On any list of unlikely bestsellers from the last
century, The Name of the Rose must hold a special
place of distinction. Nothing is rarer than for a
novel translated from Italian to reach the top of
the New York Times bestseller list—unless it is,
of course, a megahit book written
by an academic whose best-known
previous work was A Theory
of Semiotics. And did I mention
that the plot revolves around
medieval theology?