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Summary: If you enjoyed this book. . .
Review: I have to recommend to you another intriguing mystery with some very interesting contrasts to this novel: Glenn Kleier's, THE LAST DAY--the most powerful and thought-provoking suspense thriller I've ever read. I'd welcome hearing other reader's opinions of Kleier's novel, which you'll note from the voluminous reviews sent in by Amazon readers, is quite controversial. Hope you find it as much a page-turner as I did.
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Summary: Mystery and mild philosophy set against a boring plot
Review: I read this book in a rather odd manner. I skipped most of the sections dealing with the shady business dealings of Macarena's husband and concentrated instead on the relationships between Father Quart, Macarena, the dead Carlotta, etc. The mystery was satisfying enough, and the passage in which the murderer was revealed was strikingly visual. If Mr. Macarena had anything to do with the mystery, I didn't miss it. For this reason I had to give the book just 3 stars.I found the comparisons between Reverte and Eco interesting. On my last trip to the bookstore I picked up the Club Dumas and the Name of the Rose b/c I found the blurbs on the back of the books to be similar in tone (this was prior to reading these reviews). I'm half way through the Name of the Rose, but I don't find any similarities in style, just perhaps in themes.
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Summary: Some modern clergy and religious still believe in God!
Review: While I found this book mildly entertaining, I was disappointed by the portrayal of the several characters who were clergy and religious. The author makes a great deal of the existential angst of such people, but each of these characters seems to find the meaning of their vocation without reference to God. The author seems to assume that no thinking person in the late 20th century could possibly have a real belief in God or Christ, and that the clergy is merely acting out a game for the benefit of those deluded laity who still believe. While there may be some such clergy and religious out there, surely there are many who do have an active and vital faith in God and Christ. I wish the author could at least have included one such for balance, as his portrayal just did not ring true for me.
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as the other two
Review: Father Quart is memorable, and the book is decent, but a disappointment after the Flanders Panel and the Club Dumas
Rating:
Summary: Smarter schlock than most mystery fare.
Review: Behind the gold and glitz the Vatican runs its own internal affairs snoop-group. Father Lorenzo Quart is the Vatican's good soldier and he is moved to Seville like a chess piece in order to secure a winning position; however, when the mystery ("a church that kills to defend itself.") turns ugly, Quart finds that he has become the chess piece sacrificed in order to escape defeat. The ending is open and allows for the pssibility that Quart may return for yet another Vatican "dirty work" assignment.
Rating:
Summary: not his best
Review: I would rate this book behind both Club Dumas and Flanders' Panel, which is not to say though that it's bad. It's interesting but a fairly linear, formulaic whodunit. He just does it better than most because his prose is rather effortless. I've read a few reviews by customers about his comparison to Eco. He isn't Eco, of course, but he doesn't try to be. Professional reviewers have claimed this, not the author, who is seemingly an admirer of, if not at least familiar with, Eco's work. His books aren't meant to be discourses on semiotics and the interpretation of language. Eco isn't a mystery writer, Perez-Reverte is. Some review called him "A beach read for intellectuals," and that sounds about right.
Rating:
Summary: Not nearly as good as the Club Dumas
Review: The discussion of Vatican politics was new and interesting but the mystery failed utterly. Perez-Reverte's "The Club Dumas" is a better book in every respect.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful setting, charming book
Review: Although The Seville Communion in some ways lacks the intellectual depth of The Flanders Panel, I found it to be an enjoyable read. After spending 6 months in the amazing town of Sevilla (two years ago), this book was an enchanting return to a marvellous town. The mystery itself was not too enthralling, nor was Father Quart as a main character. However, for me the book was a delightful diversion, and a welcome depiction of that charmingly quixotic city.
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Summary: Perez-Reverte brillantly views modern Spain and the Church.
Review: Perez-Reverte may have peers of which I know not. But, as Ron Hassler, Michael O'Brien, and Andrew Greeley have an American vision of the institutional Church meeting the modern world, Perez-Reverte gives the maturity of an additional thousand years of living closer to the Vatican and its institutions. He creates subtle and real characters walking the high-wire of Faith, Reason, and Duty. The sublety comes from Spain; the precision comes from excellent ploting and careful writing. The translator can take credit for the fact that you will not remember if you read it in English or Spanish first.
Rating:
Summary: Deceived by Other Reviewers' Raves
Review: It took me several weeks to wend my way through this mystery novel, a genre which I admittedly seldom read. The four- and five-star reviews here fooled me, as I did not find the story, the setting, or the characters all that engrossing. There was a great deal of Catholic jargon to wade through, and I never got a feeling for any of the characters as being other than caricatures. I would not buy any of the other books by this author.
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