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lenny9987's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed Arturo Pérez-Reverte’s The Club Dumas when I read it several years ago, so I jumped at the chance to preview the English translation of The Siege. Unfortunately, time was not on my side so what was supposed to be a preview is now a review. The Siege weaves together several narratives, all centered in and around Cádiz during the French siege of the city from 1810 to 1812. Espionage, murder, war, loyalty, and business all come together as Pérez-Reverte paints several detailed portraits of a city and its citizens under siege.
Soldiers, corsairs, policemen, and everyday citizens who at first glance appear to be connected only by the city they inhabit (or propose to occupy) turn out to have a far more sinister connection, as a murderer strikes with a precision and violence as devastating as the French bombs that slowly gain in accuracy and range. Comisario Tizón tests the limits of his own sanity in his protracted battle to catch a man butchering young women. Lolita Palma, a single woman who took over the family’s shipping and lending business after the deaths of both her father and brother, overcomes her initial objections to invest in a corsair ship and finds an odd kindred spirit in the ship’s captain, Pépé Lobo. French artillery officer, Simon Desfosseux, must reconcile his superiors’ demands that he shell further into Cádiz with their refusal to give him the equipment he deems necessary for such a feat.
For the complete review, please visit my blog:
http://wp.me/pUEx4-Bo
Soldiers, corsairs, policemen, and everyday citizens who at first glance appear to be connected only by the city they inhabit (or propose to occupy) turn out to have a far more sinister connection, as a murderer strikes with a precision and violence as devastating as the French bombs that slowly gain in accuracy and range. Comisario Tizón tests the limits of his own sanity in his protracted battle to catch a man butchering young women. Lolita Palma, a single woman who took over the family’s shipping and lending business after the deaths of both her father and brother, overcomes her initial objections to invest in a corsair ship and finds an odd kindred spirit in the ship’s captain, Pépé Lobo. French artillery officer, Simon Desfosseux, must reconcile his superiors’ demands that he shell further into Cádiz with their refusal to give him the equipment he deems necessary for such a feat.
For the complete review, please visit my blog:
http://wp.me/pUEx4-Bo
rosmarval's review against another edition
4.0
Esta es una historia basada en un Cádiz diferente al que es famoso hoy en día. Uno que no destaca por la gracia, la comida o las interminables horas de sol, sino que es más bien sombrío y oscuro y que se erigió como la capital de un reino fragmentado.
Hay varias líneas de acción, cada una asociada a un personaje diferente, entre los que sin duda destaco a Lolita Palma. En un mundo de hombres, supo hacerse un hueco y callar bocas al ponerse al frente de la empresa familiar, y hacerlo además con envidiable maestría. Encarna, sin duda, el espíritu más feminista sin tener que declararlo a los cuatro vientos.
En cuanto a la escritura del autor, desde luego destacaría la majestuosidad de sus descripciones. Da igual que no seas de Cádiz, o que no la hayas pisado nunca y no tengas ni idea de cómo es. Con el modo tan preciso con el que te lo cuenta Pérez-Reverte no te hará falta. Te hará pasear por sus calles, visualizar a sus gentes y sumergirte en lo que debió ser el ambiente de mil ochocientos y pico en la ciudad.
Le he dado cuatro estrellas porque en algún momento se me hizo algo aburrido, aunque debo decir que el tedio duró muy poco. A pesar de su longitud, te pierdes entre sus páginas con facilidad y, cuando te das cuenta, te has leído medio libro.
Sin duda, una lectura más que recomendable para aquellos amantes de la ficción histórica que buscan algo nuevo y fascinante a lo que hincarle el diente.
Hay varias líneas de acción, cada una asociada a un personaje diferente, entre los que sin duda destaco a Lolita Palma. En un mundo de hombres, supo hacerse un hueco y callar bocas al ponerse al frente de la empresa familiar, y hacerlo además con envidiable maestría. Encarna, sin duda, el espíritu más feminista sin tener que declararlo a los cuatro vientos.
En cuanto a la escritura del autor, desde luego destacaría la majestuosidad de sus descripciones. Da igual que no seas de Cádiz, o que no la hayas pisado nunca y no tengas ni idea de cómo es. Con el modo tan preciso con el que te lo cuenta Pérez-Reverte no te hará falta. Te hará pasear por sus calles, visualizar a sus gentes y sumergirte en lo que debió ser el ambiente de mil ochocientos y pico en la ciudad.
