Monthly Group Reads: OCTOBER 2013 (Group Read 2) The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

[Cynthia]

Terri wrote: "Cynthia wrote: " If I ever met him, I'd probably be so tongue-tied. :)"

...and you may need a translator, which means he wouldn't have much work to do. If you are tongue tied that is. :D"

I wouldn't need an interpreter because I speak Italian, but I'm sure my speech would most likely be riddled with nervous error. :-)

[Simona]

Wow Cynthia, kudos to you: italian is a difficult language.

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

Cynthia wrote: ".I wouldn't need an interpreter because I speak Italian, but I'm sure my speech would most likely be riddled with nervous error. :-) .."

*jealous*. I wish I could speak Italian. :(

[James]

I absolutely loved this book. I will chase it up and read it again which will be a pleasure. Good Call!

[Inna]

I read the book years ago and loved it. I read it side by side with a wonderful history book dealing with the same events - Norman Cohn's The Pursuit of the Millenium. It was a great experience.

The Pursuit Of The Millennium: Revolutionary Millennarians And Mystical Anarchists Of The Middle Ages

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

Certainly hoping I like it as much as many of you have.

[Cynthia]

Simona wrote: "Wow Cynthia, kudos to you: italian is a difficult language."

Simona, I can't claim talent, my parents are from Italy and speak Italian. I grew up with Italian, but English is my dominant language. My parents spoke to me in both languages before I went to school. Once I started school (we live in the US) English became my main language.:-)

[Simona]

Now I'm envious - bilingual from the crib!

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

hahaha. That would be cool. ;)

[Joseph]

This is one of my all-time favorite novels. I've read it 3 times, but now that it's a group read, I may do it again!

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

My copy arrived yesterday. So I am all ready to go come October. :)

[Simona]

And I'm behaving, so I stopped to wait for you all.

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

I will likely start around the 2nd of October. I am trying to fit in The Pagan Lord before the group read.

[Simona]

I'll have my reading time booked for Oct the 2nd!

[Liza]

C.P. wrote: "I read it ages ago. It took a while to get going, as I recall, and the semiotics was a bit hard to follow, but in the end I loved it. Finishing felt like a real achievement.

Once it picks up about..."
Thanks for that, C.P.... I've tried to read this so many times and given up, but will try again now, for the Oct read, if you think it's worth it.

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

I am still on target to start this on the 2nd (US time).

Just over halfway through my current read and it is going fairly fast now.

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

I have added the movie trailer for The Name of the Rose to the Group's videos.

http://www.goodreads.com/videos/52432...

[Cynthia]

Okay, I started my reread last night at 11:30 CST in US. I 'jumped the gun' but I really did like the book. I was reminded of the elevated prose and philosophical viewpoint of the narrator. Let the story begin! LOL

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

I shall not be too far behind you, Cynthia. Still a bit left of the book I am currently on and then I'll start.

I know there are others who have chosen to start the Ancient group read and come to this Medieval Group Read second, so not sure how many will be starting in the beginning of the month with us. :)

[John]

I have read The Name of the Rose several times and needless to say: it's a very good book. But it's rather complicated, and the first time I read the book wasn't the first time I tried to read it. I actually started reading it three or four tries before I managed to get past the first 70 or 80 pages.

Then, on a rather long journey by train, I decided that this time I wouldn't give up, and after some time I was so fully caught up in the book that I didn't get off the train at the right station. I had to take a bus back to my destination. Which didn't matter much: I had The Name of the Rose to read!

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

Seems to be a common thing, John. I see quite a few people are going to try reading it with us this month because they have tried before to get through the book and haven't managed it.

Hopefully all the people who still haven't gotten through it will make it this time. :)

[Nate]

I own a copy of this! I don't even remember purchasing it but I'm excited to read it. No idea what it's about, which is nice.

[Joani]

Indeed, I have attempted ti read it before but could not get absorbed by it. I have now gotten to the point if absorption and am enjoying it. I do wish a translation of the Latin was included, though

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

Joani wrote: "Indeed, I have attempted ti read it before but could not get absorbed by it. I have now gotten to the point if absorption and am enjoying it. I do wish a translation of the Latin was included, though"

Oh that's good Joani. That you are absorbed this time.

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

I am starting now. :)

[Jane]

From my review on Sailing from Byzantium: How a Lost Empire Shaped the World, and this has some importance in the story: " A "scriptorium" was first used in a Byzantine monastery and in the homes of rich, educated Byzantines; the idea of such a room spread quickly into Western monasteries."

I read the novel years ago, liked it, and any pictures in my mind are from the movie.

[Kirk]

I'm sure I have the paperback stashed away in a bookshelf somewhere. I read it some decades ago, and thought it excellent at the time.

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

This book is so stylish. very much my kind of book. I have found myself skipping a little when the author goes for pages describing one thing. For example the images in the church. All the description of the images was boring the heck out of me. I read these many pages, but when the description dragged, my eyes would skip to the next sentence and not finish the one I was on.

Skipping aside. I love a classy read and this looks like it will be one heck of a classy read.

[C.P.]

Liza wrote: "C.P. wrote: "I read it ages ago. It took a while to get going, as I recall, and the semiotics was a bit hard to follow, but in the end I loved it. Finishing felt like a real achievement.

Once it p..."

Yes, do. It's definitely worth it.

[Simona]

Terri wrote: "This book is so stylish. very much my kind of book. I have found myself skipping a little when the author goes for pages describing one thing. For example the images in the church. All the descript..."

