato o suicidio..

La rápida muerte de un segundo monje indica que alguien en la cerrada abadía de Melk es un asesino. Una sombra se cierne sobre esta abadía. Secretos, pasados, pecados, personas y libros. Muchos libros.

El aspecto más emblemático de esta novela es que es un libro sobre libros. Gira en torno a varios textos, como Aristóteles, se compone de otros muchos libros. Guillermo es un hombre de una inteligencia y cultura notables. Es un Sherlock Holmes de la época.

Tiende a explicarle a su aprendiz Adso cómo se puede discernir el contenido de un libro al leer otros libros. Alusiones a otros textos medievales y también a uno de los autores favoritos de Eco, Jorge Luis Borges.

Las escenas en la biblioteca laberíntica de la abadía fueron para mi lo mejor de libro, ojalá perderme con Guillermo y Adso leyendo tan grandes obras maestras e intentando dar sentido a su confuso entorno y misterios.

Advertencia para interesados lectores y es que este libro está lejos de ser una lectura ligera. Para nada, de hecho, Umberto Eco hizo que el primer puñado de páginas fueran difíciles de leer. Todo tiene sentido después de un tiempo.

Tampoco lo quiero exagerar, no es para tanto, tiene eso al principio pero quizás lo que más le hace cojear a esta obra es que tiene partes que sobrarían. Conocimiento a raudales que saca a veces de manera excesiva. Es algo tostón en algunos momentos..

Pero es que el resto ya sea la trama, sus misterios, los personajes y la ambientación lo compensa todo.

Eco nos introduce a su historia con el recurso del manuscrito encontrado. Nuestro narrador Adso, que era un monje novicio en el momento que ocurrieron los asesinatos, ahora, ya en su vejez quiere contar la historia.

La historia de cómo su maestro, un fraile algo inusual llamado Guillermo de Baskerville dio rienda suelta a su conocimiento para intentar resolver las extrañas muertes que asolaron un monasterio toscano en el transcurso de una semana que no olvidarán.

Llamados para arrojar luz sobre cómo un cuerpo podría haber sido empujado fuera de la famosa biblioteca del monasterio, Guillermo y su joven escriba se verán envueltos en un misterio que involucra cadáveres, la vida, la muerte, época y debates fascinantes de leer. Cuando consigues meterte en la trama ya no sales.

La riqueza que contiene este libro es lo que me ha llamado la atención. Es detallada, no quiero contaros nada más, tiene tantos aspectos como recursos. Tantos momentos como detalles de la vida, las dudas, la fe, la ignorancia, la crueldad, la sabiduría. La ambientación se lleva un 10. La descripción de la abadía al detalle a mi en ese momento aunque costó un poco algunas cosas la recompensa mereció la pena.

Los personajes son muy reales, muy humanos y en esta historia es algo importante, pues es a través de ellos que vemos tantas cosas. Sus pensamientos, sus dudas y demás.

Otra faceta a su favor es haber visto la película un par de veces y ponerle cara a Fray Guillermo de Baskerville con uno de los mejores actores que nos ha dado la vida, Sean Connery. Que en paz descanse..✍️

" Escrevi um romance porque me apeteceu. Acho que é uma razão suficiente para alguém se pôr a contar uma história. Comecei a escrever em 1978, levado por uma ideia seminal. Apetecia-me envenenar um monge."
Umberto Eco

É o típico livro cebola; uma primeira camada com uma história, dentro de outra história, com ramificações na história real e com figuras reais que interagem com personagens fictícias em situações tanto reais como imaginárias. Um trabalho metódico de um autor conhecido pela sua erudição, um apaixonado pelo conhecimento e pela investigação histórica, e com uma grande paixão pela Idade Média.

