"superb historical fiction"
After leaving Brazil for Portugal and gaining financial
sponsoring in Lisbon, by 1731 Bartolomeo Louren is ready to
test his airship, the Passarola in front of His Majesty
Joao V. However, Bartolomeo's flying machine angers
Cardinal Conti who believes that if man was meant to fly,
God would have given Adam wings. With the force of the
Portuguese Inquisition, he forces Bartolomeo and his
younger brother Alexandre to flee via their airship to
France. French King Louis XV supports Bartolomeo's efforts to
improve on the Passarola as the enlightened monarch sees
great military advantage in fighting enemies on the ground
from the air. Meanwhile the Acadmie des Sciences hire the
siblings to measure distances to the polar circle, which
they undertake. On the dangerous trek, Alex claims to have
seen a great city, but no proof is offered and his older
brother admits he never saw the phantom sprawl. After a
return to France, Alex goes home to Brazil as the
adventures are over for him, but Bartolomeo starts a new
epic in India. Based on the real account of two eighteenth century
brothers, PASSAROLA RISING is a superb historical fiction
novel that brings to life the first half of the eighteenth
century through the passion of siblings who want to soar
through the sky. The tale is told in a look back memoir
like manner by Alexandre, who romanticizes and worships his
creative talented and daring older brother. Readers will
enjoy the adventures of two daredevils defying church,
royalty, and other powers of society to live out their
dream even though for one of them it turns into a
relatively short fantasy. Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted May 24, 2006
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted January 18, 2007
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A dazzling literary debut that will appeal to fans of Life of Pi, and a delightful fictional journey through the best and worst of Enlightenment Europe. This charming tale of adventure opens in 1731 with the launch of the Passarola, a peculiar airship, from the ramparts of a castle in Lisbon. Invented by Bartolomeu Lourenço to escape the intellectually stultifying climate of Portugal, the airship whisks him and his brother Alexandre away as they travel from the salons and bordellos of Ancien Régime Paris to the desolate far reaches of the North Pole in search of scientific truth. Leaving behind their parents in Brazil and Alexandre’s beautiful love interest, Maria, a lady-in-waiting at the Portuguese court, they encounter some of the most colorful characters in eighteenth-century Europe, from the loquacious Voltaire to the irascible King Stanislaus of Poland. But their valorous quest for knowledge is threatened by the condemnation of Portugal’s Cardinal Conti, who views their scientific quest as a heresy. Filled with evocative period detail, Passarola Rising is a deftly handled picaresque tale that also touches upon the nature of truth and fraternal companionship. It is sure to captivate fans of the adventure tales of Jules Verne as well as readers of the quirky, inventive novels of Haruki Murakami and Yann Martel. Genre: Literature and Fiction: Historical Fiction
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