Subject: Postview: "The Memory Cathedral" by Jack Dann

From: [email-masked] (pm agapow)
Date: 28 Jul 1999 13:13:45 -0400

Review: "The Memory Cathedral" by Jack Dann
	A Postview, copyright 1999, p-m agapow

We know Leonardo da Vinci as the world's greatest inventor, reclusive and
brilliant.  But this is a story of his youth, of his missing years when a
lost love and a missing charge lead him across the world to engage in a
horrible foreign war.

I expected many things upon reading "The Memory Cathedral," but I didn't
expect to find out Leonardo da Vinci was such a babe-magnet, or that the
history of the 15th century had so much to do with him needing a shag.  I
guess chicks really dig those prototype helicopters and chapel roofs.  Who
would of thunk it?  Seriously, this novel has collected a swag of praise,
including the Nebula and Aurealis awards, but I honestly don't think it's
very good.  This is not necessarily a criticism of the award process or
the judges, but at the very least it is a warning that other readers might
also be unmoved by this novel's merits.  Furthermore, hard-core genre
addicts will be puzzled by the classification of this novel as science
fiction or fantasy, as it contains barely any fantastic elements, nor does
it deeply explore those that it has.

The scenario is this: da Vinci is a young man, still struggling as an
artist and yet to be known for his inventions.  Illegitimate, he is
powerless to pursue the woman he loves, and at the whim of the rich and
powerful.  Caught between warring clans, civil disruption and a false
accusation, da Vinci flees Italy.  Drawn into a foreign war by a
kidnapping, he pursues missing friends across Asia Minor, unleashing his
inventions as destructive weapons.

A huge amount of work goes into historical novels, even ones that fill in
the gaps like "The Memory Cathedral" does.  But the end result here is not
an illumination of a time or person, or even an account of an interesting
piece of history.  Instead what we have is an airport lounge novel, a
potboiler.  The comparison that comes most immediately to mind are Colleen
McCullough's "Caesar" novels, works that clearly required a great deal of
research, but in the end are just bodice-rippers, "Dynasty" in togas.  I
don't doubt the that went into "the Memory Cathedral," but it isn't Art,
or even art.

How do I come to this judgement?  Perhaps it's because the book fails to
convince the reader that the skirt-chasing, lovelorn Leonardo and his
world are the same as our da Vinci and 15th century Italy.  Certainly the
story doesn't seem to have been inspired by the facts of da Vinci's life
but to have been superimposed upon it.  A symptom of this is namedropping,
the introduction of historical characters for no reasonable plot or
dramatic purpose.  Da Vinci has placed in his charge a young boy, Niccoli
Machiavelli, who will later become the famed Italian statesman and author
of "The Prince."  The reasons for the boy being given to da Vinci and da
Vinci's later obsession with him are slight.  His identity is irrelevant
to the story, for he seems to have no family, his later personality is not
reflected in the child, nor conversely do the events of the book explain
his later career.  This character placement is revealed in the afterword
to be blatant, when the author admits that Machiavelli was in fact too old
to play this role.  In other words, it could be any young boy for all the
difference it makes, at no point did it need to be Machiavelli and in any
case could not have been.  Likewise, da Vinci travels on board a ship, the
captain happens to be Christopher Columbus.  This characterisation isn't
just unnecessary, it's distracting and lazy.

It's also difficult to identify with da Vinci as a character.  His genius
isn't reflected in hard work and research, he just comes up with
inventions (usually off-stage) and builds them.  No prototyping for this
man - he makes brash promises and carries them out.  When he build gliders
for an army to fly against a Turkish fort, it's unsurprising that the
scheme works.  Note that is about the only fantastic element in the whole
story, and it is recounted in a fairly mundane way.  After so many leaps
of faith, why should he be wrong now?  Leonardo's angst also becomes
overwrought, following the repeated gruesome deaths of his lovers and
friends.

By the end of the book therefore, it's all become a bit of a task, what
with the brilliant insights, the endless torment and parade of supporting
characters.  Should you read "The Memory Cathedral"?  It won't be a waste
of time, but one might hope for something more memorable, more remarkable.
Perhaps readers would prefer the more fantastic "Pasquale's Angel" by Paul
J MacAuley instead.  [**/ok] and primetime sitcoms on the Sid and Nancy
scale.

%A Jack Dann
%T The Memory Cathedral
%I HarperCollins
%C London
%D 1997
%P 575pp
%G ISBN 0 7322 5951 7
%O paperback, Aus 16.99

--
Paul-Michael Agapow ([email-masked]), Biology, Imperial College
"We were too young, we lived too fast and had too much technology ..."