I may prefer Arturo-Perez Reverte when he writes his historical adventures featuring Captain Alatriste, but his contemporary thrillers are not without merit. The Seville Communion is my second one, after The Club Dumas , and I had some issues with it, but overall it was quite a memorable journey, one that I intend to retrace by visiting the location soon.As a thriller set in the clerical world and dealing with mysterious murders, church politics, high finance and crises of faith, the book reminded me more of Umberto Eco rather than Dan Brown. It is more concerned with cultural heritage, spiritual identity and careful characterization, rather than trying to be provocative, speculative and fast paced. In fact one of my main issues is with pacing, where I often felt the plot was having a sedate siesta under the hot Andaluzian sun, waiting for the night and the narrow, meandering alleys of the old Santa Cruz district in order to get some progress made. There's quite a lot of time spend in small cafes, eating tapas, drinking Manzanilla and listening to flamenco music, having high brow conversations about astronomy and faith, history and modernism, celibacy, obedience and redemption.The main story is about a small, derelict baroque church in the old town of Seville, and the struggle between its priest and powerful real estate developers over the location. Two deaths of people directly involved in the church affairs have been ruled accidental, but an anonymous hacker alerts the Pope in Rome that foul play may be involved. Rome sends a troubleshooter to assess the situation and report back. From this basic premise, Perez-Reverte develops an intricate dance of misdirection and mystery, bringing into the game quite a colourful cast of characters:- Father Lorenzo Quart - the "Swiss Army Knife" agent of the Institute of External Affairs in Rome: disciplined and impartial, he values control and submission to the Church rules above all. He sees himself as a modern crusader, fighting the battles of the faith without questioning his commanders or the morality of his actions. The Nazarene certainly had had guts. Nobody need feel ashamed to carry His Cross like a flag. Quart often regretted not having another kind of faith. Men black with dust beneath their chain mail had once shouted the name of God as they charged into battle, to win eternal life and a place in heaven with their slashing swords. Living and dying had been so much simpler then. - Don Priamo Ferro - the impoverished priest of a small Spanish village, now in charge of the doomed Church of Our Lady of the Tears. Fiery, rebelious and uncompromising in his religious fervor, he has no respect for his superiors and would do anything to defend his parish.- Gris Marsala - an attractive and unconventional older woman, American expat, with studies in the architecture and culture of Seville, she is in charge of the renovation work at the church.- Macarena Bruner - hot blooded brunnette Andaluzian beauty, heiress of an ancient Spanish Grandee family, mysterious femme fatale that is involved both with the church and with the bank that is trying to evict the premises. (Didn't really care for her name, I blame it on Rio , Los del Rio)- Cruz Bruner - her elderly mother, duchess of El Nuevo Extremo and a trove of other titles with sonorous names but little income, living in the faded splendor of Casa del Postigo, her sumptuous family palace in the center of Seville.- Pencho Gavira - youngish, ruthless and and ambitious vice-president of the Cartujano Bank, husband of Macarena.- Perengil - his right hand man, a venal private investigator with a gambling addiction.- Don Ibrahim, El Potro del Mantelete and La Nina Punales - a trio of small time crooks and losers: confidence trickster, ex-matador / boxer and flamenco singer. They provide some humor relief and a lot of local color and trivia. The author shows off here his book geek credentials by making puns in Latin : ODERINT DUM PROBENT (which can be translated either as "smell before you taste" or "Let them hate me, as long as they respect me")There are more players in the game I didn't mention here - they are also important to the plot and well sketched - but I'm trying to be brief, and let the readers enjoy meeting each of them. It's quite a big cast of characters for a thriller, and my only complaint is that they are bit theatrical - like actors following a script - especially the villains who prove rather inept and predictable in the end.Another small gripe is about computers. The book was written when 486 PC's were all the rage and a lot of the general population was still hazy about how they work. This is probably the reason why the author was unconvincing in writing about hackers, with a romantic view of secretive Robin Hoods attacking the establishment with pretty animated tools, reminiscent of 1980's Hollywood movies: As he switches phone networks, he leaves behind a kind of explosive charge that erases any trace of his route. This hacker certainly knows what he's doing. Seville is as good a setting for the action as the Middle Age monastery from The Name of the Rose , providing a tumultous history, a passionate people, a vibrant modern life mixing with a traditionalist older generation. I got a melancholic vibe of the passing of an era, a changing of the guard, the old soldiers fading away and the new ones more concerned with instant gratification and winning by any means. The Catholic Church used to have all the power in Spain, and its struggle for significance in the modern world was ultimately the main attraction of the book for me, the question of what is worthy of preservation and what belongs in the dumping grounds of history. It is beautifully articulated by Gris Marsala: I'm convinced that every ancient building, picture, or book that's lost or destroyed, leaves us bereft. Impoverished. To illustrate this statement, the Church of Our Lady of the Tears is more than just an old pile of masonry, it is indelibly tied to one of the most romantic stories of doomed lovers in the tradition of Tristan and Isolde, Romeo and Juliet. They are Captain Xaloc and Carlotta Bruner, who met in Seville at the end of the XIX century - got separated by social conventions and intransigent families, making one leave to make his fortune by sailing to the Carribean, and the other to wait and watch from the tallest tower in town for a returning sail. The ending was a bit too neat and clear cut for my taste, but the romantic aura of Seville and its histories I think will endure.
