Katherine Neville
1988
ISBN 0 552 15467 9
I first read this book in high school, and remembered that it totally blew me away, so I snapped it up when I saw it in a secondhand bookstore.
My memory was correct: this book is what the Da Vinci Code aspires to be. The vision and breadth is amazing, and this tale weaves everyone from Napolean to Wordsworth, Voltaire and Benedict Arnold, into an intriguing mystery.
Combining mysticism, mathematics, physics and chess, this is the story of a treasure hunt. The treasure is a near-mythical chess set, disassembled and scattered across Europe during the French Revolution. One of the nuns assigned to protect it, Mirielle, embarks on a journey to discover the secret of the chess service, her efforts mirrored over a century later by Cat and Lily.
This is an incredible book, and although parts of the chess explanations were over my head, the language is plain and easy to follow. Cat's both cynical and humourous, and Mirielle and strong and focused, and each woman has their own appeal. Their stories are combined into the kind of book you willingly lose sleep to get through.
Date Finished: 06/12/07
Year Total: 41
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