Book discussion: The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

First published in 1980, The Name of the Rose is Umberto Eco’s celebrated blend of medieval history, detective fiction, and philosophical inquiry. Set in a Benedictine monastery in northern Italy, the novel follows the Franciscan friar William of Baskerville and his young novice Adso as they investigate a series of mysterious deaths.

Eco weaves together theology, semiotics, power, heresy, and the politics of knowledge into a richly layered story that’s as atmospheric as it is intellectually playful.

A gripping mystery on the surface and a meditation on truth, interpretation, and authority underneath, The Name of the Rose remains one of the most influential and discussed novels of the late twentieth century.