A história é narrada por Adso de Melk, que, já idoso, vai desfiando as memórias de quando era um jovem monge iniciático. Guilherme de Baskerville, monge franciscano e ex inquisidor, é o seu mentor, os dois chegam à abadia e deparam-se com a morte suspeita de um dos monges.
O cenário não podia ser melhor: um mosteiro isolado no planalto de um íngreme monte, rodeado de escarpas e quase sempre cercado de nevoeiro. U. Eco terá estudado plantas de mosteiros medievais para criar o seu com as características da época. O mosteiro é auto-suficiente e a rigidez dos deveres monásticos decorre infalivelmente ao ritmo das horas canónicas. Mas a maior atração deste local é a sua misteriosa biblioteca labiríntica. Ali figuram exemplares raros e únicos, protegidos ciosamente e onde o acesso só é permitido ao bibliotecário. Já dá para abrir o apetite?
Um dos monges que aqui vai ter um papel crucial, é cego e chama-se Jorge.
Estão a ver? Jorge - cego - biblioteca - labirinto. Ring a bell? Toda a obra de Eco está repleta de sinais, de duplos sentidos, que deixam pontas e levam a outras histórias, a episódios curiosos que, com maior ou menor subtileza vão sendo enquadrados na narrativa.
O livro é extenso, e a premissa partia de dois pontos chave: um livro misterioso considerado perdido se não inexistente, livro esse que celebrava o riso e por isso era considerado coisa vil, já que poderia anular o medo, e consequentemente a necessidade de recorrer à Igreja e à ajuda divina, e a questão da pobreza de Cristo versus a pobreza, ou não, da Igreja, e aí já sabemos o que aconteceu.
A partir destes dois temas, um ficcional e outro real, Eco escreveu uma história grandiosa, onde as discussões filosóficas são mais que muitas, e os rios de teologia enchem páginas. Não será um livro para toda gente, mas o que aqui se aprende sobre a história da religião e das inúmeras ordens que surgiram e desapareceram ( algumas na fogueira), ao longo dos séculos, é uma aprendizagem preciosa.
E tem mortes, mistérios, paixões, pecados, penitências, e claro, a Santa Inquisição para purificar!

E já agora, se viram o filme e acham que por isso não precisam ler o livro, estão redondamente enganados. Eu gostei do filme, mas o Connery que me perdoe o livro é muito, muito melhor!

It is wishful thinking on my part that my review would capture, firstly, and then later, the mood of my bewilderment and disappointment respectively. The Name Of The Rose is an ode to ignorance. As the saying goes, never attribute to malice what can be attributed to ignorance. This medieval tale doesn't feel like a contemporary book, which is the aim of most historical fictions.

For much of the beginning, politics and theology dominate the proceedings. As this story is a mystery at its heart, its disheartening to report that the best deducting by our heroic detective is carried out right when he and his Watson of a chronicler are setting foot in the abbey. This place is where multiple murders are committed. I zeroed in on the most likely culpable person. I thought, wrongly, that the book would contain red herrings. If the latter were there, they never left the abbey's kitchen. Twists, as we understand it in modern vernacular, is sharply lacking here. There is no evidence of brilliance from our detective duo. Indeed, the bumbling clumsiness, physical even, serves the plot to achieve an actual and symbolic destruction of a repository that has served God and no one else.

The point of this book is left open to interpretation. I like to consider the setting of the time and lieu crucial to the underpinnings of what's a simple story at its heart. The key symbol here is the library. It's ironic that the older it gets, the more the rare, handwritten and hand drawn books appreciate in value. At the same time, the content of those books would decrease in accuracy. Relentlessly so. Seen from our eyes, the cherished knowledge of the Dark Ages is nothing but ravings and gibberish. There is also no pity for the girl that Adso sleeps with. Both he and us will never know her name, only her fate. She will be burned at the stake. I know the title of the book doesn't refer to the peasant girl as the Rose. But in that book, she is the only one who comes closest to clearing the meaning of the title.

