Our Italian Book Club has read through many Italian classics. Every book on Leonardo Da Vinci has been turned over. Italo Calvino? Been there. So when we discovered that Umberto Eco’s classic The Name of the Rose had not been touched by our little group’s hands, we decided it was high time we dig in.

A smashing success in the 1980’s, this novel still holds weight today. The New York Times review of the book from 1989 is worth the read, and provides insight into why this book is considered a “classic” more than just a time-specific “bestseller.”

Next Tuesday, the 5th of May at 7PM, we will sit down in our Galleria space with some wine and crack open the hefty binding of this intriguing and semiological book.

If, upon reading these words, you find yourself balking at the task of reading such a novel in such a short period of time, we would like to provide another option: watching the movie, which is available on Netflix DVD. Starring Sean Connery and Christian Slater, the film is a classic in itself.

Either way, we look forward to the discussion on Tuesday.

Ci Vediamo!

— Via Umbria