The Seville Communion

In my opinion The Seville Communion (La piel del tambor) is the worst of Perez-Reverte novels. Nevertheless it deserves 4 stars because Mr. Arturo is playing in a different league and even his failures contain countless moments of magic.

The main handicap of the novel is his main character, Father Quart. The super-attactive, strong, charming priest working for a kind of Vatican Secret Service lacks credibility and his romance with the aristocratic lady is somehow predictable (remember the atractive symbology professor of The Da Vinci Code? It is the same kind of dull character).

So, how can a novel stand the weakness of the main character? Response: thanks to a fantastic pleiade of secondary characters: The three villians are simply wonderful, the old priest is touching, the banker is charming.

And then you have some pearls of Reverte's mythology, this peculiar mixture of History and adventure (better, this underlining of the adventures that History hides): pirates in the Cuban War, haunted barroque churches... this is the Perez-Reverte we love and this is what he is good at: treasures, war, puzzles and riddles. Reverte, leave the religious-love stories for those that lack your talent to tell a tale. The descriptions of Seville, its magic and charm, are also a good element of the book

In any case, it would be worth to read this novel if only for two magic moments: the conversation of the two priests about Astronomy and the hilarious moment were the vilians are "set on fire".

Because I am a novelist with a work-in-progress featuring a Jesuit priest, a friend suggested I read "The Seville Communion" for the interesting character of Father Lorenzo Quart. I am very glad to have found this book. The story is interesting, clever in places and deliciously sensual with lavish descriptions of Seville. The plot is not particularly complex but it is satisfying as a background for a story populated with some of the most enjoyable characters I have encountered in a long time. The bumbling, inept trio hired to foil Quart's investigation are absolutely hilarious and the dotty old duchess with a surprising hobby is a delight. Even her gorgeous but ultimately manipulative daughter has her moments and the cantankerous old village priest surprises with his unexpected pragmatism. But it is Father Lorenzo Quart that fascinates.

Though very different in personality, Fr. Quart reminded me of another handsome but challenged Jesuit, Fr. Emilio Sandoz, in Mary Doria Russell's lovely book [[ASIN:0449912558 The Sparrow]]. He is not a man of Faith but, like Sandoz, he has found peace, purpose, and discipline in the priesthood and that is good enough for him. In Seville he finds an entire city full of exasperating characters --- from a disillusioned American nun to a bumbling, debt-ridden gambler --- all determined to thwart his every move. Quart has always relied on his self-discipline, intellect, and pride in being a "good soldier" to guide him but in Seville none of that seems useful any more. The storyline is not complex but, as the end approaches and Quart takes it upon himself to perform the one act that can make a difference in the bizarre situation, the reader cannot help but be somewhat thrilled that this former "good soldier" will risk his entire distinguished career to perform an act of Faith out of a faith he didn't know he had. Quart redeems himself even though he isn't really sure what that means.

This is an enjoyable read (and I sincerely wish I read Spanish well enough to read the original) with a few hilarious moments and a climax that left me in tears.

Ten years after its initial English Language publication, I've finally read "The Seville Communion," and I apologize to Arturo Perez-Reverte for having ignored it all these years! It's one of his best and best-written stories. Kudos to Sonia Soto, translator, as her work is nearly perfect, much better than some later translated works of this author.

Arturo Perez-Reverte is a master at setting the pace for a reader. At least in this tale, that is his great gift to us. Whether it is Father Quart's painfully measured reactions, whether it is the slow pace of faded aristocratic life in Seville, or whether it is the heartbreaking buildup of sexual tension between Macarena and Lorenzo Quart, the author lures you into the pace and timing of the moment, the scene or the emotion. You are with the characters at all times and with the pace Perez-Reverte sets for you.

