In this extraordinary thriller, rich in the atmospheres of medieval and contemporary France, the lives of two women born centuries apart are linked by a common destiny.July 2005. In the Pyrenees mountains near Carcassonne, Alice, a volunteer at an archaeological dig stumbles into a cave and makes a startling discovery-two crumbling skeletons, strange writings on the walls, and the pattern of a labyrinth; between the skeletons, a stone ring, and a small leather bag.Eight hundred years earlier, on the eve of a brutal crusade to stamp out heresy that will rip apart southern France, Alais is given a ring and a mysterious book for safekeeping by her father as he leaves to fight the crusaders. The book, he says, contains the secret of the true Grail, and the ring, inscribed with a labyrinth, will identify a guardian of the Grail. As crusading armies led by Church potentates and nobles of …
In this extraordinary thriller, rich in the atmospheres of medieval and contemporary France, the lives of two women born centuries apart are linked by a common destiny.July 2005. In the Pyrenees mountains near Carcassonne, Alice, a volunteer at an archaeological dig stumbles into a cave and makes a startling discovery-two crumbling skeletons, strange writings on the walls, and the pattern of a labyrinth; between the skeletons, a stone ring, and a small leather bag.Eight hundred years earlier, on the eve of a brutal crusade to stamp out heresy that will rip apart southern France, Alais is given a ring and a mysterious book for safekeeping by her father as he leaves to fight the crusaders. The book, he says, contains the secret of the true Grail, and the ring, inscribed with a labyrinth, will identify a guardian of the Grail. As crusading armies led by Church potentates and nobles of northern France gather outside the city walls of Carcassonne, it will take great sacrifice to keep the secret of the labyrinth safe.In the present, another woman sees the find as a means to the political power she craves; while a man who has great power will kill to destroy all traces of the discovery and everyone who stands in his way.
I’ve read this book repeatedly. The lush descriptions of Languedoc serve as the perfect frame for two stories which take place in parallel, meeting expertly at the end of the book.
Oh dear me this was awful. I only picked up this book because it is hugely popular, and the series has got rather large so I thought there must be something good here right?
Things got off to a bad start, a scene where a woman has cut herself and a drop of blood lands on her leg, all quite normal for a book, but for some reason it is described as looking like a firework going off...why do we need that extra-long description? This wasn't enough for Mosse, a bigger description was needed, she specifies the day that the "blood firework" goes off. I couldn't take this book seriously after that, I kept laughing at the many extra words used...cheese kept being described as white again and again and a young lady's hair was tumbling one second and then writhing like a snake the next. The whole thing felt …
Oh dear me this was awful. I only picked up this book because it is hugely popular, and the series has got rather large so I thought there must be something good here right?
Things got off to a bad start, a scene where a woman has cut herself and a drop of blood lands on her leg, all quite normal for a book, but for some reason it is described as looking like a firework going off...why do we need that extra-long description? This wasn't enough for Mosse, a bigger description was needed, she specifies the day that the "blood firework" goes off. I couldn't take this book seriously after that, I kept laughing at the many extra words used...cheese kept being described as white again and again and a young lady's hair was tumbling one second and then writhing like a snake the next. The whole thing felt like a school kid doing an English essay and trying to get the word count up so they could go out to play.
I could see there was potential for a plot, but the book was way too slow for me to spot anything of interest happening, into the bin with it.
OUF ! J’ai fini ! Je n’en voyais pas le bout. J’ai démarré la lecture motivée et enthousiaste, je l’ai poursuivie avec curiosité, et l’ai terminée dans l’ennui.
L’histoire se déroule en deux temps : au XIIIème siècle avec Alaïs au pays des Cathares, et en 2005 avec Alice l’anglaise en vacances. Le début comment pas mal, on est curieux de ce qui va suivre. Mais très vite l’intérêt dégringole, l’ennui s’installe, les clichés se multiplient, le rythme ne décolle pas. L’histoire d’Alice est encore moins trépidante que celle d’Alaïs. Les personnages sont fades, convenus, inintéressants. Leur psychologie est très rudimentaire. Le langage au pays des Cathares est quant à lui très pénible, on utilise un vieux français approximatif purement décoratif. Pas beaucoup d’innovation au niveau de l’intrigue, ça oscille entre Indiana Jones et L’île aux trente cercueils. La fin est pathétique, sans la moindre surprise, les grosses ficelles étant …
OUF ! J’ai fini ! Je n’en voyais pas le bout. J’ai démarré la lecture motivée et enthousiaste, je l’ai poursuivie avec curiosité, et l’ai terminée dans l’ennui.
L’histoire se déroule en deux temps : au XIIIème siècle avec Alaïs au pays des Cathares, et en 2005 avec Alice l’anglaise en vacances. Le début comment pas mal, on est curieux de ce qui va suivre. Mais très vite l’intérêt dégringole, l’ennui s’installe, les clichés se multiplient, le rythme ne décolle pas. L’histoire d’Alice est encore moins trépidante que celle d’Alaïs. Les personnages sont fades, convenus, inintéressants. Leur psychologie est très rudimentaire. Le langage au pays des Cathares est quant à lui très pénible, on utilise un vieux français approximatif purement décoratif. Pas beaucoup d’innovation au niveau de l’intrigue, ça oscille entre Indiana Jones et L’île aux trente cercueils. La fin est pathétique, sans la moindre surprise, les grosses ficelles étant effilochées depuis longtemps.
J’ai du mal à comprendre l’engouement pour ce livre. Le British Book Awards ? On sait que les Anglais (que j’aime et apprécie et que si je pouvais je vivrais à Londres et God save the Queen) sont friands de ce coin de France et que l’arrière-plan cathare doit être pour eux d’un exotisme torride, mais tout de même.
Le seul mérite de ce livre aura été de me donner envie de continuer ma découverte des châteaux cathares qui sont tout près de chez moi, et d’ajouter à ma PAL des ouvrages sur cette période.
