$10.50  The Club Dumas - Book |
$13.00  The Fencing Master: A Novel - Book |
$11.20  The Seville Communion - Book |
$11.20  The Flanders Panel - Book |
$16.35  The Queen of the South - Book |
 [Larger view] | The Nautical Chart
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Average user rating:  | |
 You don't like the water? Stay on the land. | |
| I continue to be amazed at readers who take a fine book with extraodinary descriptions and hair raising dialogue, and pan it for the venue. It's like those that take a shot at Antony Bevor's "Stalingrad" by saying, 'sure it's good but there aren't any Americans in it.'
Well. Anyhow, I thought Perez-Reverte's "Nautical Chart" to be brilliant. Tanger Soto is Matty Walker in 'Body Heat' or Phyllis Ditriechson if you prefer the older 'Double Indemnity.' Tanger's sensual good looks distract the observor from her creed: knowledge is power. Perez-Reverte even mention's that she has a slightly crooked nose, and you wonder for several hundred pages not just what it looks like but how she got it. That she is a genius does not overlook the fact that she is not complete and one of her needs is Coy. Coy is wounded in the very first paragraph of the book so what we are told is told in retrospect. Very well done. The thought that whatever happens, Coy is going to get hurt drifts in and out of our minds without being an impediment to the rest of the literary meal. Coy is a thorough, seafaring man, a little lost on the land but comfortable with life at sea, certainly never forgetting that men smarter than he were lost because they didn't recall the relentlessness of the ocean. They are to search for the sunken wreckage of the Dei Gloria, a Jesuit ship sunk in the late 16th century. The reasons why it might have been carrying treasure, the explanation that the system of longitude was moderately different in the 16th century, the placement of the possible sinking, the intrigue of the Spanish Court at the time of the sea chase, the other desperate scavengers, the alcohol, the prostitutes, the fights . . . .wow, slow moving? I certainly didn't think so. Perez-Reverte is brilliant. An icon in his native Spain he writes for all of Europe. A fair criticism is that an author writing in a foreign tongue is very reliant on the translator. The translator for "Queen of the South" was Willliam Hurley, who was excellent and seamless. But unless we speak both languages, we don't really know, do we? I'm satisfied with the translation of "The Nautical Chart" but I don't really know if anything was lost. 5 Stars. Brilliant Author. Read him. Larry Scantlebury | |
| Engrossing and Rich Tale of the Sea | |
| Mr. Perez-Reverte has clearly established himself as a novelist of the first rank with at least two of his previous efforts: The Club Dumas and The Fencing Master. In both of these he developed complex, interesting characters, and gave both them and us a fascinating mystery to resolve.
In this one, perhaps, the mystery is not as compelling but the subject matter certainly is, in that it involves the hunt for sunken treasure in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of southern Spain. This all by itself would make for a good read but it seems that Mr. Perez-Reverte is incapable of producing a one-dimensional or even two-dimensional novel. This novel, in fact, is so rich, so utterly satisfactory in every respect that it clearly transcends whatever genre one may have expected going into it. If this isn't literature, it is as near to literature as it can get. The protagonist in this one is Coy, a lifelong seaman, a simple man, not terribly bright, but superbly adapted to all things nautical. We meet him on the beach, to which he has been relegated for a year--and on which he is never quite comfortable--after fairly or unfairly he is blamed for a seafaring mishap. His benefactor is the unusually-named and mysteriously beautiful Tanger Soto, who has gone to great lengths and expense to purchase a 250 year old map. The two find they need each other: Tanger needs his nautical expertise; Coy longs for her beauty and the adventure she represents. So their quest begins, but all is not so simple. First, the wreck must be located. Maps and charts over the centuries have changed, as have the physical features of the coast and the coastal waters which they represented. Greenwich mean time had not been established when the ship went down, so longitude is a problem. They must then estimate, based on a ship log and the testimony from the only survivor, where the ship went down to begin with. There is much more and all of it is both realistic and interesting. There is then the actual exploration of the sunken ship. Can one possibly think of something more interesting than to be the first one to come upon a sunken 250 year old wreck? Perez-Reverte takes us there, through the eyes and observations of his characters, and again, all of it is fresh, and fascinating. Belt buckles, shoes, cannons, pistols, candle-holders . . . and even some skeletons remain. Best not say more, other than that it is utterly riveting. Along with this there IS a mystery. Tanger has not quite told Coy everything, only revealing information as she sees the need, and failing to reveal to him until the very bitter end what his own stake in the matter will be. But beyond the characters, the plot, and the mystery is the incredible wealth of knowledge Perez-Reverte brings to the table as it has to do with sea-lore, both 250 years ago and in the present day. Every page is loaded with details and observations about what life is like for one who lives and/or lived on the sea, and it becomes apparent that the characters of Coy and others who have done so have been indelibly shaped by it. It is an astonishing effort, more so when one realizes that Mr. Perez-Reverte has never displayed this knowledge in any of his previous novels. Somehow, with one single book, he has joined the ranks of C. S. Forester, Patrick O'Brian, and indeed Herman Melville, literary heroes all. | |
 tedious | |
| On average, I read 2-3 books a week, but I've been trying to get through this mess for a month now and am only half finished. I normally like Perez-Reverte...especially Club Dumas and the Flanders Panel, and I was looking for another such literary romp. I don't know if the new translator is inept or if the original material is really this hopeless, but it isn't doing anything to brighten the darkest days of winter. I find that I could not possibly care less if the protagonists find the sunken ship or any meaning to their self-centered lives. I almost always finish the books I start, but I'll be making an exception for this drivel. |
