Negative Positive
Title: False Advertising
Review: I was trapped between flights in Dallas and had run out of reading material when I happened upon The Geographer's Library. It was advertised with references to Umberto Eco and Dan Brown, but it read more like a cheap (but well-written, if you're not looking for literary art) charicature of the best examples of the genre. The author tried hard to display a sweeping knowledge of history, but ended up seeming superficial and in places a bit silly (as when a Soviet agent responds to a comment about inequality in the "workers' paradise" by saying all are equal, but some more equal than others - a ham-handed literary reference if ever there was one). To be fair, I don't usually go in for light fiction, but The DaVinci Code was sufficiently interesting to make me reconsider - this novel has firmly reenfoced my preexisting prejudices. If you like a light read, this is probably okay, but if you're looking for The Name of the Rose you will feel totally ripped off.
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