Mermaid
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Rule of Four - Fiction
« on: 2005-05-09 09:23:54 » |
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http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0385337116/qid=1115644398/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/102-7909031-9124113?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Paul and Thomas are two Princeton students who are connected academically and familially to a mysterious 15 century text called the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili. It is supposed to be an encyclopedia masquerading as fiction, but Thomas whose father, a Hypnerotomachia scholar, died in a car accident and Paul whose thesis is based on the Renaissance text figure out that it is actually a book filled with codes and clues for a hidden Roman treasure.
It is like a more intelligent version of Da Vinci code and the narration is far less pedestrian. Sometimes, it gets tedious and the prose is frustrating, but it is fascinating and filled with tidbits of trivia that I *love* in a book. And of course, the suspense is riveting. What more does one need from fiction?
The manuscript, Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, is real. Here: http://mitpress.mit.edu/e-books/HP/ - Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, Poliphilo's Struggle for Love in a Dream.
Give it a read. Who knows..you may enjoy it!
edited to add:
oh. and i haven't finished it yet.
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