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What Members Thought

Man, Umberto Eco really, REALLY knows a lot about the middle ages. And what a charming, horrifying, messy age it was. This book feels almost pressurized by the amount of erudition in it. He loves weaving together all of these layers of puzzles, labyrinths, and religious hallucinations into the mix, which both reinforce and distract from the main murder-mystery set up in a thoroughly delightful way. Kind of like with Borges and Cervantes, books and bookishness seem more like the raw substance tha
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Oooh, boy. This was a good story. It reminded me a little of the Pillars of the Earth, but that was mostly because of the time it took place and the setting. The novel is about a monk and his apprentice who are charged with investigating the murder of another monk at an abbey. Things unravel from there, and the detail in the storytelling is amazing. I listened to it on an audiobook and had trouble keeping all the Italian names straight at first, but gradually caught on.

Aug 03, 2008
Anonymous
marked it as to-read





Dec 01, 2009
Amanda BeReckonedwith
marked it as recommended-over-and-over-again-to


Jul 21, 2010
Willow Curtis
marked it as to-read

Mar 26, 2011
Marie
marked it as to-read


Feb 13, 2012
Selene de la Noche
added it

Aug 28, 2012
Ligma
marked it as to-read

Feb 21, 2013
Minttu
marked it as to-read