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Loading... Landscape of Lies (1989)by Peter Watson
None.  Condorena | Apr 2, 2013 |  I liked this book. It was a stark contrast to the last book I tried reading (Name of the Rose), although there were some similarities. Landscape is set in modern times but is (ala Da Vinci Code) a tale of hunting for ancient secrets. The secrets this time are all clues hidden in the painting Landscape of Lies. The painting owner teams up with a gallery owner and the two of them are in a race against someone else who is hunting for the answers, and is unscrupulous about how he goes about it. Unlike "rose", this one is very character driven and although there is a *lot* of information about paintings, styles, and 16th century religion and religious beliefs the story still moves along quickly and I felt like I learned something but it wasn't hammered into me to the point I didn't care. I'll be looking to see what else Watson has written. (  ) bookswoman | Mar 31, 2013 | A painting which has been in the family for centuries turns out to be a medieval treasure map. Racing against rivals, the main characters must unravel the secrets and medieval symbolism in the painting in order to find the treasure before a stereotypical bad guy. A good Sunday afternoon read – with catchy twists and turns. However, Michael Whiting, the art dealer-cum-detective, has a persistent and irritating habit of inserting 'bloody' between syllables of adjectives, as in 'inbloodycredible,' 'fanbloodytastic,' and the like...and the author has the inbloodycredible cheek to have Isobel, the plucky girl heroine, begin doing the same thing! I could have screamed! (  ) Jawin | Oct 9, 2010 | A far better read than the Da Vinci code, also better written ( ) MargaSE | Mar 7, 2009 | I've read this book before, many years ago, when I borrowed it from my then partner. I loved the idea of a painting concealing clues to a hidden treasure as I love mysteries and so this was really right up my street. It came to mind a few weeks ago and I really felt like reading it again so after a bit of a search to find the title, I got hold of a copy from the library. I read it in four days flat! Quite an achievement. Peter Watson is originally a journalist, whom I presume has some knowledge of art. I think that may be an indication as to why this book is not exactly brilliantly written. It's a great page turner, but there's very little description in it or setting of any scenes as such. Some of the prose seems awkward or clumsy. The characters, of which there are very few, are quite bland and two dimensional, and I found it hard to really get a grip on them or get any feel for them. The plot however, is great. Bear in mind, this was written in 1989, so many years before Dan Brown got hold of the same idea and acted as if no one had thought of it before him. I loved all the symbolism in it - really, Dan Brown could do to take a lesson from Mr Watson about that - how even the smallest details in the painting are meaningful and how it's all very well explained as to what they mean and why. I really got the impression that Mr Watson either really knows what he's talking about or he did a hell of a lot of research! There's also a great deal of history in the book too, mainly centered around medieval religious history of the south coast of England, but still quite interesting and again, something obviously well-known or researched. Some of it was a bit on the grisly side, and I also found the painting unnerved me for some reason but this really isn't enough to detract from the enjoyment of the book. It is a very good book, a really enjoyable read that I would certainly recommend to those who like mysteries and history. My advice would be to read it with a magnifying glass at hand, because it will certainly come in useful! ( ) Ganimede | Oct 19, 2008 | no reviews | add a review
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(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:53:29 -0500)
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I still learned quite a bit and refreshed my memory about a lot more so over all it was a positive experience. (