True to Perez-Reverte's long-standing theme, this book doesn't disappoint in its knock out body slam against the Catholic Church, especially his piercing (and decidedly correct) condemnation of its greedy, devious, self-centered and despicable hierarchy. This venerable religion, according to the author, finds its own salvation only in higher-minded smaller figures, who are the main characters in the book: one, Father Lorenzo Quart, who is a sort of CIA agent for the Vatican and is the story's central character, and the other, who is an aging, kind of beat-up cynical and grumpy former rural priest, Father Priamo Ferro, now the pastor of the broken-down, decaying Church of Our Lady of Tears in Seville.

It's a very good mystery/detective story (not really a "thriller"), set in slow-to-slower Seville in the mid-1990s, but with a current twist that involves a hacker who has broken into the Vatican private files, warning the Pope about the need to save the decaying church.

What I liked about this story were the 4 strong and very different women characters: one a down-and-out ex-cabaret singer, still mourning her long-lost love; the second, a 70-something doyenne, more-or-less the brains of the bunch and one of the few remaining "Spanish aristocrats;" third, Gris Marsala, an jeans-and-sweatshirt American ex-patriot nun overseeing the church renovation; and finally the ultimate love interest of Father Quart, Macarena, a 30-something dazzling beauty (and daughter of the old woman), who has an ulterior motive for almost everything. She is the story's second central character. As in "Queen of the South," whose most memorable characters are women, the women in "Seville" dwarf almost all other characters in the book, except for Father Quart, who is described as an almost unbelievably good-looking, sexy, smart 39 year-old stony-calm, ever-so-perfect-in-appearance-and-body-and-demeanor priest who does Rome's bidding perfectly - well almost. Quart is aptly characterized on Page 35, "...the Catholic Church from the start was to Quart what the army was to other young men: a place where rules provided most of the answers as long as one didn't question the basic concept."

Many pages of the story are hilarious, especially in relating the antics, mistakes and incompetencies of the trio of "Banana Republic" idiot-bad-guys. These 3 people, and their handler, are cast right out of a Keystone Cops movie, but with a Panama hat and bulging white suit re-characterization. In fact, some of the characters are so enamored with old American film noir and "B" movies that they quote lines from the movies to each other. They appear to be right off a boat from Havana, say in 1925!

As usual, there are many memorable lines. About Seville, page 228, "....the city retained, as no other city, the gentle hum of time slowly extinguishing itself..." Page 266, describing those from the lost aristocracy, "...the awareness of the dying world, the temptation to side with the parvenus in order to survive. The desperation of intelligence." Page 280, in a nostalgic look at a disappearing society, "Some worlds don't end with an earthquake or great crash....They expire quietly, with a discreet sigh."

In some of his more recent works, Perez-Reverte fails to provide a suitable ending for his stories, such as in his very disappointing "Painter of Battles." Here, however, earlier in his writing career, the book's ending is really quite good, and the last 75 pages read quickly and satisfyingly. At the beginning of Chapter XIV, Page 347, Perez-Reverte quotes Vladimir Nabokov, "There are people - among whom I would include myself - who detest happy endings." How true, how true, Arturo, we know you include yourself among them also, and like it or not, we follow along behind you.

As much as I like other Reverte's books, I was tempted more than once to close this book without finishing it. Somehow I got to the page 160, and then all Reverte's magic was back, and I was glad that I did not put the book down. The main drawback for me was that the plot was relatively easy predictable, as compared to the other novels of Arturo Perez-Reverte. Also, my timing was not so good - after all Dan Brown buzz any book that begins in Vatican gets from me an immediate "not again" response. Anyway, Reverte's ability to weave together history, romance, philosophy and suspense still creates magic, despite not-so-fascinating plot and one-dimensional characters. And... now I'd really like to visit Ceville.

I studied Spanish Literature in school and when I think of Spanish authors, I think of Cervantes, Quevedo, Becquer and of course, Gongora. Then there's a leap from the "Golden Century" and Spanish Literature becomes Latin American Literature with Garcia Marquez, Octavio Paz, Pablo Neruda and of course, Isabel Allende.

Perez Reverte is a revelation. He really takes you to Seville with a host of characters that are different from each other, and through their antics and actions,they show another dimension of this legendary city.

