Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose

The first book I read with my Reedie bookclub was Umberto Ecos’s The Name of the Rose, a beautifully written murder mystery set in medieval Italy. In this thrilling tale, the young monk Adso follows his brilliantly perceptive but unorthodox master, William, to a Benedictine monastery in Northern Italy, to investigate a murder which has taken place in a small but ostentatiously wealthy monastery whose heart is a labyrinth library. More horrors and mysteries are unveiled the deeper William and Adso dig, and the more the two suspect that certain persons are working against them to keep the monastery’s secrets from ever being revealed.

This novel is a true page-turner, but also deals in depth with many interesting themes revolving around the nature of Truth – its complexity, mutability, and debatable impenetrability, the meaning of heresy, and whether knowledge should be shared freely with all, and if not, under what circumstances secret knowledge should be guarded, by whom, and through what means.

A truly fascinating book that I would recommend to all, and would definitely enjoy discussing at greater length!