The Name Of The Rose

THE NAME OF THE ROSE by UMBERTO ECO

In this engrossing novel, the story is set in early 14^th century in Italy where church has the absolute authority. The new protectors of the faith, the fanatic inquisitors wield considerable power and freely use torture as a means of procuring false evidence to use in their kangaroo courts. 

The church has imposed censorship on every idea, statement and fact that is not in the sync of its preaching, and freethinking is highly injurious to health since burning of innocent people at stakes as witches and heretics is the norm of every day. 

Under these circumstances, the protagonist Franciscan friar William of Baskerville, a middle-aged monk with an open, analytical, inquisitive mind – a medieval avatar of Sherlock Holmes – arrives at Benedictine monastery in northern Italy with his young novice pupil Adso of Melk, to attend a theological conference.

As soon as they arrive, a young monk is found dead and thought to have committed suicide.

The abbot of the monastery entrusts William to look into the presumed suicide of the young monk. William soon finds a foul play in the death of the young monk and concludes it to be murder but before he could close this matter, other monks starts turning up dead in unexplainable mysterious ways, leading to dead ends and new clues to a deadly mystery.

To make matters worse, a hardcore inquisitor who shares a bitter history with William arrives at the monastery to investigate these deaths and he has his own plans to take care of William permanently.

Against all odds, William continues to investigate the baffling incidents with his pupil. Using his gifted talents for deduction and logic, he succeeds in uncovering the ancient secrets of the monastery. ‘The secrets’ which some men guard with their lives and would do anything including the murder to protect them.
   

In this historical murder mystery, Mr. Umberto has created a dead-set delicious story that rotates around the monastic life, religious beliefs, theological and political disputes,  rivalries between bishops and abbots, reformists and staunch clerics, coded manuscripts, secret symbols, plenty of suspects  and above all the ample numbers of murder that occur when you least expect them.

Being a period novel, the novel does exactly what is supposed to do as it transports the reader from modern times into 14^th century by vividly reflecting the life, political and social circumstances, hardships of the common masses, their fears, and corrupt practices of church prevalent in that era.

Though Mr. Umberto has used a monastery and church practices as the backdrop for the story, he has refrained from blasphemy unlike some of the contemporary authors. His main character, William, does not take lord’s name in vain or uses profane language; he often disregards the religious teachings or beliefs of his colleagues such as demonic possession in lieu of sound logic and other proofs but he is a man with faith in god.

The lengthy plot of the novel is a bit slow and boring in the beginning but when it picks up, it keeps you at your toes till the end and makes up to be a good read.  

For me, it worth four out of five stars.