There are authors in whom, beyond their work dedicated to their readers, ends up transcending their figure given to that soup of opinions that are the media and social networks. It occurs for example with Javier Marías, Arturo Perez Reverte or even with Juan Marse. And something similar happens with the author that I bring here today: Cesar Vidal.
Each one from their ideological vantage point, and with more or less success, they usually come to the social arena because of their clear position. And in the end, as people think more than they read, the media impact ends up being beyond the work.
In the case of César Vidal, prolific author of themes that border on History or historical novel, we find a well-read writer who floods his works with all that knowledge. It is true that the fact of writing historical novels (it is this type of works that have passed through my hands), one can always interpret a "transformative" intention of reality, but knowing that it is fiction, and eliminating labels from the journalist character and media collaborator, you can enjoy interesting stories.
Top 3 recommended books by César Vidal
The wind of the gods
The warlike aspect of any historical period acquires over time its epic overtones that will depend on which faction of History narrates them. Here we learn about aspects of a very unknown country, Japan.
Summary: The thirteenth century is nearing its end. While the West desperately defends itself against the attacks of Islam, in the East, Kublai Khan, the descendant of the great Genghis, dreams of unifying the world under his scepter. His next objective will be an archipelago located where the sun rises, which its inhabitants call Nihon and foreigners, Japan. Among the members of the expedition to conquer the islands of Japan is Fan, a scholar charged with administering the Japanese once they have been subdued.
Among Nihon's defenders is Nyogen, a young samurai who has sworn to live by the sacred code of Bushido. Fan and Nyogen, the representatives of two radically different universes despite their closeness, will face off in defense of their lords, their peoples and their cultures. However, when the fight is over, none of them will be able to remain the same.
Through the palaces of the great Mongol, the imperial squad, the Zen temples and the samurai schools, the action of The Wind of the Gods immerses us in two worlds populated by geishas and warriors, sages and emperors, of scholars and magicians.
The wandering jew
The figure of the wandering Jew has given a lot of importance since his insertion into the popular imagination of half the world. Generated with a frank anti-Semitic idea, over time there are those who associate it with freedom, with the search for the identity of a person and a people... The tables sometimes change.
Summary: The legend of the wandering Jew becomes an engaging and novel re-enactment of the tragic history of the Jewish people. A Jewish goldsmith is sentenced to immortality by Jesus when he denies him some water on his way to Calvary. In this way, the protagonist becomes an exceptional witness to the odyssey of the Jewish people, from the time of Jesus to the creation of the state of Israel. A people who have been expelled from their land, persecuted by Europe, exterminated viciously.
His personal drama, the loneliness that accompanies him until the arrival of the Messiah again allows him to rest, takes him on an exciting journey from the XNUMXst century to the present day: a journey through time dotted with characters as relevant as the Catholic Monarchs. , Oliver Cromwell, a "stinking" Karl Marx or a "phony" Sigmund Freud.
In this new novel, Vidal contributes his particular vision and original anecdotes about a hot topic—the people of Israel, their demands, their controversial state—and his great knowledge of such exciting topics as the Kabbalah or the false messiahs.
The Pope's daughter
Not Daddy's daughter. And this story already points to its transgression when you discover that you are reading it well. A Pope and his daughter as an excuse for an interesting historical plot that includes all kinds of stories about power, passions, confrontations, in a Europe that was leaning towards the Enlightenment and where everything was possible, until the Pope had a daughter .
Summary: Rome, 1871. cavaliere Di Fonso is summoned by the government that has just unified Italy to examine a manuscript of extraordinary value, kept until then by the Jesuits. Di Fonso soon discovered that the text was drawn up in the early sixteenth century, a time when Italy was torn apart by clashes between powers such as Spain and France and by the intrigues of the papal court, subjected to a Spaniard of the family. Borja crowned with the name of Alexander VI.
The manuscript is also the last letter written by Lucrezia Borgia, the very daughter of the Pope, to Pietro Bembo, the humanist who created the Italian language, reminding him of a love lived by both long ago. Could that document be used to undermine the power of the Catholic Church in the new Italy?
Does it contain information that is likely to favor the new holders of power in the peninsula? Does it have a relevance that goes beyond mere literary and historical interest? Di Fonso will dedicate himself to the task of answering these questions, and thus will find revelations buried in silence for centuries because of the interest of the State.
The pope's daughter it is a vigorous, documented and entertaining portrait of Renaissance Italy in which the pontiffs were warrior princes and patron protectors; in which the sages endeavored to reconcile the Greek and Latin classics with the New Testament; and in which the most spiritual groaned for a Reformation that would purify the Church of centuries-long sins.
It is thus another masterful novel by Cesar Vidal in which we approach love and death, ambition and beauty, friendship and power.
