THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF ARTURO PEREZ-REVERTE’S “THE SEVILLE COMMUNION”: JAMES BOND, VATICAN VERSION!

RATING GUIDE:

 

5 – A keeper!   

4 – Very good

3 –  Passable

2 –  I’d rather read a telephone book

1 – An absolute bomb.  Read at your own risk!

THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF ARTURO PEREZ-REVERTE’S

“THE SEVILLE COMMUNION”:  JAMES BOND, VATICAN VERSION!

This is how I came across this book.  I think I was complaining to a friend of mine about how boring it is to read about sex scenes that read like it could come from a cookbook or product manual (you know, insert A into B, go in and out x number of times, repeat … that kind of thing).  My friend said I should read Arturo Perez-Reverte’s “The Seville Communion”.  Apparently, Perez-Reverte is such a good writer that he can come up with a fantastic sex scene without even mentioning body parts or sounding like a cookbook or product manual writer.

So I borrowed her copy of “The Seville Communion” to see for myself.  And what do you know?  She was absolutely right!  But Perez-Reverte isn’t just great at writing provocative, sensual sex scenes (without sounding boring and technical).  He’s an excellent good story-teller, with interesting concepts, unforgettable characters and a compelling story that would make it virtually impossible for you to put his books down.

Perez-Reverte is considered one of Spain’s most popular authors.  His writing style isn’t flowery at all, which is probably due to his background as a journalist.  But his words, though very direct, appear to have an elegance, a sense of fluidity and magic of their own.  As I read this book, I couldn’t help but feel like I was in some kind of parallel universe, where people are the same … yet different in some way.  A universe that seems a little … surreal. 

“The Seville Communion” is the story of Father Lorenzo Quart, who’s actually a member of the Vatican’s intelligence service.  That idea alone was enough to make me go, “Hey, now … what have we got here?” 

The Vatican’s intelligence service consists of techno-geek priests, and investigators/agents the likes of Father Lorenzo, who’s like James Bond … tall, sexy, gorgeous, intelligent, efficient (but without the tuxes, the expense accounts, the Aston Martins and the deadly secret weapons).  Father Lorenzo is asked to investigate a hacking incident.  Someone has actually broken into the pope’s computer (can you imagine a pope actually using a computer?  Cool, don’t you think so?), and left a message pleading for him to save an old church called Our Lady Of The Tears.

Father Lorenzo travels to Seville for his mission, and comes across all sorts of interesting characters who may or may not be tied to the person(s) who sent the pope that message.  These include a fake lawyer, an aging singing siren, a has-been boxer, a bull-headed parish priest, and a very sexy and seductive woman named Macarena who is such a tempting woman that Father Lorenzo finds himself reconsidering his vows of celibacy.  As Father Lorenzo comes closer to the truth, he finds himself facing all sorts of danger … and faces the risk of becoming an additional death statistic, for the number of the dead have been rising ever since he began his mission.

It’s rare for me to find a book that I love, and even rarer to find a book that takes my breath away.  “The Seville Communion” is just that kind of book for me.  His characters are all interesting and complex, as are the issues they bring up (e.g., Father Lorenzo’s outward loyalty, as opposed to the way he truly feels about the church and his vocation).  The book is full of action and intrigue, and even humor … and the sex … wow.  I have yet to read another book where sex is presented THIS way.  Perez-Reverte strings words together very efficiently and concisely, like the lyrics of a song, and offers them to you the way a lover would whisper seductive words into your ear, or the way water would slide down your skin while you’re showering.  Very sensual.  And, forgive me, Father, for I have sinned … but I just can’t stop thinking dirty thoughts about Father Lorenzo.  I couldn’t help but imagine Daniel Craig as Father Lorenzo!  (Somebody should turn this into a movie starring Daniel Craig!)

Man, if we had priests like Father Lorenzo, the church would never run out of parishioners …

The book’s ending is definitely a surprise, I am sure you will fall off your chair when you find out who the hacker was.  I actually yelled “What the HELL?” when I found out who it was and felt a little disappointed, but that’s not enough to make me change my opinion about this book.  This book is definitely a keeper.

RATING:  5