4,5/5 αστερακια
Πρόκειται για ένα αριστούργημα, που ο συγγραφέας του παίζει στα δάχτυλα και ενσωματώνει στην ιστορία του την φιλοσοφία, την χριστιανική γραμματεία, την ιστορία, την επιστήμη και ότι άλλο κατεβάσει ο νους. Πρόκειται για ιστορικό μυστηρίου, στο οποίο ο συγγραφέας (μέσω των ηρώων του) συνομιλεί για θέσεις τις εποχής και μας παρουσιάζει τις δικές του.
Πολύ ατμοσφαιρικό, έξυπνο και καλοστημένο, χωρίς ιδιαίτερα γρήγορη πλοκή. Είναι όντως αργό και αυτό που συστήνω στον αναγνώστη είναι να ξαπλώσει στον καναπέ του να πάρει το ρόφημα του και να δώσει χρόνο, χρόνο πολύ, και να μην ανυπομονεί να το τελειώσει γιατί είναι δύσκολο ανάγνωσμα και θα κουραστεί γρήγορα.
Το μοναδικό του ελάττωμα είναι η περιγραφικότατη αφήγηση και οι υπερβολικές (κατ’ εμέ) πληροφορίες οι οποίες δίνονται με έναν τρόπο που είναι αδύνατον καθώς τις διαβάζεις το μυαλό σου να μην πετάξει κάπου αλλού, στα ρούχα που έχεις να απλώσεις, στο τι θα φας κ.λ.π. (δυστυχώς).
Παράδειγμα: Όχι δεν θα πω για την περιβόητη περιγραφή του μοναστηρίου, καθώς τουλάχιστον αυτή έχει σημασία για την πλοκή μας. Θα αναφέρω τις σελίδες 143-145 οπού περιγράφετε ένα βιβλίο πάνω σε ένα τραπέζι (όχι το βιβλίο της Ποιητικής που είναι σημαντικό στην ιστορία, μα ένα άσχετο που απλώς βρέθηκε μπροστά μας). Περιγράφετε διότι ο συγγραφέας θέλει να μας μυήσει στην τέχνη του Μεσαίωνα και στις ζωγραφιές που στόλιζαν με τόση υπομονή οι μονάχοι. Ορίστε ένα μέρος της περιγραφής που κρατάει δυόμιση σελίδες, παρακαλώ:
«Μικρά κεφάλια με πόδια πουλιών, ζώα με ανθρώπινα χέρια στη ράχη, μαλλιαρά κεφάλια απ’ οπου ξεπετιούνταν πόδια, δράκοντες με ρίγες ζέβρας, τετράποδα με λαιμό φιδιού, που στρέφονταν σε μύριους άλυτους κόμπους, πίθηκοι με κέρατα δορκάδας, σειρήνες με μορφή πτηνού και φτερά μεμβράνης στις πλάτες τους, άνθρωποι δίχως χέρια, με άλλα κορμιά να ξεφυτρώνουν από τη ράχη τους σαν καμπούρες…»
Δεν θα γράψω άλλο, αλλά ναι, συνεχίζει στην ίδια ροη για ακόμα μιάμιση σελίδα. Το ίδιο μοτίβο περιγραφών ακολουθεί και σε άλλα στιγμιότυπα όπως π.χ. στις σελίδες 337-338 που ο μοναχός Σαλβατόρε αναφέρει τα επαγγέλματα που έχει κάνει στην ζωή του.
Αυτό το θέμα αν και κουραστικό είναι το μόνο ελάττωμα που θα μπορούσα ίσως να βρω σε αυτό το έργο. Και πάλι όμως -επειδή ξαναλέω δεν είναι ένα έργο για ανυπόμονους αναγνώστες αλλά για αυτούς που απολαμβάνουν τις λέξεις και τις προτάσεις ενός καλού βιβλίου αργά και νωχελικά- δεν το βρίσκω καν ελάττωμα. Ναι, εγώ το παραδέχομαι, ένα από τα δικά μου ελαττώματα είναι ότι είμαι ανυπόμονη και δεν διαβάζω αλλά καταβροχθίζω τα βιβλία, έτσι κουράζομαι κ κάτι τέτοιες στιγμές πηδούσα σειρές. Ένας σωστός αναγνώστης όμως, ανάμεσα σε τέτοιες περιγραφές μπορεί να βρει πραγματικά διαμαντάκια και σημαντικές έννοιες και ιδέες που θέλει να περάσει ο συγγραφέας.
Εν κατακλείδι, πρόκειται όντως για ένα αριστούργημα γεμάτο βαθιές έννοιες και φιλοσοφικές ιδέες, κάθε πρόταση έχει αληθινό βάθος. Μα πέρα από αυτό, είναι κ μια υπέροχη περιπέτεια μυστηρίου με πολύ αγαπημένους ήρωες. Αυτά τα ολίγα από εμένα.

And the third Most Boring Book Ever read by yours truly Award goes to The Name of the Rose.
I hadn’t read such boring drivel since Thackeray’s Vanity Fair and Collins’s The Woman in White.

