The Name of the Rose

By: Umberto Eco, William Weaver - translator

Narrated by: Sean Barrett, Neville Jason, Nicholas Rowe

Length: 21 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

The international best seller! A masterful gothic thriller set against the turbulence of medieval Italy.

The year is 1327. Franciscans in a wealthy Italian abbey are suspected of heresy, and Brother William of Baskerville arrives to investigate. But his delicate mission is suddenly overshadowed by seven bizarre deaths that take place in seven days and nights of apocalyptic terror.

Brother William turns detective, and a uniquely deft one at that. His tools are the logic of Aristotle, the theology of Aquinas, the empirical insights of Roger Bacon - all sharpened to a glistening edge by his wry humor and ferocious curiosity. He collects evidence, deciphers secret symbols and coded manuscripts, and digs into the eerie labyrinth of the abbey where "the most interesting things happen at night".

As Brother William goes about unraveling the mystery of what happens at the abbey by day and by night, listeners step into a brilliant re-creation of the 14th century, with its dark superstitions and wild prejudices, its hidden passions and sordid intrigues. Virtuoso storyteller Umberto Eco conjures up a gloriously rich portrait of this world with such grace, ease, wit, and love that you will become utterly intoxicated with the place and time.

©1980 Gruppo Editoriale Fabbri-Bompiani, Snzogno, Etas S.p.A.; English Translation ©1983 by Harcourt Brace & Company and Martin Secker & Warburg Limited (P)2013 Naxos AudioBooks

Good historical murder mystery. Get the book?

Well written, but probably not very well suited for audio. I probably should have read it instead. There's a lot of Latin/other languages throughout the book which will likely be lost on most listeners.

The narration fit the tone of the book, but wasn't necessarily the most engaging.

Overall, a good historical murder mystery.

Slightly disappointed by the ending.

Wonderful story, great readers

I read this in High School some 50-ish years ago in high school and a couple times since then, and each time I loved it. Listening to it though...what a completely different pleasure. Nicholas Rowe, Sean Barrett and Neville Jason were perfect. The characters were distinct, each with their own singularly expressive voice. Some might find the descriptions and dialog wordy, but to me those words made people, locations, situations and even animals become easy to picture. The characters are wonderfully complex. Even though I already knew the plot, it's twisty enough (especially with these readers) that I had to force myself to stop listening in order to get some sleep. It's a great book for those who love long, detailed, historical fiction. I'll be listening to this book again.

murder in the year 1329 (true story?)

Book was supposedly written in late 1300s and is a detective story in a monastery in 1329 with monks being killed. There is a LOT of discussion about religious beliefs but I found that interesting. Supposedly a true story but "who knows"?

Even better in audio!

I read this book about 20 years ago (with a dictionary next to me) and was flabbergasted by the quality of his writing and story. It is beautiful.

Imagine my surprise when I listened to it as a refresher and found that this reading was done so skillfully that I understood far more by listening than by reading it to myself.

This author and reader are tremendously talented.

Exceptional

The greatest story, perhaps, with profound messages that defy defining this book as a “detective novel.” It’s extraordinary and this is an exceptional narrator (except his German, which could have used a bit of effort).

Narrator Extraordinaire!

My 2 attempts at reading the book failed. 3rd try with Audible was a success! The narrator kept me interested through the drawn-out chapters.

Amazing story!

Best book of its kind. No author has written a better novel on this genre. Superb narration!

Great book with great reading performance

I loved every part of this audible book. Great story read perfectly . I would recommend it to everyone.

Review

Narrator was AMAZING, best I've ever heard! Story was hard to follow many times because of the Latin......so I feel like I missed out on some critical parts. Overall, it was a really good story but I wish I had understood more.....and still don't know why he picked "The Name of the Rose" for the title.

Only half the book available as audio

If you could sum up The Name of the Rose in three words, what would they be?

Not all there

Would you be willing to try another one of the narrators’s performances?

Yes

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Many

Any additional comments?

Prospective listeners please note: only the first part of the book is present in this recording. The second part of the recording is missing. I don't know what is up with this.