A hacker breaks into the Vatican's computer to leave a message for the Pope that says that there i's a church in Seville that "kills to defend itself." It turns out that there is a church that some want to tear down and to be replaced with a more profitable adventure. And two people have died accidentally. Abhorring any kind of scandal, the Catholic Church gets the IEA (Institute of External Affairs) to look into the matter. They send Father Lorenzo Quart to impartially gather information about the unfortunate incidents of this run down Baroque church called Our Lady of the Tears and to determine the hacker's identity. Quart is not your Father Confessor. He's well dressed, good looking, secretive and a good Intelligence soldier for the Church. Soon he finds that the answers in Seville are not the ones he is seeking.For me, this was not a fast read, which is a positive statement. Seville is a very enchanting, old place which Pérez-Reverte describes in a style that engages all of our senses. He creates some very unforgettable characters that are reinforced with repeated descriptions. The plot is thick with politics, greed, history, yet moves along at pace that can be compared to a pleasant walk through Seville (which there are many of). I would not call this an action thriller or a "page-turner" as it wanders a bit too much and I did have to go back to the beginning and start again during the second chapter. But there is something that compelled me to the end. The concern with old fashioned faith, love, commitment and the philosophy thereof are intellectually satisfying. There are some humorous scenes and the ending twists a few times. Perhaps the most rewarding surprises are Father Quart's decisions and the true meaning behind the title of the book.I recommend the book, but with one caveat; read it because it takes you to Seville, not because you are looking for a good hacker mystery.
What do You think about The Seville Communion (2004)?
A murder-mystery that reveals more about Seville, Spain, the financial maneuvering of bankers, and the political workings of the Roman Catholic Church. Who committed the crime is almost an afterthought to the novel as we explore the desire of some to become more wealthy and the opposition of those who desire to live a life as they always have lived. Our main character is a priest, sent from Rome, to investigate a computer intrusion into the Vatican computers. Although no harm was done, they are worried. By their standards, the situation that they are told about in Seville doesn't rise to a level of importance, it must be investigated. It is a journey of the priest and of the people around him. I will look for more from Perez-Reverte.
—Thomas
This brilliant story has a surprising ending. The scenes of Sevilla and the dialogue are so vivid. By the way I read it in Spanish where the title is "La piel del tambor." I think this is his best of the so-called mysteries, although they are much more than that. His mastery of all aspects of the Spanish languages, from the 17th-century dialogue in the Capitan Alatriste series, to the Mexican street language and Spanish drug slang to the 19th-century Franglish in "Trafalgar" have earned him a place in the Real Academia de la Lengua. He is my favorite modern writer.
—Jane
THE SEVILLE COMMUNION starts when someone hacks into the Pope’s personal computer to plead for saving a small church, Our Lady of the Tears, in central Seville.The church is small and dilapidated and is led by an elderly and old fashioned priest, Father Ferro. It is also slated for demolition, as Bank Cartujano and its greedy vice chairman, working in cahoots with the local archbishop, want to make a fortune by buying the property at a fraction of its true value.The Vatican dispatches Father Lorenzo Quart to Seville to discover the identity of the hacker, and in the course of the investigation, we meet many memorable characters – the bank’s chairman and vice chairman, the vice chairman’s beautiful estranged wife and her mother, a nun from California who is working to restore the church, a variety of clerics and others.We also, like Father Quart, become involved in the struggle over the church, and we are kept on edge until the last moment. The various plot lines are finally resolved, but just as importantly, we have learned a lot about the characters – especially Father Quart – and THE SEVILLE COMMUNION has a lot more depth than many mystery novels.I recommend the book highly to anyone interested in a good read.
—Rick
