“The
Flanders Panel” is a great thriller based on a painting by Pieter Van Huys.
This painting which is called The Game of Chess which was painted by him in
1471. It shows two chess players battling it out on a chessboard.
Underlying
the simplistic fairly routine game of chess depicted in the painting holds the key
to solving an age old mystery or to be precise a murder case committed five
centuries ago. Julia an art expert tasked with the restoration of the game of
chess stumbles upon a secret imbedded in the painting. It seems that the
unfinished chess game is still being played by a master chess player or players
murdering people based on the chess moves.
The
novel is deep, philosophical, educative, entertaining and thrilling. Arturo
Perez -Reverte masterfully weaves the plot around a game of chess depicted in
an old painting. It is only a great writer who can write a thrilling story
around a chess game.
The
Flanders Panel makes one remember another great writer Saramago whose
extraordinary writing ability make it possible for him to write a master piece
around the theme of blindness. “The Flanders Panel” shows an indebt knowledge
of chess and extraordinary imagination. It is worth reading.
