ALT

I’m reading The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

is anyone else getting kind of a gay vibe from this murdered monk or is it just me and Ubertino of Casale?

Found an old friend

WHAT I READ IN WINTER 2025/2026

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1. “The Name of the Rose” by Umberto Echo

I mean technically I read it in November, but it was cold as balls back then, so I count it as winter time anyway

I’ve been reading this book for years and years and years, but I’ve finally finished it!!! Yey me.

Fascinating book, and definitely worth a re-read at some point, because I’m sure I’ve missed a bunch of stuff. Lots of talk about religion, which should not have been as surprising considering the events are happening in the monastery, but the osmosis led me to believe that it was primarily a murder mystery. Oh well. Makes me grateful I haven’t been alive back then.

The quote that stuck with me:

“As I lay on my pallet, I concluded that my father should not have sent me out into the world, which was more complicated that I had thought. I was learning too many things”

Re-read value: yes, but be prepared to concentrate

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2. “Collected Ghost Stories” by M. R. James

I had no idea about this book’s or author’s existence, but the local libraries have a limited amount of books in English, plus I’m always down for anything ghost-related, so.

Apparently It’s a classic?..

This was delightful! Not at all scary, partially because me and an average Victorian England dweller have different definitions of what constitutes as creepy, and partially because (either due to censorship or it just was like that idk) save for 1 or 2, all stories ended up with good guys defeating or at least successfully escaping from the aforementioned ghosts and other related shenanigans. I extended my library loan like 4 times, because I quickly developed a habit of reading one little story each night before going to sleep.

My favourite little story by far was “Room number 13” because of how unintentionally(?) hilarious it was that the narrator, seeing the shadows in the windows of the mysterious room 13, thought that it was a respectable lawyer just dancing the night away

“When I return to my hotel,
At ten o'clock p.m.,
The waiters think I am unwell,
I do not care for them.
But when I’ve locked my chamber door,
And put my boots outside,
I dance all night upon the floor.
And even if my neighbours swore,
I’d go on dancing all the more,
For I’m acquainted with the law,
and in despite of all their jaw,
Their protests I deride.”

Re-read value: definitely, this is the comfort read right there

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3. “Have his carcase” by Dorothy L. Sayers

I remember writing down the name because of one of the posts on here with the list of best opening lines in books. This particular goes like this:

“The best remedy for a bruised heart is not, as many people seem to think, repose upon a manly bosom. Much more efficacious are honest work, physical activity, and the sudden acquisition of wealth.”

I confess, I had no idea what this book was initially about, and the only reason I started reading it in the first place was because it was the only one on my new e-reader (the acquisition of which is a saga in its own right) which I didn’t foolishly convert into a pdf format, and therefore the only one which I could actually read without breaking my eyes completely.

This is a detective story about a certain murder mystery writer Harriet Vale set in the 1930s, who previously was accused and then acquitted of her lover’s murder (I discovered that this book is like the 7th installment of the series, so there’s that), and now decided to go on vacation and gather some inspiration on the empty and serene countryside. But this chill time was short-lived, as during the picnic on the coast she stumbled upon a dead body. Then stuff started happening, as they usually tend to do.

There is also a certain disturbing fascination about reading something written in that specific period, just a few years before the start of WW2, and have both the characters and the author ruminating about the previous War and having no idea what waits them later.

I quite like the dynamic between Harriet and the actual lead of the book series, Lord Peter Wimsey, they are fun together and as separate character, but my heart was stolen by Antoine:

“I think you know very well the difference between love which is important and love which is not important. But you must remember that one may have an important love for an unimportant person. And you must remember also that where people are sick in their minds or their bodies it does not need even love to make them do fooling things. When I kill myself, for example, it may be out of boredom, or disgust, or because I have the headache or stomach ache or because I am no longer able to take a first-class position and do not want to be third-rate. ”

“I hope you’re not thinking of everything of the sort”

“Oh, I shall kill myself one of these days,” said Antoine, cheerfully. “But it will not be for love. No. I am not so détraqué as all that”

our suicidal aro king lmaoo

Re-read value: 🤷 it’s a mystery novel, and these kinds of books usually loose their appeal after finishing them. Unless they have The Characters. Maybe solely for Antoine?..

