The Seville Communion

3+ stars to Arturo Pérez-Reverte's The Seville Communion, a Spanish-to-English translated thriller novel with a very intriguing story about the Catholic church, corporate corruption and love. This was a good book, and I'd recommend it to fans of the genre or of translated novels; however, it could have packed even more of a punch, which is why it falls somewhere between a 3 and 4.StoryFather Quart works in a special research unit (IEA -- Investigation for External Affairs) within the Catholic c [...]

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 Communionis my second one, afterThe 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 m [...]

Обичам го дон Реверте. По-подробно ще пиша после.

Το λιγότερο αγαπημένο μου από τα βιβλία του Ρεβέρτε, αλλά ακόμη κι έτσι, ένα πολύ ωραίο μυθιστόρημα. Απλά εμένα το νόημα μου διέφυγε.

"The stunning novel of suspense," says the strapline on the cover of my edition of this novel. Review quotes elsewhere on the cover and in the first couple of pages of the book repeat that it's a thriller, talk of its "page-turning pace," describe the novel as a noir and Pérez-Reverte as "the thinking man's Robert Ludlum" . . .All of which must have disappointed a hell of a lot of readers, who'll have discovered instead a book that uses a lightly done whodunnit backdrop to give us more of a nov [...]

3.5

I found this book in a resort in the Caribbean, it took me two holidays to actually finish reading it. I was never gripped by it but was curious to see how the plot would evolve. I found it overall disappointing. The characters were superficial and stereotypical, the rich were beautiful, the poor either "greasy" or grotesque. The descriptions of them, particularly of the more interesting trio the boxer, the fake lawyer and the singer were repetitive, page and page over. So were the descriptions [...]

The set-up is intriguing. A hacker, dubbed “Vespers,” breaks into the Pope's personal email and leaves a cryptic plea to save an obscure historic church in Seville. Political and financial interests including the archbishop of Seville want the church demolished to exploit the value of the real estate. The hacker has been careful to conceal his tracks, and the security breach seems to disturb the Vatican hierarchy more than the contents of the message, despite the disclosure that recently, tw [...]

Ένα ακόμα από τα βιβλία του Ρεβέρτε που αποτελούν την ιερή μου "Αγία Τριάδα" των βιβλίων του! Μία παλιά εκκλησία στη Σεβίλλη,που "σκοτώνει" όποιον προσπαθεί να τη γκρεμίσει. Ένας ειδικός απεσταλμένος-ιερέας του Βατικανού που καλείται να εξιχνιάσει την υπόθεση.Άνθρωποι που ε� [...]

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 pl [...]

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 [...]

2.5 stars. Poor writing. Weak plot. Conceptually okay - a few ideas to contemplate. -I am travelling and was given this book on my first day away from home by someone I was staying with. Given that my time has been broken up by a constant flow of social encounters, I have had difficulty reading anything more serious. Hence this review. -I have often been curious about the novels of Pérez-Reverte. I no longer am. I found much of my reading experience to be spoiled by stereotypical characters, st [...]

The end is disappointing. He falls into the dark lady cliche trap. But the book is beautifully written, with a touch of Marquez swirling around in there amongst the rest of his wonderful writing. The mystery's concept and development are mostly wonderful. I just think he couldn't decide to what to do with the ending, and he made the wrong choice. But again, great book. Loved it. I will read it again.

The star of this show was Seville, that Andalusian centuries old charmer wrapped in her robes of every sort of pageantry the history of Europe had to offer. Pérez-Reverte deftly uses the complexity of setting, its layers of contrasts and contradictions to underpin the same aspects of its clerics, the stubborn old priest Don Priamo and handsome, disciplined Lorenzo Quart. The story-ostensibly a thriller-is set in motion when a hacker makes his way through to the pope's personal computer leaving [...]

Primeiro há Lorenzo Quart, o padre enviado de Roma para saber o que se passa em torno da igreja de Nossa Senhora das Lágrimas. E há mais dois padres, Príamo Ferro, o velho cura que se defende a golpes de mau feitio, apaixonado pela astronomia, e o seu jovem acólito, Óscar Lobato, que vai ser transferido por castigo. E Gris Marsala, a freira americana, arquitecta dos andaimes.E há Macarena Bruner, a duquesa jovem de olhos cor de mel, que guarda o isqueiro na alça do soutien. E Maria Cruz, [...]

Este poderia ser um livro excelente. Um padre do Vaticano, um templário do século XX, é enviado a Sevilha, incumbido de uma missão: descobrir o pirata informático, denominado Vésperas, que conseguiu penetrar no computador do Papa. Parecem, quase, dois romances diferentes. De um lado, temos a parte séria, Lorenzo Quart, o padre, a filha da duquesa, Macarena Bruner, uma história romântica e trágica, a fé, um pároco obstinado em defender uma pequenina igreja no centro de Sevilha; do out [...]

