Product Description: Coy is a suspended sailor with time on his hands, a mariner without a ship. While attending a maritime auction in Barcelona, he meets a beautiful woman who immediately captures his imagination. Tánger Soto, who works for the Naval Museum in Madrid, is obsessed with the Dei Gloria, a Jesuit ship sunk by pirates in the seventeenth century, and now-she hopes-resting on the bottom of the sea off the southern coast of Spain. Tánger uses her considerable manipulative skills with men and her expertise with documents, atlases, and nautical maps to chart the search for lost treasure. Coy is quickly drawn into the search, and before long finds himself falling in love. Along with El Piloto, the world-wise old man of the sea whose sailboat will carry this adventurous crew, they seek their fortune together. Or do they?
As these lively characters follow the course of past sailors, their own journey becomes perilous. Are there secrets dwelling in the depths of the sea? And what of the depths of the heart? This highly intelligent and meticulously plotted novel combines the richness of atmosphere we have come to expect from Pérez-Reverte with the romance and mystery of the sea found in the novels of Melville, Conrad, and O'Brian. An unforgettable adventure.
"The master of the intellectual thriller."--San Francisco Chronicle
Amazon.com Review: A treasure hunt for a Jesuit ship sunk by pirates off the coast of Spain is the plot on which Perez-Reverte's new novel turns, but a love story is the real heart of this nicely crafted, carefully told adventure. A suspended sailor happens on a maritime auction in Barcelona, where he meets the beautiful Tanger Soto, a museum curator whose winning bid buys her a 17th-century atlas that may reveal the final resting place of the Dei Gloria. Coy, the sailor, is totally smitten, so it's no surprise that he signs on to help Tanger track the sunken ship to its grave in waters he's sailed since childhood. Enlisting the aid of a diver friend, Coy and Tanger stay a few steps ahead of the crooked salvagers who've been trying to get the atlas, outmaneuvering the attempts on their lives and the efforts to keep them from the treasure. Perez-Reverte (The Fencing Master, The Club Dumas) is better at plumbing the mysteries of the human heart than those of the sea, but The Nautical Chart manages to combine history, suspense, and obsessive love in a slow-paced but ultimately engrossing read. --Jane Adams
This is a book about obsession. Tanger is obsessed, mind, body, and soul, with finding the Dei Gloria. Coy is obsessed with getting Tanger into bed. As Herman Melville demonstrated, a book about obsession can be quite good, if it says something about the human soul. But, it can be quite bad if it doesn't. This one doesn't. Worse, this one demonstrates the danger of allowing the characters to achieve their obsessions: what do you do after the climax? How do the characters develop after this? What's next? We never find out. Which is almost as bad as the characters striving for it, the reader getting interested, wanting to see it happen, only to see those desires frustrated at the end.
In addition, there are dubious editorial decisions in the American version (at least). As A. Ross points out, "As so much of the book involves Coy and Tanger crouched over old maps, or discussing them, one wishes the publisher would have included some reproductions to help the reader out." Several other reviewers lamented the lack of a glossary (or pictures) of the ships in the book, to give people a feeling what is being discussed. Finally, the description(s!) of what happen to the Dei Gloria are overlong, underexciting, and most condemnably, repeated far too often with too little added each time. Other specific problems will be detailed in each section, as appropriate.
There are some nice things about the book, as well. I will go over them where they belong.
Finally, let me note that a few things on the cover of the American version of this novel are wildly inappropriate. First, it is not a novel of mystery or suspense. So, that's just silly. It is not "masterfully plotted" as I will point out. It does not have "chess-like plots", or even checkers-like plots, but more like tic-tac-toe-like plots. It is not an "intellectual thriller", as neither of these adjectives apply. It is not a Crime novel, no matter what Booklist says (must have been a slow year in 2001, since this was the Best Crime Novel of the Year).
A. Plot
The plot of the book is essentially weak. The novel is intended to be a character study about obsession, focusing on the interactions of Coy, Tanger, Palermo, and Kiskoros. Therefore, I can't necessarily fault Perez-Reverte for the rending, gaping problems in the plot (some of which he actually mentions himself, as if even he can't believe what he is writing).
That said, there are still stylistic choices that I find utterly contemptible. For example, as M.L. Asselin points out, "The author dispenses information about The Dei Gloria like Pez candy--it's kind of fun at first, but gets tiresome after a while." Yeah, for the first few times, it is fun to watch Coy flail about and learn about the details only after he has made a fool of himself. But as it happens time and time and time and time and time and time again, it becomes tiresome. Coy is an idiot. An obsessed idiot. It is hard to find something to like in him.
