The Name Of The Rose

I finished it last night. Just a hair over six hundred pages but it was very difficult. The Name of the Rose, a fourteenth century mystery that takes place in an abbey. A medieval monk, William of Baskerville with his young apprentice Adso were brought in to solve an unexplained death. William is more or less the Sherlock Holmes of his day, a former inquisitor with an insatiable appetite for the truth and an intellect to match.

Over the next seven days several deaths occur while William and Adso hunt the killer. The book is steeped in arcane theological debates, Latin phrases with no interpretation, and a confusing cast of characters. Well maybe not confusing as it took me over six months to read this novel. I do admit to laying the book down for weeks at a time and not reading it.

Yes you'll likely recall a movie of the same title and premise however it was VERY dumbed down for viewers, the novel couldn't possibly translate into screen material easily and retain the complexity of the mystery.

Les Miserables was once the toughest book I'd tackled, the sheer size and layers of story made it a book where you really had to pay attention to what was happening, Rose was by far tougher and half the size.

It was just how tedious the context could be and how difficult it made it for you the reader to gain that context that made it hard to read. I'm fairly certain making it through this book raises your IQ points by about five. I'm glad I made it through but now it is onto easier reading for a while!