Sunday, November 30, 2008

THE BOOK OF AIR AND SHADOWS


TITLE: THE BOOK OF AIR AND SHADOWS
AUTHOR: MICHAEL GRUBER
Pages: 561
Date: 29/11/2008
Grade: 4
Own

The story in this book revolves around the possibility that somewhere in England is hidden an unknown play be William Shakespeare.
Jake Mishkin gets involved in this mystery when he, as an intellectual property lawyer, is asked to keep safe some old documents by a British scholar.
Albert Crosetti is the person who first finds the old documents, parts of which he sells to the British scholar, only vaguely aware of what he might be dealing with.
When the British scholar is found murdered and tortured, both Mishkin and Crosetti get some idea that they're dealing with something that is potentially huge. Individually at first, but together eventually they start looking for the clues needed to find the play. But all the time, others are looking as well; others who already committed murder and will do anything to get their hands on the play.
This was not a bad book or a bad story, but I can't help feeling that it could have been better.
Jake Mishkin was a bit too much of a sleaze; Albert Crosetti's obsession with movies was a bit infantile for a grown man; and the final action scenes where a bit too violent and explosive compared to the rest of the book.
It took the book close to 300 pages to get into it's stride. And although I was never tempted to disregard the book, I was also never anxious to get back to it.

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