One Book, Me Like

For a difference, thought I would post something about a book I like.

The Name of the Rose – Umberto Eco
Intro
An erudite medieval murder mystery that meanders into history, philosophy and theology (Phew, 6 retypes to get that one phrase). A medieval priest investigates a series of bizarre murders in a world struggling out of the Dark middle ages into the dawn of rational enlightenment a la Bacon.

Vs The Da Vinci Code
Of late, I have had too many people gushing to me on the oooohs and aaahs that “The Da Vinci Code” holds…Have been telling all of them that – hey, this was done a long time back with a much stronger plot (not consisting of handsome Harvard men, petite French woman and flights of fancy across the Atlantic–eeks) by Umberto Eco.

Smart Dan Brown
But I guess something in the human mind seeks and is satisfied by an element of fantasy; of “larger than life”ism (ugh phrase, right); of handsome American hero vs. phenomenal odds and winning -The Da Vinci Code has exactly this “James Bond”esque unreal feel about it that makes it sensationalist and I guess, popular too (What a fall, my countrymen! ;-( - a fact/ fad that Dan Brown has ultra-capitalized on, I suppose.  
Fortunately, Eco doesn’t seem to have pandered to so many popularist urges in his book  (well…maybe he did feel a teeny weeny urge, cause he signed off film rights for the book and some sad AH made it into a film that’s a mere shadow of the books magnificence)

What TNOTR is also about…
Never mind that, coming to the point, reading The Name of the Rose can give you some fantastic insights into:

• What beauty really is


• What is God all about and is religion worth it


• Regular/ Religious Life in medieval ages


• Debate & an intro to the art of rhetoric


• Art appreciation


• What an educated professor do on a weekend that can earn him millions? (Hic)

Ye venerable blogger stumbleth to a conclusion…
In conclusion, the question “Why read a book?” is what should be asked. If a book is to be read to afford the reader a temporary flight of fancy, a hard-on or a chance to join a breathless race against a world-wide conspiracy – yes, that’s what authors like Harold Robbins/ Mills & Boons/ Ludlum thrive on. And hey, after a 12-hour day, I love my Calvin & Hobbes and want to hug my Dilbert collection. But this is time-pass stuff - treating books as substitutes for bike rides, Hindi films or watching kites.

For serious reading (uh oh…which may be defined as mind expanding encounters without the aid of grass ;-) I personally admire books that leaves me with more questions than answers; books that leads me to the middle of a dark forest and challenge me to work my way out; books that disturb set beliefs and go against general theories; books that unearth weird facts, string them up and present an alternate perspective; books that force me to construct a new process for something as basic as thinking…which I must admit is what the Da Vinci code has done to teeming millions across the world…however having been already weaned on The Name of the Rose, I find it a let-down…in terms of facts, style, plot and construct.

Alternatively it can be argued that it depends on the reader to glean such nuggets of facts/ ideas/ encounters from a book and start off his own journey a la Ulysses – ‘To Strive, to seek, to find and not to yield”. And some of us do this for e.g.   For me, finding Heidegger living on the edge of Sean Dillon’s mind was quite a surprise in Alistair McLean. However instead of pleasant divertissements like these which place the onus on the reader, a book like TNOTR which firmly blocks the reader’s path and dares him/her understand before he/she proceeds would do the world much more good. And yeah, I also support world peace and universal harmony.

Forget all this, just read the book…;-)