Read this a few years ago, coincidently just before the movie adaptation, the Ninth Gate, came out. Bascially, a fun book but, using faint praise, it's Umberto Eco-lite. Or Borges-lite for that matter. It seems to be a book with hidden historical depth and complexity but it's all very transparent. There are some very lovely passages and the plates are wonderful story aides, which add some atmosphere, but I personally didn't feel like it broke new ground. I was entertained by it, so I wasn't bad, but I definitely had some preconceived notions that the story and history was to be handled in a magical hand. Instead, he was pretty straight forward.
Don't see the movie unless you want a good laugh because it was awful. Plus, it screws with the end in the book for no discernable reason. |
