In Search of the Black Rose

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet"
"Romeo and Juliet"

This was the first non-Japanese book review scheduled for this year...  until I moved Lindongzhiguan up to the first post of the year. Oh well.

It is in the year 1327 when friar William of Baskerville and his apprentice Adso of Melk travel to a Benectidine monastery in Northern Italy, The monastery is to be "neutral grounds" where representatives of Pope John XII and the Franciscans will debate the theological discussion regarding the poverty of Jesus, as ever since the Franciscans proclaimed this point, they have been made a target by the Pope. When William arrives at the abbey however, they are informed that the monk Adelmo has passed away, having seeminly fallen from a tower of the library at the top floor of the aedificium, but as the windows were all shut, it is unlikely Adelmo committed suicide, as people seldom tend to shut the windows behind them after jumping down. The abbot of the monastery asks William, a former inquisitor, to investigate the case, and preferably, before the big discussion starts. William's investigations brings him contact with a diverse casts of monks who live in the monastery, from a blind old monk who despises laughter to a seemingly cooperative herbalist and a often-grumbling glazier, who all occassionally have their own theological discussions with each other or William. William's probings into Adelmo's life, who might not really have been celebate thanks to his fellow monks, also turn his attention to the library of the monastery. The aedificium is basically a fortress, and the library is at the very top. The library houses an immense treasure cove full of knowledge, with books and manuscripts collected from the entire world, some even considered heretical or of the devil, but too valuable to dispose off. Monks copy and translate manuscrupts in the scriptorium on the second floor, but the library itself is only accessible to the librarian and his assistant: monks have to apply for a manuscript, and it's only the librarian who can give permission, and who can even find his way through the maze that is the library, as the top floor is designed as a mystifying labyrinth filled with books and manuscripts. But soon, more curious deaths occur in the monastery, from a monk found hurled face down in a vat of pig's blood to a monk's brain being crushed with an orb. William soon detects a pattern between the deaths, but can he find the murderer in time in Umberto Eco's debut novel Il nome della rosa ("The Name of the Rose", 1980)?

Il nome della rosa is one of those books I had always been aware of, but never got started on. I knew the book took on the form of a mystery novel, but was also about a lot of other topics and themes, and certainly closer to "serious literature" than most of the fiction I read. I have not seen the film, but the idea of a medieval mystery set in a monastery sounded fun, even if I already knew it might not be the actual focus of the book. I have seen the book also mentioned in the context of "anti-mysteries" in Japanese fiction, like Kyomu he no Kumotsu or Maya Yutaka's work like Tsubasa Aru Yami and Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata, books that took on the form and tropes of a "classic" mystery novel, but also use it to discuss very other themes or even the flaws and trappings of the mystery genre itself. While those kind of books seldom end up as my actual favorite books, I do find them interesting and captivating to read once in a way, perhaps exactly because 90% of what I do read is straightforward mystery fiction. A friend of mine read the book a while back and was really enthusiastic about it, which brought the book to my attention again, and in a manner extremely fitting to Il nome della rosa, I happened to come across the book at my local little free library, so I picked it up without any hesitation, because I really needed to know what it was about.

And indeed,  Il nome della rosa is about a murder mystery, but also not. Though I'd say claiming it's not a true murder mystery at all, would be wrong: it is most certainly a murder mystery, and yes, while the book is also about a lot of other themes, especially theological discussions, those themes are used to support the murder mystery, and are definitely what elevate the mystery elements of the book. To turn it around: if this book didn't cover those themes and you had the bare-bones tricks and explanation behind the murders, you'd have a very average murder mystery, as a lot of it isn't really surprising or even original taken on their own. But Eco manages to weave these murders so very well with the background of the monastery, the monks and their motives and beliefs, Il nome della rosa becomes a very captivating work that thematically, is very impressive for a mystery novel.