The absence of resolution and the ending were also quite bad. I got to the end, turned to a new chapter and went, "Wait...what???" Not good.
B. Characters
This is the bedrock that the story needs to be built upon, since it is supposed to be a character-driven saga of greed, obsession, and treachery. Things are up a little here from the Plot, as Richard Rinn helpfully points out. "The characters emerge gradually, rather than being presented full-formed. They assume a richness and depth not common in most adventure yarns, and are set in a intricately woven atmosphere that is seductive in its ambience. And the language is complex and cadenced to match the deliberate spiral to the end that seems inevitable when it finally comes but willingly isn't until that moment." This is nice, since this is a literary effort. The characters ought not be presented with just a cardboard cutout of what they are.
I do tend to disagree with others, like JK, who suggests that, "[t]he protagonist, Coy, for example, seems to be able to analyse the minutiae of every subtle gesture or turn of phrase in a conversation, and yet will explode in a fit of rage unexpectedly and for no good reason." Coy usually explodes because he is like a summer thunderstorm. It takes little to set off his temper, and little more to calm him once he has gone multiball. Furthermore, it isn't really that surprising when he does finally lose his cool, as he is constantly trying to figure out (along with the reader) what is going on.
That said, my point of view about the book does not turn enough to keep the boat off the rocks, as it were. Tanger, as a character, was not well detailed, unfortunately. Even less fortunately, this characteristic applies to the other three characters of consequence: Kiskoros (the Argentinian torturer dwarf), Palermo (the stereotypical tyrannical capitalist), and El Plioto (the stolid and supportive, if quiet, Mediterranean sailor). We never really are given insight into what makes Tanger tick. Perez-Reverte gives plenty of hints, in the form of insight from Coy and introspection, but in the end it is all for naught, as her ultimate goals and decisions are hers alone and remain mysterious past the end of the book.
C. Setting
I love books set in Spain and in the Mediterranean. There is always such a feeling of repose about them. Such easy-goingness and relaxation. There is the sun, warmth, and feelings of procrastination. These feelings permeate every aspect of this novel, like Carlos Ruiz Zafon's work. To a certain extent, this is likely the reason that the plot fails. You can't have car chases in the Amazon. You can't have a beach-side bonfire in the Arctic. And you can't have a fast-moving plot in Spain. It just can't be done.
That said, the author tried. And it is a shame. It is the wrong setting for the book. Perhaps the Caribbean would have allowed this story to work.
D. Theme
Uhmm...greed, obsession, and treachery? Not pretty, which is not a bad thing. Except that it was done quite badly. Unfortunate.
E. Point of View
Almost entirely from the perspective of Coy (with the exception of the narrative from The Master Cartographer, who reveals an unsurprising plot "twist" that I saw coming about fifteen pages earlier. It is amazing to me that he did not reveal it faster, actually, as well as the fact that Tanger was so clever about everything else, but so stupid about this.). This perspectivism allows us to be taken in time and again by Tanger (if we allow ourselves to think Coy is not just an idiot), only to be betrayed, time and again. It doesn't really add much to the story, since it is hard to identify with a moron.
F. Aesthetics
Combined with the Setting, the language used, the descriptions, everything combines to make this a dragging, slow-moving, bore. But, considering the feeling that the environment has, it all is at least internally consistent.
G. Translation
Unlike many of the reviewers, I don't think that the problem with this book is the translator. penngos, likely states it most explicitly of the reviewers, when he or she states, "it is the change in writing style that seems to have sucked the joy out of my reading of Perez-Reverte, and I don't know whether to blame this on the author or his translator. Former translator Sonia Soto had a flair for language and helped ease The Club Dumas and The Flanders Panel into the American consciousness by imbuing these books with a fluid formality that seemed just right for the content. New translator Margaret Sayers Peden has a wooden ear, seemingly translating some sections exactly as written (which makes them seem odd and flat to an English speaker) and others by trying to inject modern slang and make the book sound more contemporary."