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4. ????

I don’t want to doxx to anyone where I’ve lived before (or where I am now too really), and I’m nothing if not committed to the bit, so the name of this book series henceforth shall remain unknown. You’re loosing a lot, so sucks for y'all lol

I think there have been some unsuccessful attempts to translate this series, but i don’t think that it is even possible to accurately convey the meaning of the text in another language, as it heavily relies on the specific lexicon and local cultural references.

This fantasy series has shaped most of my personality in my teenage years. Or this book was just that much of my thing. idk. Both? It is definitely a major reason of how I managed to survive up until this point

It’s been a loooooong time since I’ve been sucked into another world with such force and speed. The world-building and the characters, the magic, the genuine whimsy combined with equally genuine almost cosmic horror!

The good thing about not having read it for more than a decade, is that I don’t remember most of the stuff happening, so I’m genuinely having the time of my life. Plus there are so many books to go!

Also I periodically chuckle to myself, because the author has always been vehemently against shipping and fanfics (hello Anne Rice), but what are you supposed to do when these two are just Like That since the beginning? And I vaguely remember that they will become much. much worse later

can’t wait 😈

The Name of the Rose and Fumito Ueda games

So once again I’ve seen a movie that got me thinking Fumito Ueda must have seen it and been influenced by it.

William of Baskerville (Sean Connery) and his young sidekick, Adso (Christian Slater), arrive at a Benedictine Abbey in Northern Italy, having ridden across a vaste, barren landscape.

The monks welcome them and we hear the narrator’s voice for the first time. Like in The Last Guardian, it’s the voice of a world-weary man telling the story of an adventure he had in his youth.

Baskerville makes Sherlock-Holmes-style deductions which take them closer and closer to working out who is committing the murders at the abbey. There are also entrances to secret passageways that you can only open if you know the trick. One door can only be opened by depressing two of the letters engraved above it. Through it is a staircase labyrinth that brings to mind Escher’s impossible staircases and also Piranesi’s ‘Carceri d'invenzione’. It wouldn’t look out of place in The Queen’s castle.

At the end, Adso has to decide who to go with, the girl he became involved with or his mentor. He chooses his mentor but then in his final monologue, old Adso says:
'And yet, now that I am an old, old man, I must confess that of all the faces that appear to me out of the past, the one I see most clearly is that of the girl of whom I’ve never ceased to dream these many long years. She was the only earthly love in my life, yet I never knew, nor ever learned, her name.’

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One of the filming locations for The Name of the Rose was Rocca Calascio, where Ladyhawke was also filmed apparently. Going to have to watch that movie again as well. I’m turning into Wade Watts from Ready Player One, obsessively watching 80s movies that may or may not have influenced my favourite game designer.

Just finished The Name of The Rose and getting huuuuuuuuge Wake Up Dead Man vibe, idk if Rian Johnson was inspired but the “so-devoted-they-comit-homicide-but-justify-it-as-necesary-and-not-sin” and the critiques of the church and the detective with thei twinky-side-kick

Fun vibes all around

اسم الوردة - لأمبرتو إيكو

هي بالنسبة لي تجربة فريدة جدًّا ومختلفة تمامًا عن أي حاجة قريتها قبل كده. الرواية مش مجرد لغز جريمة قتل في دير غامض، دي رحلة سردية متقسمة بعبقرية بتخليك تعيش جوه مجتمع الدير الديني في القرن الـ 14 (سنة 1327) بكل تعقيداته الفلسفية والسياسية.

