Customer Reviews

LA Tabla De Flandes/the Chess Master (Alfaguara Hispanica)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ever examine an art masterpiece and wonder just what the experts see that you do not? In The Flanders Panel every shadow of a painting has life or death meaning for the effete intellectuals studying it.

No bombs go off, no hi-tech wizardry here. The novel is a dark study in duplicity. If you want action I suggest Ken Follett. If you enjoy a mental challenge and deep mystery slowly revealed, this is for you.

One note:the mystery IS solvable. Like the best of Conan Doyle, the conclusion is a breathtaking "Aha"

I read this book after "The Club Dumas," and though I found that book to be more well-written, "The Flanders Panel" contained a great plot with plenty of detail about painting and chess. For me, the extensive information about the world of art and the game(?)of chess really piqued my curiosity and created an intimate and exclusive atmosphere for the novel to which the reader was given admittance. The tone is the greatest strength of the book. The world it creates is one which most readers will not have intense experience, but the author gives the readers the tools to enter that world, and shut the door behind them. The characterization grew a bit tiresome, as verbose descriptions of the supporting cast were repeated ad nauseum. Excepting that, "The Flanders Panel" was interesting and a good read for people who like mysteries with more suspense and intellect than mile-a-minute action and a pre-determined and obvious villain

Me parece tan bueno este libro, como mala la pelicula que inspiró. Si te gusto "El Club Dumas", "El maestro de esgrima", "El capitán Alatriste" o "Territorio Comanche", no te pierdas este libro.

read the flanders panel over three years ago--the intensity, the suspense, the combination of painting and chess were fascinating--the build up to the end excellent.

It is a shame that there are no reader reveiws written on this excellent thiller. It is set in Madrid and though a translation from spanish reads as if it is written in its native language. The plot is intelligent, crafted to include two seperate mysteries. The first mystery surrounds a 15th century painting being restored by the main character. The second mystery involves a modern day murder and a mysterous killer who leaves clues to the crime in the play of an intricate game of chess. Chess strategy and theory are explored and the human emotion in the game is revealved. I am only a novice chess player but found the book fasinating, chilling and well worth the time invested in the reading. If you are looking for a change from the usual predictable who-dun-it this book will provide an enjoyable trip into the world of chess, art and murder

This is one of the few mystery books that allow you the discomfort of discarding all the suspects, leaving you with literally no idea who the killer might be. "The Chess Master" (a.k.a. "The Flanders Panel") is an excellent, if a bit high-brow, thriller with characters that live and breathe (some of them all too briefly!) An exceptional eye for detail and a talent for facile explanations of difficult concepts are trademarks of Perez-Reverte. I also recommend "The Club Dumas" by the same author in which he progresses from the Scooby-Doo-type ending of "The Flanders Panel" to a more mature, ambiguous conclusion.