I just finished reading *The Name of the Rose* by Umberto Eco. Ostensibly, it’s about a murder mystery unfolding in a 14th century monastery. The heart of this book is the conflicting ideologies and ambiguity of linguistic signs.
Eco makes liberal use of untranslated Latin and constantly makes references to philosophers, logicians, theologists, and heresiarchs. All this erudition was tough for me to keep up with.
This might seem like heresy to others, but I began translating the Latin and annotating Eco’s references in the margins with a pen. I normally don’t mark up novels, but this one demanded it.
Somewhere in the midst of this research and annotating, it occurred to me that I was like a monk scribing away on a thick manuscript, copying esoterica from the scrolls of Wikipedia and Google Translate. My marginalia gradually illuminated Eco’s message, as I understood it.
Bravo, Eco. One hell of a book! On to *Foucault’s Pendulum*.
by AzoMage
5 Comments
One of my favourite books ever. But I struggled to get through Foucalt’s Pendulum. Thanks for reminding me to pick it up again.
When you’re done *Foucault’s Pendulum*, I highly recommend *The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana*.
I love Eco’s work. Easily my favourite author.
Umberto Eco is like a cure for having your head up your own ass. It’s like professional permission, from an unbelievably talented writer, to get away with a lot of really silly shit. You can just chuck a reference to Rick and Morty into your serious literary tome, nobody cares. Just do it well.
Lucky. I wish I could read FP again for the first time.
I’m delighted you enjoyed it!
I’ve read *The Name of the Rose* (I think) four times now: the first time I had absolutely no Latin and a very rough knowledge of medieval history; now I have enough Latin to understand most of the passages and if not a deeper knowledge of medieval history, certainly the broad strokes of what’s going on in 14th century Italy. And each time I reread it it’s an even more fulfilling experience with layers of meaning. The theological dimensions of the book are still beyond me, and might always be lmao.
*Foucault’s Pendulum* is probably my favourite (although I have a special place in my heart for *Baudolino*), but it’s most certainly the most challenging. It’s a bewildering book by design, but a good understanding of the Knights Templars, Rosicrucians and Jewish history along with literary history will go a long way.
Good luck!