The Eight
by Katherine Neville
Completed July 2001
The back cover of The Eight compares it to Umberto Eco's Name of the Rose. In many ways, the comparison is a good one, though in the end, it lacks the philosophical depth and subtlety of Name of the Rose. Nonetheless, it is a good book -- better than most of the "airport mysteries," but not quite a classic.
I read it while traveling in France, and as parts of it are set there, it was a good choice. Neville weaves her characters into the French Revolution and other historical happenings in delightful ways. In particular, I liked her telling of the murder of Corot. She manages to weave the painter David (who painted "Murder of Corot" -- in the Museum of Fine Arts in Reims, France) and the real killer...but have her own story about who "really" killed him.
The breadth of the novel was also delightful -- from revolutionary France, with very intriguing development of historical characters like Talleyrand, to North Africa and modern day New York City. The characters are all very well developed, and the way Neville weaves her themes, characters and story together are fascinating. Like Name of the Rose, she forms an intricate puzzle which she develops from a variety of perspectives...and then in the final chapters drops in the remaining few pieces to suddenly draw all the perspectives together and paint the entire picture. The Eight is marvelously constructed in this sense, and worth reading simply for that.