The pace of this story is well contained, since it cannot be read in a rush. Perez Reverte takes you to a walk through the narrow streets of Seville, showing you the Tower of Gold, La Giralda, many squares and plazas, churches and convents,all the way to the shores of the Guadalquivir River. One can see the ocher walls, and hear Tablao throughout the entire story.

Father Quart is a unique character, and the hero of the story. He so methodical in everything he does, that he reminds me of "The Day of the Jackal." He feels more pride than piety, and control rule his acntions, rather than zeal. I liked this character very much.

Macarena is the "Maja" of the story, and trough her mother, Cruz Brener, Perez Reverte takes the reader to the times of the "Other Spain," the aristocracy, the wealth, and the world of privilege that is fading away quickly.

I just have one recommendation for this book. There's nothing wrong having a good looking priest around, but it seems that Perez Reverte describes Fatehr Quart too many times as a Knight Templar throughout the entire story. I picture Father Quart as a young Arnold Schwarzenegger playing Ivan Danko in "Red Heat" running around Seville looking for Vespers.

I'm glad I discovered this author, and I have a feeling this won't be the only book I'll read from him. Well recommended, you won't be disappointed

I had really grown to enjoy Perez-Reverte's books after first reading some of his other stories such as the Fencing Master, the Flander's Panel, and the Queen of the South. I thought I'd gotten a good bargain by purchasing this book at $.45, but sometimes it's better to hang on to loose change. In this book, the plot was weak from beginning to end, and the climax was unrealistic, even with a stretch of the imagination. I was completely disinterested in the characters whom for the most part were unlikeable, anyway. On several occasions I thought about putting the book down, and had I not been spending a week on the beach with not much else to do, I probably would have. This book gave me the impression that the author was simply trying to fulfill his contract with the publisher to write a certain number of books, regardless of quality, before a certain date.

The plot was pleasant if predictable. The main character was utterly unbelievable. The bit players were inspired. The translation was stilted, flat and made it sound as if the author had not spent much time in the real world.

The Seville Communion would make for a great graphic novel -- Actually, it *was* adapted into a television movie in Spain ("Quart: El Hombre de Roma"), which seems action-packed and engaging. The problem with the book is that it is overly repetitive: Character descriptions are regurgitated several times over, with little variation -- from descriptions of how they dress, or what their vocations are, what they are thinking, their mannerisms, etc. There are only so many times you can tolerate the same character being described as a "former fake lawyer," or having an ex-flamenco dancer described by the mascara and spit curl stuck to her forehead, or being reminded that a key character smells like orange and jasmine (as if you had forgotten). While Pérez-Reverte's character descriptions are, overall, interesting, this redundancy is desensitizing -- quite numbing, actually -- and makes descriptions that were at first interesting and meaningful become utterly stale and unnecessary.

Other reviewers are correct that this verbosity may risk you putting the book down. It's a shame: With a little bit of serious editing, this book could've been a real winner. If you stick with it, you'll probably enjoy the ride for the most part... although many will find the ending anti-climactic and a bit of a let-down.

This novel is supposed to be about a mystery/suspense based on Vatican plots. But it turns out to be a story about priests bashing and meandering plots on the characters, especially the Father Quart character.

Well, but it sums up human feelings... and the seven deadly sins. It happens evertyime to somebody somewhere, including priests. Some people might enjoy this book more than others. Being my third Perez-Reverte's book, I found that it was just OK. A three star read.

This was a very mediocre book written by an author who has gripped me in other books with well written characters. The plot is very slow to develop, which can be fine when developing characters, but it seemed to turn me off rather than wrap me in them. I was still able to soak up a feel for the surroundings and history that I enjoy so much out of Mr. Perez-Reverte's novels, but I was somewhat disappointed that I didn't develop a feel for the characters that I'm used to. It almost seemed like the author didn't have a full idea of what he was going to do with certain characters before completion. I probably wouldn't recommend this novel; certainly not before The Flanders Panel or The Fencing Master.