I came across this book by accident. I am a fan of collecting and reading books and this one, along with Devil Bones, was the only one I didn't have. I came across it in Nashville almost by accident, with my sis pulling out the book and handing it over to me. Sometimes I think it's good that I always rave about my most recent interest, till another one comes along.
It's set in Israel, a place I haven't been to ... but have always wanted to go. Tel Aviv, Jericho, The Wailing Wall... they all seem so interesting. Cross Bones is set in Israel and centers around a skeleton named Max from a place called Masada. There is a bit of fact interlaced in the text in that there were actual skeletons found here in the early 1960s, many of which were not identified, though it was confirmed that they dated from around the period when Jesus Christ was crucified/or a little later. I came across the term BCE - before the common era, in this book. Now the main premise of part of the mystery is that there are some bones which could have belonged to Jesus Christ himself, but which have been hidden so as not to upset the dominant faith systems in place.
An interesting allusion made in this book is to the Da Vinci Code. I figured that it was humourous considering how many people around the world have read this book!!
Sorry, returning to my story, Reichs talks of faith in this book as well. Though not in detail and it almost seems like a capsule course in faith. In a para she says "Of the three great religions woven through the history of Palestine, all rely more on divine mystery and spiritual belief than on science and reason to establish their legitimacy. Historic facts have been given differing spins to make them mesh with favoured orthodoxy. Inconsistent facts are denied."
"The Torah, the Bible, the Koran. Each offers a recipe for spiritual contentment, for hope, for love, and for constrolling basic human passions, and each claims to have gotten the recipe straight from God, but via a different messenger. They're all just trying to provide a formula for orderly, spiritual living, but somehow the message gets twisted, like cells in a body turning cancerous. Self-appointed spokesmen declare the boundaries of correct faith, outsiders are labelled heretics, and the faithful are called upon to attack them. I don't think it was meant to be that way."
Like I said, capsule course. Belief is belief. It would be interesting to read Naipaul's Beyond Belief - his insight into the Islamic world.
That's just a thought though.
I have one more Kathy Reichs left, and I shall be done except for Devil Bones!! But now to discuss my next interest that I've developed, and that's reading works by Thomas Friedman.
Now if you think that I'm this crazy person who likes reading murder mysteries and the latest exploits of a forensic anthropologist, I would just like to say that I've always liked mystery - hence the title of my blog. But I love economics as well and I like reading books about current affairs. To me, everything links up to economics. Sometimes even in the fiction I'm reading, I'll be thinking about the economic angles.... Reading history for the civil services was interesting for me because I used to make the interlinkages.
I've started reading The Lexus and the Olive Tree, and it is well written and engaging. He has a very sound grasp of issues, though I can't imagine how a foreign correspondent can cover the WHOLE WORLD - it's such a big place!! But I do agree with him in that it sounds like it could be a contender for the best job in the world. Ofcourse Friedman thinks it is the best job in the world, but sometimes I feel I have that position... :) Sometimes I don't though :(.
So, he makes a number of observations and gives loadsa antedotes from his travels. Like the story about Japan and oranges. $22 for 4 oranges I think it was!! That's over Rs 1000!! You could feed a family in that amount in India!! Highway robbery!! Sometimes when I look at price differentials around the world I am amazed!!
So I'm reading a chapter a day, like I always do of the books I'm reading. I've noticed that it's a good way to finish a book and at the same time, feel personal gratification that you did something useful during the day. All goals should be quantified and this is one example. Instead of having a goal of - I will read everyday, say, I will read a chapter of my book everyday, or I shall read the Newspaper everyday from 8:00 to 10:00.
It really helps. So if anyone has a list - do sit and make it implementable. And I shall write more on Friedman when I finish the book!!
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