To sum up this brain-numbing blather of a book:

Monks, unhinged serial killer, a Holmesesque genius, an undiscerning Dr. Watson-type assistant, fanatics, women are pure evil, did Jesus Christ ever laugh? Is it okay to laugh?, visions, potions, poisons, labyrinthine library, mind-numbing biblical discussions and disputes, blah, blah, blah…

This is simply phenomenal!.
So cleverly written and thought provoking. Dense yet incredibly rewarding.
For a week I was living in 1327 in an abbey in Italy, I was so lost in this world.
Adso is endearing and William, mind-blowing. Jorge? I have no words. I wonder what he would say to the standup comedy industry :)
An exceptional read, one I am not going to forget anytime soon.

“Books are not made to be believed, but to be subjected to inquiry. When we consider a book, we mustn't ask ourselves what it says but what it means...”

Cînd s-a tipărit, în 1981, Numele trandafirului a devenit imediat o „carte epidemie”. În Italia s-au vîndut 700.000 de exemplare, în Statele unite, 1.600.000 de exemplare. Dintr-un interviu în Le Monde cu Umberto Eco, am ales cîteva pasaje:

„Cîteodată mă gîndesc că ar fi fost mai bine să nu fi scris eu această carte și să fi putut scrie în schimb un eseu frumos despre Numele trandafirului... Dar așa ceva nu se cade, ar însemna să mă comport ca un dentist care și-ar scoate un dinte”.

„Dacă începi să scrii fără să-ți pui în minte să devii Homer, ești un imbecil. Cine începe să scrie, nu încape îndoială, vrea să fie Homer”.

„Singura mea incursiune în ceea ce se poate numi scriitura creativă au fost [pînă la Numele trandafirului] pastișele din Diario minimo, de fapt niște parodii literare... [Am compus] „Nonnita (Bunicuța), parodie după Lolita lui Nabokov: este povestea unui tip, Umberto, care nu se îndrăgostește decît de bătrîne, femei de peste optzeci de ani, și unde parodiez așadar stilul lui Nabokov”.

„Am simțit, la un moment dat, nevoia să povestesc ceva sumbru, ceva care să se desfășoare într-un cadru sumbru și să se înlănțuie în jurul a ceva foarte obscur... Atunci cînd m-am decis să scriu cartea, n-aveam decît o idee: povestea unei crime care să se petreacă într-o mănăstire”.

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”Like the labyrinthine library at its heart, this brilliant novel has many cunning passages and secret chambers. . . .fascinating. . . .ingenious. . . .dazzling.” — Newsweek

n

What can I say? The Name of the Rose by Italian writer Umberto Eco is brilliant, simply a labyrinthine treasure, a masterpiece. This debut novel, first published 1980, is a historical murder mystery set in an Italian monastery in the year 1327 combining fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies, and literary theory. In 1327, Franciscan friar William of Baskerville and his assistant Adso of Melk arrive at a Benedictine abbey to attend a theological disputation. The abbey is being used as neutral ground between Pope John XXII and the Franciscans over the question of apostolic poverty. However, the monks have recently been shaken by the suspicious death of one of their brothers. As such, the abbot asks William, a former inquisitor, to investigate the incident. The mystery takes on a more sinister thread when, on the second day, another monk is found dead under suspicious circumstances. And if you have read the first hundred pages, one is in store for a literary masterpiece. Umberto Eco enclosed those first hundred pages because he believed if somebody wanted to enter the abbey and live there for seven days, he had to accept the abbey’s own pace. If he could not, he would never manage to read the whole book. Eco felt that entering a novel is like going on a climb in the mountains; you have to learn the rhythm of respiration, acquire the pace; otherwise you stop right away. The same is true of poetry. And therein, is the challenge by the author.

The novel was narrated by the young Benedictine monk, Adso of Melk. The author stresses the importance of having the story told through the voice of someone who experiences the events and records them all even though he doesn’t understand them. This narrative unfolding in the Benedictine abbey was strikingly told by Adso. Life in the Benedictine abbey was marked by the canonical hours throughout the seven days giving it structure. The prose was riveting and beautiful, a stunning narrative developing a rich tapestry.

