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

Perfect

This amazing book is expertly narrated. It in many ways is my perfect book: a murder mystery in a monastery, with medieval politics, ecclesial intrigue, an obsession with language and texts, a mysterious library, and forbidden love. Eco was a genius.

Good read

I could not read this book physically I had to listen to it it is way too much of a book and the descriptions are way too intense with all the language changes but by the end of it I was pleased that I had read it it was a good story a slight mystery and very informative based on history

Superb in every respect

Wow! a history lesson and a mystery thriller t all in one. I couldn't put it down. The performance was superb. It's as though it was read by a seasoned Shakespearian actor. The story was great,.

One of the best productions on Audible

A masterful production of a more than deserving work. Kudos to everyone involved in making this happen!

Hard to understand the narrator!

the narrator spoke in a low, monotone voice! The story is good, but seemed long and drawn out.... too detailed , such that I fell asleep throughout the book.

My Favourite Novel

I enjoyed hearing it, especially the names, places and the latin sentences read properly.

This story is brilliant, and it's well worth reading and/or listening to.

Spectacular novel and exceptional audio book

A professor of medieval philosophy suggested this book to me 20 years ago and I finally got around to listening to the audiobook. The story itself is very compelling, part of reflection of the medieval world, part, a discussion of the Catholic theology of the time, part philosophical musing, oh, and there is an intriguing murder mystery to boot! However, perhaps the best part of this audiobook is the performance. The narration is absolutely top notch and made for a very entertaining and edifying experience. highly recommended.

Incredible

It was all perfect. Great narration, fascinating plot, perfect dialogue, tone, theme, and incorporation of historical and philosophical elements. Eco is a genius

Good book love the soundtrack

Great narrative good story narration was excellent loved the book great listen. Good for long drive home

Technical Problems Solved

For those reviews complaining that the third part of the audio book is not available, or about the production values - those are solved. At least I didn't have those problems. Upon purchase I had all 3 parts available for download. Having listened to the book twice now (the whole entire thing), I have not noticed any production problems with background noise or "voices like a party down the hall" or a "studio door open". I don't know if those were draft edits or a pre-release product or what, but the technical problems are solved.

I loved that all the characters had a separate voice, as narrated by the actor. That made following the action much easier for me. I used this version instead of the paperback book for a college class. I found that the book and the audiobook read word for word, and I could listen to the audio book while commuting.