chuqui@nsc.UUCP (Chuq Von Rospach) (03/28/85)
I haven't seen this book mentioned in here, but I've finally gotten around
to reading the book 'Name of the Rose' by Umberto Eco. This is a
translation of an Italian book, and is the story of the solution of a
series of murders in an Abbey in the 14th century. Translations are
extremely hard to do right, but I was very pleasantly surprised by this
book--it honestly reads like it was written in English, a real tribute to
both the author and the translator. It is an extremely good book, and has a
very good feel for the life of a religious organization during that time of
unrest. The book revolves around the religious life, but it isn't really a
religious book-- it is a mystery book.
The basic plot is this: various rival factions are to meet at the abbey to
discuss what it will take to get the Pope and the rival leaders together to
discuss the situation. As they are waiting for the other party, a series of
murders occur. Are they trying to ruin the talks? Is something else going
on? The answers must be found, and found they are. This is not an easy book
to read-- as a mystery is ranks with the best Sayers for complexity and
quality, so read it when you are looking for something to think about.
Highly recommended.
chuq
--
Chuq Von Rospach, National Semiconductor
{cbosgd,fortune,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo}!nsc!chuqui nsc!chuqui@decwrl.ARPA
Be seeing you!jagardner@watmath.UUCP (jagardner) (03/29/85)
[...]
The previous article on The Name of the Rose failed to point out
that it is a fairly obvious tribute to Sherlock Holmes. The detective
is English (even though the book takes place in Italy). His description
matches the classic Paget drawings of Holmes and his name is William
of Baskerville (obvious reference). The actual story is narrated by
the "Watson" who accompanies William throughout the adventure. There
are a number of Sherlockian references throughout; for example, at
one point Baskerville says to his sidekick, "You know my methods..."
One reason for this is that Umberto Eco (the author) is a great admirer
of Holmes. Eco is a linguist who believes that Holmes embodies a third
mode of thinking called "adduction". The other two modes of thinking are
"induction" (seeing the same thing happen a lot and deciding it's a
general law) and "deduction" (putting two and two together in a strictly
logical way). Adduction is essentially making a wild leap in the dark,
then looking for evidence to support or deny the conjecture. This is,
in fact, one of the most valuable tools of scientific thought, provided
that you have no emotional attachment to your hypothesis and are prepared
to test it thoroughly and abandon it if it fails. Holmes worked this
way all the time, even though he claimed to do otherwise ("It is a
mistake to theorize before all the facts are known").
Jim Gardner, University of Waterlooreiher@ucla-cs.UUCP (03/30/85)
I second the recommendation of "The Name of the Rose". In addition to
being a mystery, it has some interesting philosophical issues to deal with,
as well as being a veiled exposition on the author's views of art. You also
get a good explantion of some of the more important theological issues of the
period. Definitely a many-faceted book. Be prepared to meet some old literary
friends in new guises, as well.
--
Peter Reiher
reiher@ucla-cs.arpa
{...ihnp4,ucbvax,sdcrdcf}!ucla-cs!reihermartillo@mit-athena.UUCP (Joaquim Martillo) (03/31/85)
Last time reviews of the book appeared, people commented on all the references to Sherlock Holmes. One was missed. The book is supposed to be a translation of memoirs by a monk Adso who comes from Germany. Clearly this is supposed to be a Latinization of a German name and is probably declined Adso, Adsonis etc. But what is the original German name? If one looks at latinizations of German names of the story's time period, one finds initial German W is lost and German t becomes a Latin d. Therefore given the Latin root form Adson(-) one expects the original German name was Watson. Yehoyaqim Martillo
chuqui@nsc.UUCP (Chuq Von Rospach) (04/01/85)
One thing I probably should have mentioned in the original review: my
reading tends to be SF and some mystery/spy, so something as heavily
oriented towards religion as NotR wouldn't have made it onto my reading
list under normal circumstances. At a SF con a while back, though, I was in
listening to a couple of panel discussions where the authors were
constantly using this book as an example of various things -- plot,
characterzation, settings, you name it. Anytime you can get a group of
authors to agree on anything is a rare even, and any time you can get them
to agree on the merits of a book you ought to track it down. I did, and I'm
quite pleased...
chuq
--
:From the closet of anxieties of: Chuq Von Rospach, National Semiconductor
{cbosgd,fortune,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo}!nsc!chuqui nsc!chuqui@decwrl.ARPA
"I can call spirits from the vasty deep." "Why so can I, or so can any man;
but will they come when you do call for them?" -- Henry IV, part I