And of course, the other area that piqued my interest throughout the book was the inspiration for the book title, The Name of the Rose. Umberto Eco describes the inspiration derived from the Latin hexameter as follows:

n  

”Rosa que al Prada, encarnada,
te ostentas presuntuosa
de Granada y carmin banada:
campa Lozano y gustosa;
pero no, que siendo he Rosa
tambien seras desdichada.” —Juana Ines de la Cruz

n

Catching up…

It took a fellow college faculty member that I worked with at Cypress College in southern California (before relocating to Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo) to get me to read this book years ago. He was going to be conducting a faculty reading discussion group, and I thought it would be a wonderful experience to attend. And then, it took a donation to a Little Free Library recently to remind me of that long ago experience, and why I would want to revisit this book.

This book wasn’t published in English until 1983. But it was in the late 1980’s, that we as a faculty group had the opportunity to sit around a very large table to discuss this book. I remember when the lead who facilitated the discussion compared the author to Melville, Dostoevsky, Joyce and Garcia-Marquez. How do I remember this, I honestly don’t know! Could it be that a book like this is hard to forget?

Anyway, when I saw this book in a Little Free Library that I was leaving a book for, all these memories of this long-ago discussion came back to me. Of course, it helped that I was also now revisiting it, in-between my other novels this past month.

There are 538 pages to this story, plus a postscript about “the title and meaning” which brought the pages to 576. And then, with this edition that I found at a local LFL, there is an added “Note” from the author which brings the final pages to 579.

What is this novel about anyway?

Well, it is mostly an intriguing detective story set in 1327. There are a series of gruesome murders at a remote Benedictine monastery in the Italian mountains. This is where our main protagonist, Brother William of Baskerville, and his Assistant Adso of Melk, a Benedictine novice from Austria are headed. Adso, is also the narrator.

This was not supposed to be their reason for their coming to the monastery. They were planning to attend an embassy meeting with the Pope and a group of Minorities. But a young illustrator known for his beautiful illuminated manuscripts, is found dead.

Was it suicide or truly murder?

Because of his “thinking” skills, the abbot asks William to investigate the death, which also allows him access to the library which isn’t allowed to be entered by just anyone. And, as readers, as we watch William and Adso in action, we can’t help but feel we are looking at a familiar rendition of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson for their time period.

Especially when more murders occur.

For this reader, as I mentioned above, I certainly felt the Holmes/Watson connection.

Consider the author’s giving William the name ‘Baskerville.’ William’s character asks questions, he studies clues, and he uses the powers of deduction. Remember, the abbot was impressed with his “thinking” skills. For Holmes fans, it does seem very Holmes like, don’t you think? And of course, then there is Adso. He needs William to explain things to him (which also benefits us, the readers) – and that was very typical of Holmes role with Dr. Watson.

Through the course of their investigations of the abbey’s crimes and its secret heresy, there is a medieval flavor to what is being discovered. We are in the Middle Ages after all, but Eco attempts to give a modern view to that world. He paints a picture of monsters that linger within the characters and their actions.

And, with Adso getting clues through his dreams, it gives William the opportunity to try and translate.

“A dream is a scripture, and many scriptures are nothing but dreams.”

As readers we are left with a story that combines criminal investigation, exploration of theology and the language of the times. A medieval mystery novel, so to speak. It also is quite the study of religious history of Europe of the 14th century, which may be too much for some, or fascinating for others.

But for this reader, the descriptions of monastery life, the library scenes, and the characters of William and Adso were worth reading and discussing with others.

But what truly makes this story work, once you get over the length of it, is that Eco’s characters, even if they may appear dry (other than William and Adso), the plot feels very much like walking through a Conan Doyle and Christie novel. And, if you are fans of those authors, this book works.

And, for those who may consider this book for a discussion group, the author’s postscript helps. And, I know I referred to that a lot as we launched into our group discussion all those years ago. The postscript provided so many useful tips on: the reasons for the author’s title, why and how he wrote the book, his reasons for choosing the Middle Ages as the time period, how he would create his narrator, constructing the world his characters would live in, reasons for his long didactic passages (those really brought out quite the discussion!), and most importantly, how he was going to attract us, the reader.

