I finally finished a book! This quarantine thing has really made it hard for me to read. I can't even blame my children for it. I just have no focus. This seems to be a pretty common problem according to some of the posts in the various book groups I'm in on Facebook.

All of that aside, I think this book was always going to take me a little bit of time to finish. There's just so much to unpack. If you don't know anything about the history of the Catholic church and the papacy, I would avoid this book. I have a reference book that deals with every Pope up to the most recent one. Even that was barely enough to keep me above water. There were more than a few trips to Google to get clarification. 

Even without the history, there were the sheer number of people mentioned. Trying to keep track required a spreadsheet. And you had to try to pick out the various characters among all of Eco's detail. So much detail. If you take away all of the descriptions of the monastery, this book is probably only 200 pages. If you take away everything that doesn't deal directly with the mystery that is suppose to be the focus of this group, this book is maybe 50 pages.

Like I said, it's a lot to unpack. If I were to attempt this book at another point in time, I would probably invest in the readers' guide. Maybe I need to track down a copy of the movie. I hear it's pretty good as far a movies based on books go. 

Dates Read 2/12/2020 - 3/20/2020

Book 18/75 

Book 13 from the Idiot's Guide to Ultimate Reading - Historical Fiction List

Getting through the initial chapters describing the various elements of the abbey was tedious. Like watching a classroom full of kindergartners try to tie their own shoes. I just wanted to skip ahead. I mean really, how relevant could all of this information be later on? 

I pushed through. I read all the pages. Now I'm into actual mystery. People are having conversations with each other. Now my biggest problem is keeping all the characters straight. I made a list. It has lines. It's a little bit of a mess. 

All of that aside, I can see why so many people have this on their must read historical fiction lists. 

This main course is definitely going to require a lighter side dish. 

Attempting to start this on a day when I'm snowed in with my children may be one of the more questionable choices I've made.

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler: The Philip Marlowe books are quintessential noir, with all it apparent flaws of this time period. And Marlowe is such a great character.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy: Since we are allowed to name classics, this simply has to be on the list. 

Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany by Norman Oehler: The fascinating account how all of Germany was on drugs throughout WWII.

The Blind Assassin by Margarete Atwood: A wonderful story of two sisters in WWII times. Even though I´m a bit fuzzy about the details of the plot (have to reread this book), I still remember how it made me feel while reading it.

The Orenda by Joseph Boyden: A book about first nation Canadians and their struggle with another tribe and the Jesuit priest, who try to convert to Christianity. As this might suggest, this book is incredibly brutal at times, but it is also absolutely amazing. 

The Prestige by Christopher Priest: You will finish this book without having the faintest clue what you just have read. It´s so good, though.

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote: I´m comparing every true crime book that I read to this one and not a single one has even come close to Truman Capote´s masterpiece.

The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger: The first non-fiction book I have ever and still one of my favorites. The second part of the novel is an edge-of-the-seat reading experience.

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco: I don´ think this has been mentiones by anyone, but this simply has to be on the list too. I even enjoyed reading about the page long description of the door fresco.