By Lena Smith '24
Photo Courtesy of WIX Media
Professor Hagedorn - The Name of the Rose (Italian: Il nome della rosa), by Umberto Eco
Photo Courtesy of Goodreads
“My pick is Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose, which combines a Sherlock-Holmes-style murder mystery set in a medieval monastery with a wonderful meditation on subversive books, heretics, and the people who sought to burn both.”
Medieval monasteries, philosophical debates, and a murder mystery collide in Professor Hagedorn’s choice, The Name of the Rose. In Umberto Eco’s debut and bestselling novel, an old Franciscan friar and his young Benedictine novice navigate a string of murders occurring at a theological disputation in Northern Italy. As a professor of medieval literature and semiotics (the study of meaning within language), Eco offers a historical tale that is “as much about how we know things and how we communicate knowledge through visual and verbal signs as it is a traditional murder mystery.” Having read the novel in its original Italian and English translation, Professor Hagedorn appreciates the text for its “compelling” mystery and depiction of medieval culture. While known for its dense "literary theory, history, and philosophy”, Umberto Eco weaves these elements into an exciting “page-turner.” For medieval history lovers and mystery fans alike, The Name of the Rose offers a captivating literary experience.
Professor Castleberry - By Night in Chile (Spanish: Nocturno de Chile) by Roberto Bolaño
Photo Courtesy of Goodreads
“[By Night in Chile] speaks with great moral force in our time of rising autocratic movements and the mainstreaming of political violence and cruelty.”
It’s not often that you read a book with just two paragraphs- in Professor Castleberry’s pick, By Night in Chile, a dying priest named Urrutia delivers a monologue over the course of a single evening. Excepting the final sentence, the novella has no line breaks; these are the unrestrained and fragmented thoughts of a man looking back on his life from the end of it. Aside from its singular format, Roberto Bolaño delivers a powerful depiction and condemnation of the Pinochet rule in Chile, as the speaker recollects his experience and participation in the injustices and tragedies of authoritarian rule. Alongside the harrowing images of political violence, By Night in Chile also speaks volumes “about art, about history, and about the weaknesses and dreams of a single individual wrestling with who he has become.” As a whole, Professor Castleberry “find[s] inspiration” in Bolaño’s intimate evaluation of the human psyche, and a broken world.
Professor MacGowan - The Collected Chekhov series by Anton Chekhov
Photo Courtesy of Goodreads
“...but on that desert island I would want the companionship of Anton Chekhov…”
In order to tackle the difficult task of choosing a favorite book, Professor MacGowan settled on one by way of the “Desert Island Discs.” In this hypothetical exercise, one must choose a single title that they would take if stranded on an island (besides the Bible and Shakespeare). Professor MacGowan considered multiple books en route to his final choice, any volume of the Collected Chekhov. Some titles that appealed to him for “sheer force of imagination” include Ulysses, The Brothers Karamazov, and Moby Dick. But above all, Professor MacGowan chooses the plays and short stories of Anton Chekhov. In these plays and stories, Chekhov offers a distinct “variety, intelligence, and sheer humanity” that speak to his own persona as well as the work itself. Stranded island or not, all of these books occupy an important space on the bookshelf of Professor MacGowan.
Correction: A previous version of this article mistakenly mentioned that Anton Chekhov wrote "novels and short stories" instead of "plays and short stories". A mix-up in the description part of "The Name of the Rose" occurred with "old Benedictine friar and his young novice" and should instead be "an old Franciscan friar and his young Benedictine novice". Both errors have been corrected.