Where I Tone Down the Raving for a Book I Liked Better than I Let On

The Secret World of Christoval Alvarez by Ann Swinfen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this novel, and it succeeds on many levels. It is fun to read (my main criterion, actually), it deals with themes I care about, it has characters I enjoy knowing, and its well-rendered setting, besides lending the story additional realism, is an engaging source of information.

This is primarily an Elizabethan spy story with a young doctor drawn into the intrigue, which, come on, is good fun. The action is broken up by scenes of Christoval's life and work, which helps to ground the increasingly fantastic spy story. He has his own spoilery secrets which threaten to emerge, adding to the conflict and tension. As a character, Christoval is sympathetic and engaging, with a great backstory: his family is Jewish, from Portugal, forced to hide their religion and flee to England, and he has his own additional secrets. His skill as a doctor, a mathematician, and a musician is part of what makes his story fun--he gets to be awesome sometimes, which I love, watching him save lives and break codes. All within reason, though; He's still a teenager in a dangerous world, not a superhero, and the author does not forget that.

A number of interesting themes emerge through the course of the story. A central one is the place of religion in society. As one of the "hidden Jews," (referred to, uncomfortably, as Marranos, which is acknowledged as a slur but shows up in a casual way a number of times), Christoval is sympathetic to the Catholic conspirators who are forced to hide their religious beliefs in Protestant England. How can a citizen be blamed, he wants to know, for adhering to a religion that was once obligatory? Especially when it passed out of favor, then back in, then back out once more? His ambivalence about bringing such people to justice makes him more believable and sympathetic. Other themes are: wealth disparity (inevitably); the oppression of women; tradition's primacy over new knowledge; and the violence inherent in the system. ;) Happily, these are allowed to surface in a natural way, adding welcome depth to the novel.

The setting is nicely developed with convincing detail. I found it educational, and can only hope and assume the information is accurate. :) How would I know?

I am glad to recommend this novel to other readers. Such quibbles as I have are swamped by my approval, and I can say it was a pleasure to read. I recommend that I go look for sequels.

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