Atmosphere is absolutely fantastic too. The medieval monastery really comes alive in the book, which is presented as a translation of translations of a manuscript originally written by Adso decades after the events, adding a cool book-in-book context. While the prose can a bit wordy (Adso must really be into doors to describe them in such detail), the presentation of how monks had to live in a monastery, how monks from various backgrounds (beliefs/schools) would interact with each other and of course the political struggles between factions of the Church are all very memorable. The actual theological discussion regarding Jesus' poverty for example is dense, but it's surprisingly funny if you make it through. The prose, interspersed with Latin phrases and where people often go monologuing or debating philosophical matters, is dense, and takes a while to get used to, and even then the book's not a very easy read, but it's also done to imitate the style of writing, so it's something you'll have to live with. I personally think that if the murder mystery plot was the absolute most important thing for this book, a lot of trimming would have been better without sacrificing on its themes, but understanding that is not what the intention was, I can let it slide. At the center of what gives this book its amazing vibe is the library: an almost magical place, which houses knowledge from all across the world, on the top floor of a fortress designed as a labyrinth. While I found the way the book leads William and Adso to investigating the library a bit too direct (there were no real direct clues leading to the library), the passages of them trying to make sense of the library are really cool. It's a bit disappointing the book isn't really trying to give the reader a chance to penetrate the secrets of the library themselves, and a lot of the mystery revolving around the library is sadly enough not synergetically connected to the murders, but as a atmospheric prop, it does its job very well.

As said, the mystery behind the murders taken on their own are not extremely complex or surprising. A lot of the deaths are incredibly straightforward (and William deduces the truth of some of them even before the readers gets any time to do anything), while a certain trick used for some other murders is unlikely to really catch any seasoned mystery reader off-guard, as it's... like the answer of one of those short one-page mystery quizzes you'd sometimes see. Yet, there's a lot to like here. I love the thematics behind the murders (the pattern that William picks up on) and the reason/explanation behind the pattern is also great: it fits perfectly with some of the themes this book handles and which had been slowly popping its head once in a while, and I like the sheer bombastic appeal of it. I have read other mystery stories that tackle the exact same pattern, that take it more seriously, but I think it works very well in Il nome della rosa, both in the "world of the book" as well as a major theme.

But it's definitely the motive for the crimes that works best in this book. As mentioned above, the characters (mostly monks) are all clearly defined by their beliefs and it's their actions that set things in motion. Sometimes it's the flaws of their beliefs, or flaws as them as a human being that moves things, sometimes it's their strength of their beliefs or strenghts as human beings which ironically sets the wheels of death in motion, but it's built-up to very convincingly in this novel. While I personally do think some of the dialogues (conversations/discussions) on philosophical questions go on longer than actually necessary, they do tie back to the mystery, making Il nome della rosa a very humanistic mystery despite it's very gothic, horror-esque apppearences. At the same time, it does definitely also touch upon anti-mystery themes, with William of Baskerville (obviously inspired by Sherlock Holmes) being both a brilliant detective, but also a flawed detective who certainly doesn't do everything perfectly in this novel. Readers of late Ellery Queen works or Maya Yutaka will definitely find a lot to like here, as the book does explore the theme of a flawed detective quite well, especially as it again ties back to themes that apply to most characters in the book. Other themes like the search for knowledge and truth, that of course are very important to mystery fiction in general, also become relevant, and all have great synergy with the motive behind the deaths. I mentioned earlier the library elements of the book didn't have much synergy with the mystery plot: in a way, the library is a symbol for the mystery, but it is surprising how the themes do really synergize well with each other and the deaths. Seen as such, Il nome della rosa is a great mystery.

I do think I liked Il nome della rosa a lot more already the day after finishing the actual book, though I already liked it then. While purely seen from a mystery perspective, I think some elements are just too longwinded, while elements like the connection of the library to the mystery and the tricks behind the deaths are a bit disappointing in their shallow execution, I think that overall, this is a very memorable mystery novel, as it is thematically very strong, and pulls off some things (the pattern!) mystery-wise precisely because it is because of these themes, and other books might have had more trouble with it. It's not the easiest book to get through and it is certainly not as straightforward as most of the mystery novels I usually read, but definitely worth a read.

And now I will bring this book back to the little free library so someone else may seek the knowledge herewithin.

Original Italian title: Umberto Eco " Il nome della rosa"