Rather, I imagine that the translation was probably quite good. (Unless you have read the book in both languages, are fluent in both, and have tried to translate literature, you probably should not go casting stones at translators.) Far more likely, Arturo Perez-Reverte is unwilling to sit back on his haunches having successfully mastered an adventure novel from one stylistic choice. Instead, he changes the mechanisms for each of his books. If you haven't noticed this by now, go back and reread your tattered, dog-eared copies of The Club Dumas, The Seville Communion, and The Flanders Panel. You'll see what I mean.
In all likelihood, the problem is not the translation. It is the setting.
Conclusion:
A rare misstep for Arturo Perez-Reverte, this book lacks the excitement of everything else I have ever read by him (The Seville Communion, The Club Dumas, The Flanders Panel, The Lady of the South), and replaces that excitement with moodiness and turbulence. This substitution was unwarranted and is not appreciated. This novel lacks much of the literacy of his other works, as well, focusing on a few highly specialized individuals. The characters make or break books like this, and if you've read the rest of the review, you will know that they broke the spine on this one. If you are a fan of moody, brooding heroes, prone to fits of Quixotic violence, then this may be your cuppa. Otherwise, you may want to pass.
Grade: C-
Harkius
read it not for adventure, but everything else If you are looking for bare-knuckle suspense, this is not your book and the advertisement on the cover that promises a "swashbuckling tale of adventure" in my mind is clearly misleading. Having said that: do read this book! Read it for the tragic and sad love story, the deftly drawn characters, the wonderful language, the images and the atmosphere of mystery stories from an era that seems long gone. For a tale set in the world of today, this book could have easily formed the basis for a Bogart-Bacall movie like "to have and to have not". It is primarily the story of a guy falling in love with the wrong woman - a woman he knows is wrong and dangerous and will break his heart, but he goes there anyway. Their drama plays out as part of a treasure hunt for a Jesuit ship lost off the coast of Spain two centuries earlier. It is easy to like the hero of this story, Coy the sailor, and we willingly follow his path of destiny as we try to sort out what the mysterious Tanger has in store for him. Perez-Reverte is a gifted narrator, as the he alters the tempo of the story like the beat in a Jazz tune, sometimes slow and meandering, only to suddenly pick up and confront us with an unexpected twist. This is truly a literary mystery that you should enjoy for the pure beauty of the story-telling - a classic tale of love, mystery, adventure and deceit that is spun over the romantic backdrops of the mediterranean and will not leave your imagination untouched or disappointed.
Predictable historical thriller, good in spots Coy, a sailor down on his luck, wanders into a nautical auction in Barcelona and witnesses a beautiful blond woman covered in freckles bidding on a rare historical map. He is immediately seized with the lust to possess her and count every last freckle on her body. So begins this historical thriller which delivers lots of history but few thrills. The plot wanders through Spanish coastal towns as the intrepid pair sets out on a treasure hunt to locate priceless emeralds that went to the bottom on a Spanish brigadine carrying Jersuits on a secret voyage three centuries ago. They are chased by an unscrupulous treasure hunter and his sidekick, an evil Argentinian dwarf and ex-torturer.
It took me a couple of weeks to wade through this book as I traveled to and from work, which means it never grabbed me enough to keep turning the pages. The problem was that I never believed in Coy's love for Tanger, the enigmatic and fascinating beauty at the center of the novel who simply was not enigmatic or fascinating enough to hold things together. She is too cold. She not only repulses Coy's advances but also those of the reader. I got tired of reading about her assymmetrical blond hair and her freckles. The end, too, was utterly predictable several hundred pages in advance. Also, one is repulsed by Coy's frequent outbursts of inexplicable brutality. So while the Spanish milieu is well-described and the history interesting (I learned a lot about 17th century navigation techniques and the different meridians), I can only give this book one tepid thumbs up.
brief remarks I've read all of Perez-Reverte's works and believe that--as a mystery--this one falls a bit short. The protagonist, however, is one of his most interesting and thoroughly developed characters, a sailor who instills this "roman noir" with great depths of poetry and heart.
A novel that deserves more than five stars. Forget the sunken ship, the treasure, the literary allusions, and all the rest. What is left is the description of an intense obsession and fierce longing for the unobtainable. And it is beautifully written. If you have ever fallen for someone so hard you built a pedestal that kept him or her just out of your grasp, this brilliant novel will bring those memories home in a wonderful way. I cannot say enough about this powerful, evocative novel. Far and away Perez-Reverte's best writing (certainly the translator must take some of the credit for this as well). Don't worry about the well-worn story and cliché; read this novel to bask in the glow of the pursuit of the unattainable.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