Le he dado cuatro estrellas porque en algún momento se me hizo algo aburrido, aunque debo decir que el tedio duró muy poco. A pesar de su longitud, te pierdes entre sus páginas con facilidad y, cuando te das cuenta, te has leído medio libro.
Sin duda, una lectura más que recomendable para aquellos amantes de la ficción histórica que buscan algo nuevo y fascinante a lo que hincarle el diente.
catarina_duarte's review against another edition
4.0
Um périplo intenso, pesado e fogoso sob Cádiz sitiada, por entre o dia-a-dia de um cerco e a precisão de agonizantes assassínios, desenvolto por personagens misteriosas e densas. Custou um pouco a entrar no ritmo de Pèrez-Reverte...até que acontece...e não se quer pousar o livro! Ainda estou a digerir certos aspectos da narrativa mas sem dúvida uma belíssima descoberta!
liantener's review against another edition
4.0
Como soy fan del autor lo encontré muy bueno, pero la verdad es que deja un poco que desear. Trata sobre un policía que busca a un asesino de muchachas en la ciudad de Cádiz durante el asedio fránces de principios de 1800. Los asesinatos coinciden con los lugares donde caen las bombas que arrojan los franceses, lo cuál agrega interés al misterio. A su vez hay una historia paralela entre una mujer que lleva negocios de importación y un capitán de barco. En primer lugar la novela es demasiado larga. Me recordó a las obras de Connie Willis, la autora de ciencia ficción, donde los personajes hacen sus actividades del día a día, pero la narración no avanza. Para rematar, el final es adecuado, pero no tan impactante como se esperaba (o como pudo ser) después de tanto desarrollo. No está mal, pero al autor tiene mejores trabajos :)
manuti's review against another edition
3.0
Este mes tocó novedad. Yendo al grano, la novela me ha parecido correcta, y por lo tanto le doy 3 estrellas. He disfrutado mucho “paseando” por Cádiz durante el asedio al que la sometieron los franceses, la descripción del día a día en la vida de los distintos personajes me ha parecido perfecta. El ir y venir de las compras diarias, de las fiestas, de los acontecimientos históricos, de las batallas todo está genialmente retratado. Sin embargo, la trama que une todos estos hechos, los asesinatos, está demasiado metida como de relleno, aunque se supone que debería ser al revés. Voy a hacer una metáfora muy relacionada para describir la novela, es como un latigazo: la trama sube describiendo un largo arco de casi 700 páginas y luego cae de golpe y todo se resuelve en poco más de 30.
Supongo que no es lo mejor de Mr T., personalmente me gustó más La reina del sur y más emocionante Un día de cólera.
Otra cosa, es que el formato del libro por tamaño y el peso se me ha hecho bastante incómodo de leer. Voy a añadir un par de enlaces más:
Una crítica aún más negativa que la mía en el blog Cosas mías
Y una crítica de tono parecido a la mía en el blog El placer de la lectura
Supongo que no es lo mejor de Mr T., personalmente me gustó más La reina del sur y más emocionante Un día de cólera.
Otra cosa, es que el formato del libro por tamaño y el peso se me ha hecho bastante incómodo de leer. Voy a añadir un par de enlaces más:
Una crítica aún más negativa que la mía en el blog Cosas mías
Y una crítica de tono parecido a la mía en el blog El placer de la lectura
rosama_reads_alot's review against another edition
5.0
Arturo Pérez-Reverte es uno de mis autores favoritos en lengua castellana, por lo que decidí leer este libro. Al principio no me enganchó para nada, debido a que el tema marino no me entusiasma desde que tuve que leerme por obligación el Moby Dick en inglés, porque era lectura obligatorio en Filología.
Sin embargo, pasados los primeros agobios marítimos (hay mucho vocabulario de este campo, evidentemente) la historia me enganchó, y de qué manera.
El autor entreteje varias historias de una forma sublime y los personajes están descritos con exquisitez, tanto que cuando acaba el libro quieres saber más de ellos (en especial de Tizón).