Patience will be needed because of the length of the book. But it is a captivating detective story. And, so quotable throughout the story. Eco shares…

“…Books talk among themselves, and any true detection should prove that we (readers) are the guilty party.”

Think about what he shares in that quote I just mentioned above, as you take a plunge into this historical novel.

Rilettura in lingua originale di questo capolavoro, sono entrato nel mondo di Umberto Eco parecchi anni fa in spagnolo quando ancora la lingua "volgare" di Dante era per me solo un eco ravvicinato dal piemontese dei miei nonni.

Dobbiamo prestare attenzione a ciò che Umberto Eco propone nelle sue Postille a “IL NOME DELLA ROSA”, quando afferma che:

"... se qualcuno voleva entrare nell'abbazia e viverci sette giorni, doveva accettarne il ritmo. Se non ci riusciva, non sarebbe mai riuscito a leggere tutto il libro. Quindi, funzione penitenziale, iniziatoria, delle prime cento pagine, e a chi non piace peggio per lui, rimane alle falde della collina.
Entrare in un romanzo è come fare un’escursione in montagna: occorre imparare un respiro, prendere un passo, altrimenti ci si ferma, subito."

Le "Postille" alla fine del libro, che non avevo ancora letto, sono un breve trattato sulla poetica, uno di quegli esempi, inesauribile, universale e senza tempo dell'intelligenza letteraria di Eco, così come il libro che completano.

In queste prime cento pagine, Eco ci presenta un episodio che avrebbe potuto accadere alla fine dell'anno 1327, in un'abbazia domenicana nell'Appennino italiano, nel contesto storico di numerosi conflitti: il confronto tra il Papa di Avignone Giovanni XXII con l'imperatore Ludovico nel suo tentativo di ripristinare la dignità del Sacro Impero Romano germanico. I conflitti tra gli ordini mendicanti, la loro divisione in diversi gruppi, causando reazioni diverse, alcune violente.

Ma, come dice ancora Eco nelle "Postille", si trattava anche di divertirsi, ed è per questo che dichiara di optare per una struttura poliziesca in cui ci sono crimini, un assassino e un investigatore.

Ciò che leggiamo è la narrazione trovata su un manoscritto andato perso del monaco benedettino ottantenne Adso da Melk quando, da giovane novizio, aveva accompagnato un famoso francescano di nome Guglielmo da Baskerville in una doppia impresa: preparare l'incontro che si terrà presso l'abbazia domenicana, tra la delegazione papale, con Bernardo de Gui in testa, e i francescani guidati da Michele di Cesena, in relazione alla sua prossima visita ad Avignone. E indagare su una serie di crimini di monaci dell'abbazia commessi prima dell'arrivo di entrambe le delegazioni.

Il testo scritto da Adso è diviso in sei giorni, e ciascuno di questi, in periodi corrispondenti alle ore liturgiche o canoniche: mattutino, prima, terza, sesta, nona, vespri e compieta. In questo romanzo, tutto è straordinario: le descrizioni dell'abbazia "un vero microcosmo", i suoi edifici con le loro magnifiche strutture e interni molto ricchi, ma soprattutto le pagine dedicate alla Biblioteca sono splendide, "famosa in tutte le abbazie del cristianesimo, costruita secondo un piano segreto che solo il bibliotecario conosce. Labirinto spirituale, è anche labirinto terreno.”
I ragionamenti e gli argomenti nei dialoghi ci introducono pienamente al pensiero scolastico, di cui voglio mettere in evidenza le discussioni sul "riso" tra Guglielmo e Jorge de Burgos. "... Volevo un cieco a guardia di una biblioteca (il che mi sembrava una buona idea narrativa) e biblioteca più cieco non può che dare Borges, anche perché i debiti si pagano"

Il nome della rosa è un vero gioiello. Il modo in cui questa storia viene raccontata e narrata, mi ha fatto credere che ciò che stavo leggendo fosse reale e non qualcosa preso dall'immaginario dell'autore.

E' un vero viaggio nel tempo, lo diceva Umberto Eco:

«Chi non legge, a 70 anni avrà vissuto una sola vita: la propria. Chi legge avrà vissuto 5000 anni: c’era quando Caino uccise Abele, quando Renzo sposò Lucia, quando Leopardi ammirava l’infinito… perché la lettura è una immortalità all’indietro.»

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