I get it now: Jorge had laced its pages with poison, correctly assuming that a reader would have to lick his fingers in order to turn them.

Nice pull.

I just finished reading this last night at 01:30; what a book!

I'm a little bit envious. Reading such a great book for the first time.

I recommend re-reading it in a few years. Ecos books grow with you; the more you learn about the world and history, the more you'll find in nuance in that book. Maybe more true for me - as a teenager I've read it first as a mostly weird detective story. Later re-reads made me more interested in the weird parts.

There is, by the way, a separately published Postscript to the Name of the Rose with some notes on writing the book.

Truly an incredible work.