Good Scribes Only #56 - The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco 🥀
About the Book
The year is 1327. Benedictines in a wealthy Italian abbey are suspected of heresy, and Brother William of Baskerville arrives to investigate. When his delicate mission is suddenly overshadowed by seven bizarre deaths, Brother William turns detective. His tools are the logic of Aristotle, the theology of Aquinas, the empirical insights of Roger Bacon—all sharpened to a glistening edge by wry humor and a 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.”
About the Author
Umberto Eco was an Italian writer of fiction, essays, academic texts, and children's books. A professor of semiotics at the University of Bologna, Eco’s brilliant fiction is known for its playful use of language and symbols, its astonishing array of allusions and references, and clever use of puzzles and narrative inventions. His perceptive essays on modern culture are filled with a delightful sense of humor and irony, and his ideas on semiotics, interpretation, and aesthetics have established his reputation as one of academia’s foremost thinkers.
About the Show
Hosted by novelists and entrepreneurs Daniel Breyer & Jeremy Streich, Good Scribes Only is a podcast for curious minds to explore, challenge, and think differently through books. In Season 4 we’re traveling through the 20th century, decade by decade, because Dan really wanted to see what the world was like before plumbing was a common thing.
Episode Notes
0-5 min — Introduction
5-10 min — ChatGPT guessing game + Casting
10-15 min — Plot summary
15-20 min — Qualms with the novel
20-25 min — Why this is a post-modernist novel
25-30 min — Plot continued
30-40 min — Problems with Post-modernism
40-45 min — Credentialism
45-55 min — The novel’s success
55-60 min — Episode conclusion
Episode Cheat Sheet -> Also ideally hyperlinked
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