Parto verginaleNiente appassiona di più dell'eterna lotta tra il Bene e il Male, soprattutto quando di mezzo ci sono il Vaticano e i preti. Ne era ben consapevole anche James Patterson, quando, nel lontano 1980, decise di scrivere un thriller per dare la sua interpretazione al tema della Natività, dell'attesa del Messia. Patterson si è chiesto sicuramente come avrebbero reagito la comunità cristiana e il mondo intero, ma anche cosa avrebbe comportato questo evento d'incredibile portata storica.Il tema trattato da quel lontano 1980 è ancora attualissimo. Il romanzo, in questa nuova riedizione, è stato riadattato da Patterson, con l'aiuto e la consulenza della collega Maxine Paetro, per ristrutturare ed attualizzare la trama di questa storia. Infatti, sono proprio l'interesse, per il tema, e l'attualità, di questa storia, a farne un ottimo bestseller, di alto livello come siamo abituati a pretendere leggendo James Patterson. Lo stile narrativo è sempre il suo: avvincente, dalla prima all'ultima pagina.Appare evidente sin dall'inizio che la vicenda avrà risvolti molto particolari e, leggendo un romanzo di Patterson, si è consapevoli di dover attendere colpi di scena a catena.Il romanzo giunge ad investigare sulle rivelazioni di Fatima, in Portogallo, del 1917. I tre pastorelli hanno dato voce alle rivelazioni della donna, vestita di bianco, scesa da una nuvola. Tra i tanti messaggi, è rilevante, ai fini di questo libro, quello sull'avvento di un nuovo Messia. La parte inquietante del messaggio segreto sta nel fatto che lo si sarebbe dovuto riconoscere. Infatti, sembra proprio che due vergini daranno contemporaneamente alla luce due bambini. Il primo sarà il Salvatore, l’altro, il figlio dell'angelo caduto, la reincarnazione del Male.Mentre l’intero pianeta è devastato da epidemie, carestie e siccità, al Vaticano giunge una notizia singolare: due adolescenti, prossime al parto, si dichiarano entrambe vergini. La prima a Boston, l’altra in un villaggio irlandese. Memore della Profezia di Fatima il papa affida a padre Nicholas Rosetti, la massima autorità in materia di miracoli, il compito di indagare sulla misteriosa vicenda, e, in punto di morte, gli rivela un inconfessabile segreto. Per partecipare alle indagini, l’arcidiocesi di Boston, invece, decide di affiancare al religioso Anne Fitzgerald, una ex suora che lavora come investigatrice privata. In uno scenario apocalittico, gravato dallo scatenarsi di paure incontrollate, i due si lanciano in una corsa contro il tempo per scoprire la verità, ma Anne e padre Rosetti ancor non sanno quali demoni si troveranno personalmente ad affrontare.È un soft thriller dai retroscena apocalittici molto interessanti, scritto con uno stile magistralmente avvincente. Un'ottima lettura d'intrattenimento, ricca di suspense, scritta dal miglior autore del genere.
I know it's been a while since my last post. I have been busy with admission process in post-graduation. Phew !!! Finally got into one. Yea !!! Anyways I have been itching to write about this one. I have read so many of James Patterson novels but this one caught me by surprise. HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF VIRGIN BIRTHS ???Well, obviously Mother Mary gave birth to Jesus as a virgin. Well believe it or not this story is based in on this. The earth it seems is taken on by Devils or Satan. There are famines in India and outbreak of TB and Polio in US and Floods in Africa. Everyone is waiting for God to help them out. In those times 2 virgin girls, One in Boston named Kathleen and other in Ireland named Colleen become pregnant. Well nothing new in that but the twist in the tale is BOTH ARE VIRGINS. The priests in the Vatican become involved. Out of the two virgin mothers according to sayings of FATIMA, One will give birth to GOD and other to the DEVIL. Anne Fitzgerald, a former nun turned private investigator, is hired by the Archdiocese of Boston to investigate the immaculate conceptions. Even as she comes to care about and trust the young women, she realizes that both are in great danger. Terrifying forces of light and darkness are gathering. Stepping into uncharted territory where the unknown is just the beginning, Anne must discover the truth--to save the young women, to save herself, and to protect the future of all mankind.When the public gets wind of the fact that Christ will be born again there is an uproar. Well which one gives birth to God and which one to Devil is really juicy to read about. So I won't spoil the surprise for you. But I can tell you that much, The End of the Book is something you wouldn't have expected at all.My verdict on this is " AWESOME READ" !!! The book takes us through a heart warming and life changing story of two pregnant teenage girls and what they go through along with giving us an insight into how the "CHURCH" works.What did I love about this book ???I am not a christian and this book made me aware of what Christianity is like. I feel like reading the bible after this. The strength of the virgin girls is amazing and i loved the element of surprise in this book. I repeat the "END" is not at all what it seems like !!!P.S. - One can even become pregnant if you don't actually have sex. Read the novel to know more. Let me know how you liked it !!! ;)
What do You think about Cradle And All (2001)?
I guess I'm glad I've never read an Alex Cross story. It seems those that have, really didn't care for this novel. So let me tell you from an unbiased new Patterson reader that this novel was amazing. It was part horror..part thriller...and left me with chills and craving for a sequel. I'm an avid reader and my biggest complaint with some of the big names in Fiction is that so many authors write terrible endings. There's nothing worse than a book that builds and builds and then leaves you with an unsatisfying conclusion. This book does not fall into that trap. The ending was fantastic (and a bit of a shocker). Go check this book out...and don't go in expecting to read an Alex Cross novel (whoever that guy is).
—Robjr73
I have to admit I do not usually read James Patterson, but the back cover yelled at me to read the rest - the whole supernatural devil re-born thing, we all seem to be so interested in.Anyhow, I degress. I enjoyed every word of this book, and I could not put the book down once I started - really!! Even while I was cooking I had it open next to me, sneaking in a word or two here and there. I don't really know what it was that drew me into the book so thoroughly, because I did not find it suspenseful, and neither the romance - it must have been the whole devil and evil demon thing.I enjoyed his descriptions of Ireland - post EU.I was so thoroughly shocked when it was the girl you would expect the least to have given birth to the demon child and I loved the end - it could so easily be the opening to a follow-up novel.
—Elizabeth_
One of his early standalone books, and the only one I've read that's about religion. I found the plot very choppy - dramatic things happen but are not explained and the characters move on with no further mention of them, people get away with extreme violence with no sanction and are free to jet around the world unhindered, and there are lots of supernatural events which I suppose show the conflict between good and evil but seem pretty random.Anne is an ex - nun turned private investigator working for the church, her reasons for leaving are not well explained but possibly relate to falling in love with a hunky priest but not being willing to do anything about it. She is asked to look into the apparent virgin pregnancy of the daughter of a wealthy American family. Plagues and natural disasters are happening all over the world, and the Vatican is worried that an ancient prophecy is coming true, especially when a second virgin teen pregnancy in Ireland is discovered - one baby will be the devil and one will be the saviour.This was different to his usual thrillers, more horror than mystery, and I quite enjoyed it but wasn't surprised by the twist and the ending was always going to have to be left open, and it wasn't as well crafted as his later books.
—The Cats Mother
