The Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud by Julia Navarro

Since the highly controversial ‘Da Vinci's Code’ was unleashed to the public (which ironically helped to propel the book to astronomical heights), I couldn’t help noticing the surfacing of many ‘similarly themed’ novels (religious thrillers if you want) in the bookshops. I’ve always dismissed them as ‘copycats’ trying to cash in on the success of Dan Brown’s bestseller. I’ve managed to stay away from them until I was suckered in to read ‘The Righteous Men’ by ‘Sam Bourne’ recently. Needless to say, it wasn’t as good as the review on the book’s back cover claimed.

Whoever originally invented the oft repeated saying ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ was right on the money – except that it would probably be more relevant nowadays to say ‘don’t judge a book by its back cover’ - the claims they make! That was when Julia Navarro’s ‘Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud’ caught my eyes. I decided to give it another try – and I am extremely glad. ‘Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud’ is a ‘religious thriller’ of the highest order, with an intelligent and complex plot and one I believe that will NOT offend any Christian friends.

I first read about the Holy Shroud of Turin when I was about 14 years old in a book titled ‘The Encyclopedia of Unsolved Mysteries’ by Colin and Damon Wilson. The book was responsible in introducing me to many of the still unsolved mysteries in the world, like ‘The case of the Devil’s Footprint’, ‘The Bermuda Triangle’, ‘Mystery of Caspar Hauser’ ‘The Mysterious Disappearing Men on the Lighthouse Eilean Moore’ and “The Ghost Ship Mary Celeste’, – to name a few. Some of the stories were chilling, especially since they are not fiction and I do remember them till today.

One of the most interesting features in the ‘encyclopedia’ was that of the mysterious image of a bearded man that can be seen in the Turin Shroud, which for the uninitiated is what many believe to be the image of Jesus Christ himself. The Shroud was supposedly the same cloth that was used by Joseph of Arimathea to cover the body of Jesus shortly after he was crucified.

Some people believe that the image appearing on the Shroud occurred as a direct result of the Resurrection of Jesus after he was crucified. The Shroud, for some is one of the most significant religious artifacts in the world while for others it is but a proof of excellent medieval hoax that’s blown way out of proportion. The Shroud and its history is the basis of Navarro’s novel and it involves such colorful characters as the Italian 'carabinieri' (which refer to members of the military who also perform police duties), a high profile reporter and clandestine organizations like the Knights Templar.

The book begins in Edessa (presently known as Darfur) where the Shroud was first brought to its leper king shortly after the crucifixion of Jesus. The king is miraculously healed of his disease and thus begins the Shroud’s journey into history that involves conspiracies and adventures that spans centuries and countless locations around the world. The story moves interchangeably from history to the present day, where we follow the investigations of the Art Crime Department led by Marco Valoni following a fire that occurred in the Cathedral of Turin where the Shroud is being kept (the fire mentioned really did happen in 11th April 1997). Though the fire does seem like an accident which resulted from negligence, Valoni believes that the fire was somehow directly related to the Shroud and hence begins an arduous investigation with his team of highly trained policemen, computer experts and an art historian.

What follows are about 500 pages of Shroud history, conspiracy theories, scientific explanations, a peek into the life of colorful European high society and some interesting attempt (some fiction, some not) at explaining the phenomenon that made the Shroud of Turin such an unmatched and interesting piece of historical artifact that exist today – hoax or not. All that and some drama thrown in as well. Navarro has definitely done extensive research on the history of the Shroud and on the Knights Templar in specific, whose story had captivated the imaginations of many for generations and is closely linked with the Shroud. For someone that would have some knowledge on the history of the Shroud, this is an extremely interesting story to read. However, it is definitely not a prerequisite. If anything, by the end of the book you would probably know everything there is to know about the holy Shroud of Turin. If reading works of fiction ever meant to teach you something other than just providing pure escapism, Julia Navarro’s ‘Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud’ is definitely a book to read, especially for medieval history buffs such as myself.

Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight

Everyone and his brother already knows how good Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight is, so it'll be no easy task to try and not take part in the "how many different words and expressions can we use to praise this movie" contest. Yes, it's THAT good. My only beef is that Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine did not get enough screen time. That was a real waste of talent.

What I really liked about the movie though, was its White Knight. In literature classes, teachers often stress upon how "round" characters are often the most interesting if not the most important aspect in any story. Bruce Wayne was that character in "Batman Begins". In "Dark Knight", that phenomenon was Aaron Eckhart's Harvey Dent. Sure, Heath Ledger's Joker will be talked about for years and will have a cult following of its own partially due to the tragic events that befell the actor, partially due to a brilliant performance. Ledger's Joker was an extremely edgy and scary character, perhaps even one notch above Jack Nicholson's "shining" interpretation years ago. Still, the Joker is not a "round" character. It was established from the very beginning that he was just bad to the bone naturally, a fact pointed out by Alfred in his story about a jewel robber and his motivations. The Joker was simply beyond redemption.

Harvey Dent, on the other hand was a character that was looked upon as a real savior of Gotham, one that could actually go about (and daring enough) to try saving the city without a mask. A genuine good guy with almost no grey areas to be manipulated by the other side. Fans of the Batman comics (or even those who have watched the Joel Schumaker directed neon "mess" with Val Kilmer and Tommy Lee Jones) know Dent is doomed from the beginning. The only difference here is that you actually care for Harvey Dent because he really is all that - a personification of chivalry itself. Be it due to Nolan's effective script or Eckhart's convincing acting, Harvey Dent's character was wonderfully painted. Unfortunately, it will perhaps be one of the most underrated performance in this movie that almost nailed to perfection certain aspects of film making - acting, special effects, camera work, script and direction.

When the inevitable change in Harvey Dent comes, you cringe because you almost wished it wasn't going to happen. The effects were extremely good, and when you see the other "half" of Harvey Dent, you can actually feel the pain he must be in. Then you realize the pain of his "real" loss was even greater, hence the fall from grace was almost natural with the Joker playing his part in manipulating Dent's emotional tipping point effectively.

Dark Knight really scores big!