A mystery with great local color of Seville, Spain. A handsome young priest works for the Vatican’s, let’s call it “Internal Affairs Division.” He is called to Seville to look into the mess surrounding a potential church closing. It’s a tiny parish and the diocese can make a lot of money by demolishing the church and selling the land. The problem is that a few diehards want to keep the church open: a crotchety old priest and his young protégée; a glamorous young woman whose antics ge [...]

Okay, so I bought this book thinking it was part of the author's Captain Alatriste series and almost returned it when I realized it was a technological thriller, set in 1995-vintage Seville, with a Vatican priest as the main character. I'm very glad I kept it.For me, it was less a thriller (though the mysteries are intriguing), more an intense character-study of a very different sort of man. Lorenzo Quart, the priest and protagonist, characterizes himself as "the last Knight Templar," obedient a [...]

Трупове се стелят около стара църква в Севиля: knigolandiafo/book-review/sКакто и в другите му книги (а отчетливо и изобщо при испанските автори, за пример Сафон и Барселонската му тетралогия), сред главните герои е градът, в който се развива действието. Севиля – разпъната между бляскав� [...]

Excelente narrativa y completo dominio del diálogo entre personajes hacen casi imposible soltar este libro. El personaje de Macarena Brunner es uno de los más sexys que he leído y su relación de flirteo con el padre Quart te hacen olvidar el tema principal de ésta novela. Otra novela bien escrita y entretenida de mi escritor favorito, recomendada.

Имаме класическа история, красив език и мисъл. Имаме и "Бонд" от Ватикана. Би станала красива екранизация, може би има?

Leída una segunda vez y difrutada doble.Si algo no pueden criticarle a APR es su amenidad.Les da tres vueltas y media a muchos escritores españoles en ese aspecto

Цікавий детективний роман про розслідування ватиканським священником-детективом Куартом загадкових смертей в одному з храмів Севільї. Дехто хоча знести храм, який, ніби то перебуває в аварійному стані, та заволодіти цінною землею

At first I wasn't sure I liked this book, but I'm glad I kept reading anyway I have a tendency to like books about priests, probably because I nearly became one. The seminary puts an indelible mark on even a man who got thrown out as quickly as I did (I prefer to think it was my questions about the mis-translation of Song of Solomon chapter 7, verse 2; on the other hand, it probably had something to do with several fistfights, breaking a poolstick over someone's head in the commons area, and the [...]

It's funny (well, funny to me) that I read this right after reading Daniel Silva's Fallen Angel. Both are about Vatican "hit men," sent out to intervene in crimes that involve priests, churches, art, death. If you ever find yourself wondering what sets a good thriller apart from a literary thriller, those two books (fallen angel and seville communion) kind of sum it up. In fallen angel, the action is fast, the dialogue is fairly minimal, there is some soul searching but it's fairly clipped. The [...]

This the the first of 4 books by Perez-Reverte I have read and I have liked them a lot. This one may be especially appropriate right now in that takes place partially in the Vatican. The story starts with a hacker gaining accessed the Pope's personal computer to put a message about a small Seville church that is going to be demolished. A very unusual priest - very snappy dresser - who seems to specialize in defusing difficult situations, is sent to investigate what has become a very muddled mess [...]

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 L [...]

The Seville Communion is arguably one of Perez Reverte's best books. The narrative is about a small chapel in Sevilla that is scheduled to be razed because the mayor has plans and investors for the site occupied by the church. There is only one problem: the church is killing the very workers that are trying to destroy it. The city government is livid, so they present the problem to a higher authority: the Vatican, and solicit intervention and resolution of their problem. Their plea goes all the [...]

I had pretty high expectations of this book & though I liked some elements of it (Vatican politics, Templar metaphor for the hero, the description of Seville, and the setup of the plot), I was quite disappointed. I think the book was a bit rambling (especially for a mystery/thriller), the investigator didn't seem to be as good as his rep (view spoiler)[(he failed to solve either mystery--the identity of the hacker which he only discovered "after the fact" because it was revealed to him, i.e. [...]

Étrange roman que celui-ci. Tout y est pour faire un parfait roman foisonnant et passionnant. Pourtant ça n’a pas pris avec moi. Bizarrement j’ai eu du mal à y entrer. Le style est toujours aussi distingué, raffiné, (même si j’ai trouvé un peu longues et superflues les digressions en plein dialogues qui font perdre le fil), les descriptions de Séville sont envoûtantes, l’atmosphère est parfaitement rendue, les personnages sont eux aussi assez fouillés. Malgré toutes ces indé [...]