In that scene, I love how the author is able to give the idea of a young boy from the middle age facing such a marvel, impressed from all the prodigious images that strike his imagination.

(This book is my first HF love, I feel like I'm introducing my boyfriend to the family - I really hope that you'll love it like i do!) :)

[Simona]

Interview with Eco on Italian TV this evening!

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

Simona wrote: "Interview with Eco on Italian TV this evening!"

Ha! What a coincidence. :)

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

Simona wrote: "In that scene, I love how the author is able to give the idea of a young boy from the middle age facing such a marvel, impressed from all the prodigious images that strike his imagination.

(This book is my first HF love, I feel like I'm introducing my boyfriend to the family - I really hope that you'll love it like i do!) :).."

It is a beautiful scene. As mentioned I didn't appreciate every word as much as I would if I had all the time in the world to read the book.
I can see why people reread it. The first reading one can do a light skimming, then reread it at a later date and pick up some of that stuff second go around.

I like your boyfriend. He is dark and very religious, but that hasn't turned me off.

[Cynthia]

I agree with Terri. The description of the images surrounding the Christ is so detailed and how it relates to the architecture is difficult to see at times, but reading it now so many years later, I realize that it's a parallel to the vision seen by John in the Book of Revelation. If any has read that, I don't have to tell you how strange and almost creepy that is. So for me, the mood has definitely taken on a more sinister feel. However, I read this so long ago, I can't remember how I felt then! LOL

[Kyle]

This was the book that made me name Umberto Eco as my favorite living author, and also the book that made me want to learn Italian. It's complicated, and takes some hard work to get through, but it's extremely rewarding!

It's almost like Eco put so much work and study into writing this book that he is demanding his readers put hard work into reading it. :)

(view spoiler)[I actually really love the little debates about theology and philosophy, like whether or not Jesus laughed. :) (hide spoiler)]

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

Kyle is on the money there I think. Umberto expects us to work hard to get into the book. It is no walk in the park.
I keep waiting for a mystery thriller to get tied in, but so far (page 110) it doesn't really seem to be about the murders. Or perhaps it will all come together further in???

[Kyle]

Terri wrote: "I keep waiting for a mystery thriller to get tied in, but so far (page 110) it doesn't really seem to be about the murders. Or perhaps it will all come together further in??? "

I think the murder mystery aspect of the novel is only a small part of the book. Eco draws from a wide range of historical, philosophical, and literary influences and blends them into his own package. He's mentioned that he's most influenced by Jorge Luis Borges, and I think the influence is revealing when you read some of Borges' stories.

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

I have to admit. All the theological and similar religious discussions are wearing me down. Since I have no interest whatsoever in religion it is not keeping me glued right now. Hoping the religious debates and discussions and observations will become less prominent as the book goes on.

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

Much happier now. It has moved on from all the theological, religious and philosophical rambling.

It has moved back into having a story to tell and I am into it again.

[Patrick]

I read this one somewhere around '99 or 2000; It's one of the few historical fictions my (then girlfriend, now wife) has read. Solid work. Foucault's Pendulum was delicious in a different way. Haven't read any of the other works by the author, but I've seen pics of his personal library (can't find the site, grr); 30,000 plus volumes. I think I've got a bit of catching up to do...

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

30,000 books. Whoa. The man epitomises historical literature.

[Mark]

The religious or philosophical ramblings do have a significance to the murder mystery plot so don't ignore them altogether! If it helps think of them in terms of different philosophies rather than a religious debate. I wouldn't see Eco as a religious writer, but he is obsessed about ideas

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

No, I am not ignoring them altogether, but I am ignoring a lot of them. I am not a religious person at all and it does my head in.

[Simona]

And it's significant in the historical contest of Middle Age Italy. Very much so.

[Kyle]

Yeah, as Mark said, these debates/musings are integral in the general plot and mystery of the novel. Think of the discussions as clues to the mystery. :)

[Kyle]

Also, yeah. Eco is definitely not a religious writer in that sense; he's actually an Atheist personally. Simply a scholar.

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

Kyle wrote: "Yeah, as Mark said, these debates/musings are integral in the general plot and mystery of the novel. Think of the discussions as clues to the mystery. :)"

Yes, :) but I don't need all the details for the finale. So I take what I need and discard the rest.


For the record, that was Mark who brought up Eco not being a religious writer. I actually never said he was a religious writer. I was just saying that the book is too religious for me. I don't like getting that deep into people's religious musings. I really don't care if Jesus (if there were one) laughed. :)

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

I am still enjoying the book. When it doesn't bog down in religious talk. It isn't taking up so much of the book that i would 3 star it. I am sitting comfortably on a 4 star in my head and I am halfway.


Folks who love this book need to understand. I am not criticising the book or the author. I am expressing how I feel about the book and how the book relates to me.
I don't think every word is highly enjoyable, nor every page for that matter, since some of the rambling goes for multiple pages.
That kind of rambling and debate and discussion obviously appeals to others, but it does not appeal to me and my taste. If the topic were something that appeals to my taste then i wouldn't have to skim read it. But it doesn't, so I am.

[Anastasia]

Is anyone behind in their reading? I've only just begun (as in first ten pages), but so far I'm impressed. More from me soon!

[Eileen]

Terri wrote: "I am still enjoying the book. When it doesn't bog down in religious talk. It isn't taking up so much of the book that i would 3 star it. I am sitting comfortably on a 4 star in my head and I am hal..."

It has been a long time since I read it, but the rambling did get a bit tedious. Plus, as I said earlier, the motive for the murder seemed a real stretch to me.