Rating: 
Summary: It could have been a contender
Review: Some years ago I read Arturo Pérez-Reverte's `The Club Dumas' and I enjoyed it a lot --despite finding it too easy and predictably a page-turner. (If you want something depper and brainny try Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum )
What I liked most about it was the way the author developed the situations, making it a non-stop thriller about books. Now, when I started reading `The Nautical Chart', I was expecting something more or less in this way --something that at least kept me interested me in. Little did I know that the two books share only the same author in common. `Chart' is much more boring and less interesting than `Club'. Supposedly this book takes you to place where many others have taken you before, such as `Moby Dick', `Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World', `Old Man and the Sea' etc. It is about the SEA and the relationship that MAN can have with it. It feels like this link is to be a metaphor, or something like it. It could have been a contender, but it is not. I believe the main fault are the main characters, Coy and Tanger. Question about Coy, like `what's up with this man?' floated in my mind all the time. And about Tanger, the clear vision I had of her is a spoiled little brat. Not forgetting to mention the `bad guys'. They couldn't be more cliched. Another thing that spoils the reading is the abundance of details --moreover, useless details. You keep waiting for the story to come, and when it does, you're too tired of reading the details of ships, and sailors' way of life. But, I still have some faith on Perez-Reverte. Yes, I do. I had so much fun with `The Club Dumas' that I can't start hating this guy. One of these days I will try another of his books. I only recommend this one to his die-hard fans.
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