My rating: 4 of 5 stars
"If you were the Mona Lisa
You'd be hanging in the Louvre
Everyone would come to see you
You'd be impossible to move
It seems to me is what you are
A rare and priceless work of art
Stay behind your velvet rope
But I will not renounce all hope"
Madonna's song called Masterpiece in which first few lines talks about the unconditional love towards Leonardo Da Vinci's painting, The Mona Lisa. So many people around the world have undoubtedly tried to get their hands on Mona Lisa, because after all these times, still people fall in love with her unconditionally. But, Christopher Angel, an American author-cum-film-maker, has penned down a mystery novel by the name, The Mona Lisa Speaks, during a visit to the Louvre. I was surprised to find that the painting talks, actually she has feelings and unfortunately in the end, despite of all the deserving glory and unconditional love in the world, the Mona Lisa, ends up in the store rooms, or rather say, dungeons of the Louvre. This is a very brilliant and enchanting mystery surrounding Mona Lisa's painting in the Louvre and how her destiny changes forever.
Synopsis:
A young computer techie, named Robertson Ross, has been appointed temporarily from his company in Canada, to work on the security systems of Louvre. But on his job, he falls in love with an enchanting and profoundly beautiful, young Parisian art dealer, named Mathilde. Little did he know about her background or about her deep, dark secrets. Eventually, Rob gets tangled up with the most powerful mafia man in Paris, who deals with art forgery and high-end furniture business, Jacques Renard, who held his girlfriend, Mathilde and his unborn child's lives in stake, in return to steal the Mona Lisa from the Louvre and replace it with a fake one. And little did he know, his easiest task of replacing the real with the fake might cost too much, it might drive him on the edge, almost life-taking! But now he is having second thoughts about Mathilde and about the whole plan, was he a used as a patsy? Will he save the real Mona Lisa?
I can undoubtedly say that mystery is at its best in this book, but still they were too many loose ends and loops that the author didn't mind to mention about it at the end. In the beginning, the pace was bit slow, like falling in love too obviously, falling for the mafia’s orders too obviously, it was like the story was starting to fall flat, but then when Rob started to chalk out his plan to steal the Mona Lisa, the book gained pace and it ended quite brilliantly. The characters were nice, the mafia man, could have been more deadly and smart, he failed to spark up any interest in me, whereas Rob and Mathilde are really very strong and remarkable character, Mathilde always acting as the naive one around Rob and Rob, the fearless guy, will go to any end, to save his unborn child and his Mona Lisa, Mathilde. And amidst of all these drama, The Mona Lisa actually spoke of her feelings from how glorious she felt at being the center of attraction in Louvre to sometimes getting some fresh air to how insulting she felt while hanging in a florists shop to dreadfully ending up in the dark. I felt so amusing about her feelings!
Verdict: The book is good, got some adrenaline-rushing actions and Paris streets will guide you in his mystery. The vivid descriptions of the enticing Paris will capture your heart completely, and will definitely make you wanna visit the very old Louvre in Paris.
Courtesy: A huge thanks to the author-cum-film-maker, Christopher Angel, for giving me this opportunity to read his novel and review for the same.
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