Además, como telón de fondo está la ciudad de Cádiz, mi Cádiz, un personaje más, si no el más importante…
Del final quizás me esperaba un poco más…tenía en mente algún que otro sospechoso como autor de los crímenes, pero sin embargo, la explicación que da el autor, me convence…
En resumen, muy recomendable si te gusta saber algo más de la historia de España de comienzos del siglo XIX.
Sin embargo, pasados los primeros agobios marítimos (hay mucho vocabulario de este campo, evidentemente) la historia me enganchó, y de qué manera.
El autor entreteje varias historias de una forma sublime y los personajes están descritos con exquisitez, tanto que cuando acaba el libro quieres saber más de ellos (en especial de Tizón).
Además, como telón de fondo está la ciudad de Cádiz, mi Cádiz, un personaje más, si no el más importante…
Del final quizás me esperaba un poco más…tenía en mente algún que otro sospechoso como autor de los crímenes, pero sin embargo, la explicación que da el autor, me convence…
En resumen, muy recomendable si te gusta saber algo más de la historia de España de comienzos del siglo XIX.
hcq's review against another edition
2.0
Eh, not his best. The historical details of the siege were interesting, but the main story just never really caught fire for me. It felt really long, too, which his stuff usually doesn't.
johnk's review against another edition
4.0
Don't expect a happy ending from this dark tale set around the siege of Cadiz during the Peninsular War. A series of gruesome murders runs concurrent with a love interest, lessons in physics, battles with the French and the economic woes of Spain at a time when it was starting to lose its colonies. Here we also see, in an earlier century from For Whom The Bell Tolls, the Spanish capability to meet out immense cruelty upon one another.
Extremely well written and researched and very readable.
Extremely well written and researched and very readable.
joecam79's review against another edition
3.0
Perez-Reverte is well known as a writer of swashbuckling adventures and crime stories, but his novels are rarely mere plot-driven yarns. "The Siege" or, in its Italian translation, "Il Giocatore Occulto" is a case in point. It is ostensibly a historical crime novel about a serial killer on the loose in the Spanish port of Cadiz, during the French siege of 1810-12. The mysterious murderer tortures young women near sites where the French bombs fall, and at times seems to have the uncanny ability to actually predict which part of the city will be attacked.
To tell his story, Perez-Reverte assembles a cast worthy of grand opera. We get to meet a wealthy heiress of an importation firm and her circle of friends, servants and relatives; a corsair captain and his more aristocratic rival; a pro-French embalmer and spy; an inspector of dubious morals who is confronting his demons; a French army captain and his artillerymen ... and these are just the more important characters.
Similarly, the "crime story" is just one of the many narrative strands. Along the way we witness sea battles and skirmishes, we learn about the contemporary political situation in Europe and America and about military tactics, we get atmospheric evocations of Cadiz and its surroundings and spy on an unlikely romance between two of the protagonists. Perez-Reverte takes a 19th-century novelist's pleasure in leisurely descriptions of characters and settings.
This therefore, is a novel in which there is much to enjoy and which I was determined to like. The problem is that it becomes too much of a good thing. As the murders (and chapters) pile up, one starts to wish Perez-Reverte would wrap up the novel and reveal the identity of the murderer. When he does, the resolution seems unconvincing and contrived. Ultimately this is a cruel novel - cruel in the events it depicts, cruel with its protagonists, cruel with its readers' expectations. It is a pity as, despite my reservations, I feel that many of the characters and scenes will remain with me for a long time.
To tell his story, Perez-Reverte assembles a cast worthy of grand opera. We get to meet a wealthy heiress of an importation firm and her circle of friends, servants and relatives; a corsair captain and his more aristocratic rival; a pro-French embalmer and spy; an inspector of dubious morals who is confronting his demons; a French army captain and his artillerymen ... and these are just the more important characters.
Similarly, the "crime story" is just one of the many narrative strands. Along the way we witness sea battles and skirmishes, we learn about the contemporary political situation in Europe and America and about military tactics, we get atmospheric evocations of Cadiz and its surroundings and spy on an unlikely romance between two of the protagonists. Perez-Reverte takes a 19th-century novelist's pleasure in leisurely descriptions of characters and settings.
