Name Of The Rose, anyone read it?

[smokedragon]

Has anyone read Name Of The Rose, by, Umberto Eco?

It sounds interesting.

But, I saw that there is some sort of companion to the book called Key To The Name Of The Rose.

Will I really need this to understand the novel?

Will I miss a lot by not buying the "key?"

Your help would be appreciated.

[benedict]

I read it a couple of times, the first time being a looooooooong time ago. Back then, I didn't know of, or think that I needed, the "key" you cite.

I recall the first time recognising some of the arguments between religious/political factions portrayed by Eco from the Early Christianity/philosophy part of a comparative religion class I had recently taken. The second time, some years on, that recognition sadly eluded me.

I'd read the book first and skim though the key later if you felt that you'd missed out!

[Mutley Hyde]

I tried once. :( I read just enough to catch the striking similarities to one of Arthur Conan Doyles' Holmes books, but can't remember just which one it was. Study in Scarlet maybe?

I've meant to get back to it forever. My dad loves it, as well as Eco's other novels and non-fiction. It was just too much for me when I was 20. I do like the movie though. :)

[RevLiver]

I read it when I was in high school and hope to re-read it soon. It can be read on several levels. At its most basic, it's a murder mystery set in a medieval monastery, and a very good one at that. But it also delves into philosophy, religion, politics and limiting knowledge "for the good of the people" which really meant in order to maintain control.

I never read the Key to it, nor did I ever feel a need to. A basic understanding of how religion and politics were intertwined at the time and how they controlled people's lives will suffice. Many of the texts cited in the novel are real, so if you wanted to study it in depth, you could easily research the sources.

Basically, I was intrigued by the mystery and learned a few things along the way.

It's quite good, as is Foucault's Pendulum, the only other Eco I've read. He's got a new novel, Baudolino, coming out soon. His fouth novel, but he also has written dozens of books on languages, philosophy and semiotics.

[tylerwillis]

Yes, I just read it for a summer class. I enjoyed it thoroughly, however a small knowledge of Latin would probably be helpful in reading.

Hope to see the movie sometime.

[Groucho]

What I don't understand is how somebody could pick up this book, read it, and then think "Hey! This would make the perfect buddy picture for Sean Connery and Christian Slater!"

[Nick Danger]

I read it a long time ago. I liked it a lot.

The movie stripped out everything from the book except the plot, and the plot was the least interesting part of the book.

[wlmowery]

Originally posted by Groucho
What I don't understand is how somebody could pick up this book, read it, and then think "Hey! This would make the perfect buddy picture for Sean Connery and Christian Slater!"

rotfl But so true, Groucho!

It is a very good book. Having taken numerous religious studies and comparative religion courses in college (enough to count as a minor though not so catalogued), it took on serious depth the second time through. It is not an easy read, and an ability to at least formulate some understanding of latin is nice (those who have studied a latin based language should be able to understand the meaning of the short latin phrases). Read the book, then check out the Key if you have questions.