It’s demanding reading Dan Brown’s savvy twist on Eco’s medieval thriller format was to make it accessible to a broader audience, but this came at the cost of Eco’s incredible specificity. Beginning in the 1980s he took “weird fiction” and added footnotes, turning it into a respectable art form. An Italian semiotician (someone who studies symbols), Eco carries in his balding, bearded, bespectacled head an encyclopedic knowledge of Kabbalah, metaphysics, the Knights Templar, 19 th century occultists – every esoteric spiritualist movement and every weird avenue to enlightenment ever dreamed up in an opium den. And if you haven’t seen the meticulous film adaptation of his best-selling work Il nome della rosa ( The Name of the Rose), you’re missing what may be Sean Connery‘s most mature and underappreciated performance.īefore there was Dan Brown and The Da Vinci Code, there was Eco. Whatever has brought or returned you to Eco's masterpiece, The Key to 'The Name of the Rose' will serve as a scholarly but readable companion, one that will enhance your understanding and enjoyment of Eco's intricate text.If you’ve never read a novel by Umberto Eco, take it from me: you’re missing out on one of life’s most bizarre but rewarding experiences.

With over twenty translations of The Name of the Rose available there was a great need for commentaries in other languages. Originally published in 1987, The Key to 'The Name of the Rose' remains the only commentary on Umberto Eco's historical novel available in English. For those who have read and enjoyed The Name of the Rose, this key will prove a belated boom for those who have been intending to take the plunge, The Key is a real lifesaver, time-saver, decoder. It is, in truth, a delightful guide not just to The Name of the Rose, but to the Middle Ages. The authors' scholarship is as unerring as their sense of fun: The Key is full of bizarre characters and mirthful anecdotes. You will find it a wonderfully illuminating conversation that furthers and deepens your reading experience. ' The Key to 'The Name of the Rose' is a conversation with readers of The Name of the Rose.

In the name of the rose book