This therefore, is a novel in which there is much to enjoy and which I was determined to like. The problem is that it becomes too much of a good thing. As the murders (and chapters) pile up, one starts to wish Perez-Reverte would wrap up the novel and reveal the identity of the murderer. When he does, the resolution seems unconvincing and contrived. Ultimately this is a cruel novel - cruel in the events it depicts, cruel with its protagonists, cruel with its readers' expectations. It is a pity as, despite my reservations, I feel that many of the characters and scenes will remain with me for a long time.
katevane's review against another edition
3.0
I couldn’t wait to read this book. I’ve read and enjoyed a number of Pérez-Reverte’s novels. I love history and I love Spain. Cádiz is one of my favourite cities. Yet, even though it’s won the CWA International Dagger, it didn’t really work for me.
The book follows a number of characters caught up in the siege of Cádiz. They are all somehow affected by the conflict, from a French officer tasked with bombing the city into submission, to a wealthy woman shipowner who is trying to maintain her family’s business. One of the main characters is a detective, Tizón, who is confronted by a horrific series of crimes – young women who are found horribly murdered, always apparently at the site of a recent bombing.
It is the crime element of the story which I found most problematic. This book feels like an intriguing piece of social history with a rather silly murder plot tacked on. Tizón agonises about the murders. There are no clues but that is probably because he doesn’t actually investigate the crimes. His superiors have decided to keep the crimes secret for fear they will inflame the besieged city. Presumably a city at war would be shocked by the idea of people getting killed.
The murderer has a strange fascination for Tizón. Inevitably there is a young girl in his past. He wonders if there is some affinity between him and the murderer. He is so obsessed that he muses repeatedly about the crimes in a coffee house with his intellectual companion, and resorts to extended metaphors about chess. Then it gets a bit sillier.
The other difficulty I had is the extensive technical detail which is included. If you are intrigued by the differences between mortars and howitzers, nineteenth-century continental measuring systems and calculating trajectories during windy conditions, this is the book for you. If that’s not technical enough, try the nautical sections of the book. Even the translator acknowledges he had to turn to a maritime historian for assistance. Of course these details give authenticity, but they trip up the general reader and make it hard to feel involved in the story.
The book is at its best when it focuses on the everyday. Cádiz is a magical city, and Cádiz under siege is portrayed as a fascinating mix, earthy and ethereal, principled and pragmatic. Each of the main characters has different means and motivation for making it through the siege, from simple survival to conviction to intellectual curiosity. The book offers great insights into the social and political culture of the time, and the roles of the various governments and factions. Just a shame about the crime.
The book follows a number of characters caught up in the siege of Cádiz. They are all somehow affected by the conflict, from a French officer tasked with bombing the city into submission, to a wealthy woman shipowner who is trying to maintain her family’s business. One of the main characters is a detective, Tizón, who is confronted by a horrific series of crimes – young women who are found horribly murdered, always apparently at the site of a recent bombing.
It is the crime element of the story which I found most problematic. This book feels like an intriguing piece of social history with a rather silly murder plot tacked on. Tizón agonises about the murders. There are no clues but that is probably because he doesn’t actually investigate the crimes. His superiors have decided to keep the crimes secret for fear they will inflame the besieged city. Presumably a city at war would be shocked by the idea of people getting killed.
The murderer has a strange fascination for Tizón. Inevitably there is a young girl in his past. He wonders if there is some affinity between him and the murderer. He is so obsessed that he muses repeatedly about the crimes in a coffee house with his intellectual companion, and resorts to extended metaphors about chess. Then it gets a bit sillier.
The other difficulty I had is the extensive technical detail which is included. If you are intrigued by the differences between mortars and howitzers, nineteenth-century continental measuring systems and calculating trajectories during windy conditions, this is the book for you. If that’s not technical enough, try the nautical sections of the book. Even the translator acknowledges he had to turn to a maritime historian for assistance. Of course these details give authenticity, but they trip up the general reader and make it hard to feel involved in the story.
The book is at its best when it focuses on the everyday. Cádiz is a magical city, and Cádiz under siege is portrayed as a fascinating mix, earthy and ethereal, principled and pragmatic. Each of the main characters has different means and motivation for making it through the siege, from simple survival to conviction to intellectual curiosity. The book offers great insights into the social and political culture of the time, and the roles of the various governments and factions. Just a shame about the crime.