أكتر حاجة ممتعة في سرد إيكو هي «الأحاجي» اللي زرعها للقارئ وسط الأحداث. الحبكة الدرامية هنا مش ماشية في خط مستقيم، لا دي مليانة إشارات وتفاصيل مش هتفهم قيمتها غير لما توصل لنهاية الرواية؛ لدرجة إنك لو رجعت قريتها ثاني، هتحس إنك بتقرأ رواية ثانية خالص لأنك خلاص فكيت «الأحاجي السردية» وبقيت فاهم الرموز اللي كان بيرميها المؤلف من البداية.

إيكو مهتم جدًّا بـ «أرسطو»، والبحث عن كتابه المفقود عن «الضحك»، وبيكشف لنا إزاي كانت «الفلسفة المغايرة» في الحقبة دي بتعتبر جرم وهرطقة تستوجب الحرق. الصراع بين العقل والمعتقد الجامد متلخص في الاقتباس ده:

«كل كتاب لذلك الرجل [أرسطو] حطّم جزءًا من المعرفة التي جمعتها المسيحية طيلة قرون… كنّا ننظر سابقًا إلى السماء، ولا ننظر إلّا باحتقار إلى وحل المادة والآن ننظر إلى الأرض، ونعتقد في السماء بشهادة الأرض.. قَلبت كل كلمة من كلمات الفيلسوف صورةَ العالم».

“متاهة المكتبة” هي البطل الحقيقي هنا، رمزية جبارة بتعكس صراع الواقع في مواجهة الاعتقاد، وإزاي العقل بيحاول ينظم المتاهة دي بالمنطق:

«إن علوم الرياضيات هِيَ قضايا صنعها عقلنا بحيث تعمل دائمًا عَلَى أَنَّهَا حقيقية… وقَدْ بني المكتبة عقل إنساني كَانَ يفكر بطريقة رياضية لِأَنَّهُ دُونَ رياضيات لَا تُصنع متاهات».

الرواية كمان بتشرح بذكاء إزاي بيتم استغلال “البسطاء” أو السذّج في صراعات القوة باسم الدين:

«إن السذّج دواب تُساق إلى المجزرة، يُستعملون عندما يراد وضع سلطة الخصم في أزمة، ويُضحّي بهم عندما تنتهي الحاجة إليهم» ، وده لأن محركهم الأساسي هو الخوف: «إنهم يخافون فقط خوفًا عظيمًا من الجروح الجسدية ومن الكوارث، ولذا يخافون القديس أنطونيو أكثر مما يخافون المسيح».

الحاجة الجميلة والملفتة جدًّا في إيكو -وده أول عمل أقرأه له- إنه قدر يحافظ على التوازن الصعب ده؛ كتير من الكتاب لما بيكتبوا رواية فلسفية، الحبكة الدرامية وسياق الأحداث بيتأثروا بالسلب لأن تركيزهم بيبقى على “الفكرة” وبس، لكن مع إيكو الفلسفة والسرد ماشيين سوا بقوة. الميزة دي بتخليه يتشارك مع عمالقة ثانيين بيعرفوا يعملوا التوازن ده زي نيكوس كازنتزاكيس ونجيب محفوظ.

في النهاية، الرواية بتوصلنا للحقيقة اللي بتقول إن «جمال الكون لا يتأتي فقط من الوحدة في التنوع ولكن أيضًا من التنوع في الوحدة» ، وإن «كي تكون للعالم مرآة ينبغي أن يكون للعالم شكل». تجربة دسمة وممتعة بتفضل تطاردك بأسئلتها فترة طويلة.

Le Nom de la Rose - 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray

Le Nom de la rose est une coproduction internationale ouest-allemand-italo-français, réalisé par Jean-Jacques Annaud et sorti en 1986.
C'est l'adaptation du roman du même nom de l'écrivain Umberto Eco, paru en 1980.

Les scènes d'intérieurs sont tournées au Kloster Eberbach, ancien monastère cistercien en Allemagne, près d'Eltville (Hesse).

