La sangre de los inocentes. (The Blood of the Innocent)

By staff -- Críticas, 9/15/2007

At almost 800 pages, Navarro’s latest novel weaves together three storylines about the Cathars, the Nazis, and the clash of civilizations, or the contemporary war between East and West. Considered heretics, the Cathars, a religious sect that flourished in the south of France in the mid-13th century, were persecuted, martyred, and burnt at the stake by the Pope’s army. In Navarro’s tale, a monk who manages to survive the catastrophe writes an account of the events for posterity. The story then jumps to 1938, to the castle of a noble descendant of the Cathars, Count D’Amis, where the monk’s chronicles have been preserved. The count decides to take revenge on the Catholic Church by authenticating the documents, calling in a professor specializing in medieval studies. When the professor’s Jewish wife travels to Berlin in search of her relatives just as Hitler’s madness is unleashed, more innocent blood is spilled. Before Hitler invades France, the professor sends his son to the Holy Land, hoping to save him from the Nazis, but the confrontation between Jews and Palestinians has already started, and the young boy dies in an ambush. The story skips forward to the present, when the last descendent of Count D’Amis decides to continue his search for vengeance, finding a common cause with Islamic terrorists and financing attacks that spill the blood of both Christians and Muslims. Dialog that’s both fresh and credible makes up much of the book, keeping readers engaged. Another engaging point: the relationship between medieval persecution and persecution today. Recommended where readers appreciate historical or character-driven fiction that emphasizes a good use of language.—Leda Schiavo, Buenos Aires, Argentina