Book 2 of the 50 Book Challenge

The Nautical Chart by Arturo Perez-Reverte, 465 pages

Started January 4th, finished January 12th.

I was looking forward to this books as the author is one of my favourites.  I wasn't disappointed.

This is a treasure hunting tale.  With all the mystery, intrigue and dangers you'd expect from such a story.

The thing that struck me most about this book is the pacing.  It's very slow, compared to similar stories.  This is never a problem though.  You feel your way through the story as the main character, Coy does.  You discover things when he does and figure things out as he does.  He is the reader's companion.  The pacing makes you feel as if you're living the tale alongside Coy.

The beauty of this book is the description it gives throughout of the sea and life at sea.  You feel the passion Coy has for her and even a seasoned landlubber like myself feels like they're understanding it by the end of the book.  The amount of research the author must have done must be massive and the book is all the better for it.

It is interesting to get a view of English seafarers past and present from the Spanish side.  Needless to say, it is quite different from the one I'm used too!

I don't want to say anything more about the book as it needs to be discovered for one's self.  I do heartily recommend it.  As do I some of his other titles - The Fencing Master, The Flanders Panel and especially The Dumas Club.  The man is a wonderful storyteller.  The good news is I have plenty more of his still to read :-)

Total so far  Books - 2,  Pages - 613

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