Le décor extérieur de l'abbaye a été créé de toutes pièces près de Rome ; ce site n'existe donc pas.
Il est toutefois nettement inspiré du château italien du XIIIe siècle Castel del Monte (commune d'Andria, à 70 km à l'ouest de Bari, dans les Pouilles) qui est l'œuvre de Frédéric II du Saint-Empire.
Le tournage a également lieu aux studios Cinecittà, à L'Aquila, Eltville, Rheingau, Rome, le Taunus, etc.

Le portail de l'abbaye de Moissac est réinterprété dans le décor à la 28e minute.

L'abbaye bénédictine ayant inspiré Umberto Eco est l'abbaye Saint-Michel-de-la-Cluse, symbole du Piémont.

Lors de la scène finale, le décor de sept étages de l'abbaye est entièrement détruit pour les besoins du scénario : l’incendie est filmé par sept caméras mais seules trois ont fonctionné. Annaud a alors l'idée de « floper » (inverser) et grossir les images des caméras restantes pour diversifier les prises de vue du brasier.
L'acteur Feodor Chaliapin Jr. reçut une poutre enflammée qui était censée être en balsa, mais les techniciens avaient utilisé du chêne.

I told ya’ll it’s gorgeous

me when im in a shame competition and my opponent is adso of melk

Btw my take on Adso ’s relationship with William of Baskerville is that he absolutely had a bit of a crush on him at first (part hero worship, part pure teenage horniness) but at this point of his life he needed a father figure significantly more than a much older lover so William very quickly went from daddy to dad in his mind. As for William, he clearly sees Adso as his specialiest darling little boy and I don’t think he ever could have thought of him in a sexual manner at all, not when he needed to comfort him after explaining to him that unicorns aren’t actually real and to scold him by calling him a turnip

my medievalist professor implored me to explore the humor in the Bayeux Tapestry… I will simply not be doing that—I’ve read the name of the rose

“The good of a book lies in its being read. A book is made up of signs that speak of other signs, which in their turn speak of things. Without an eye to read them, a book contains signs that produce no concepts; therefore it is dumb. This library was perhaps born to save the books it houses, but now it lives to bury them. This is why it has become a sink of iniquity. The cellarer says he betrayed. So has Benno. He has betrayed. Oh, what a nasty day, my good Adso! Full of blood and ruination.” 

The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco

«إن العلّامة الأكويني لم يخشَ أن يثبت وجود الله بقوة الفكر وحدها، راجعاً من علّة إلى علّة حتى العلّة الأولى التي لا علّة لها»

أومبيرتو إيكو | اسم الوردة

Reading The Name of the Rose and by god if there’s one thing our boy Adso of Melk loves it’s a List.

name of the rose 🤝 my name is red

murdered manuscript illuminators and the neuroticism religious fundamentalism inspire

Editors - Salvation

picking up the name of the rose again instead of something on my tbr: no one can stop me

“Book that contains a map” prompt done! The Name of The Rose by Umberto Eco

The premise of this book is a very intriguing one, and incredibly tempting for me specifically, as a Sherlock and Conclave enjoyer: a 14th century monk renowned for his intellect and prudence, along with his hapless twink of an apprentice, were tasked with uncovering the mystery surrounding a string of dead monks in an abbey whose very life revolved around a forbidden library, which rumor has it to be deadly at night.

A very filling and satisfying book, Eco’s prose feels like my brain is being fucked slowly while reading it (sorry), and I feel completely immersed in the time and place the story took place. The theological discussion was initially hard for me to follow both because of the content and the severity of neuroticism that these monks responded anything with (not you William) but I get it further reading. It was a serious book without ever being grim-dark, surprisingly funny often. The end left me awed, then morose, then wanting for more. I need to procure a physical copy soon to love. 5/5 stars, need to read another by Umberto Eco.

monks!! the arabs are inventing every science while you’re busy with gay drama. lock tf in!!