I read a lot, and almost everything, but nothing will have my attention for hours in a row than an alert story where politics, history and religion are mixed creatively. For the long summer days of no-travel - at least for now - I collected mountains of books, some of them written by completely authors I am slowly discovering those days.
As it seems that I do miss Switzerland more than I am willing to admit, I keep reading some of its contemporary star authors. Like, for instance, Metin Arditi. Of Turkish-Sephardi origin, living in the French part of Switzerland, his books are often inspired by the daily political realities and old historical struggles translated into modernity.
Carnaval Noir - Black Carnival - enters into the intricated net of conservative Catholics aimed to revive a 4-century old prophecy. As in the 16th century, those who happen to enter in touch with various details of the story may pay with their lives. The chief of the Catholic Church himself is supposedly the target of a complex assasination plot which would prevent the eventuality of a wide plan of reforms.
The topic is elaborated and the historical and political details are coming together in a smooth, creative way. The characters do have complex biographies and the suspense is built-up with intensity from an episode to another. The details are academically elevated but without overloading a reader not necessarily familiar with European religious history and political tendencies within the Vatican. Set between the 16th and the 21st century, between Italy and Switzerland, Carnaval Noir plays with historical geographies and topics of current interest, such as the anti-immigration policies or the clash between conservative politics and modern democratic tendencies.
My biggest regret is that there is a relative overload of events and characters and given the complexity of the situations they fail from not being consistent enough. Also, the pace seems to slow down with no reason in the middle of a relatively tensed episode when the reader is already prepared for more adventures.
There is also a slight error, as there is a mention of ´Königsberg´ as a Turkish Berlin borough, instead of probably ´Kreuzberg´. I swore I´ve seen this error before, but cannot remember exactly who made it and where.
I am ready to read more books by Arditi as it seems he is often writing about topics that I cannot and don´t want to resist.
Rating: 3 stars
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