The last cat

The last canton is a novel written in an excellent way by the Spanish writer and journalist, Matilde Asensi. When a fictional book is able to combine historical events with suspense and high doses of adventure, the chances of commercial success are good. All those elements are present in this title.

In addition, the Alicante author turned the plot around a topic of unavoidable interest for readers in the Western Hemisphere: Christianity. Therefore, the result could not be otherwise: the "perfect formula" of a best-selling title. According to Editorial Planeta, Since its publication in 2001, more than 1,2 million copies of The last cat.

About the author

Matilde Asensi Carratalá was born on June 12, 1962, in Alicante, Spain. She has a degree in journalism, graduated from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, ​​although, From an early age he showed that his true vocation was letters. During his youth he worked for media such as Radio Alicante-SER, Radio Nacional de España and provincial newspapers The Truth e Information.

In 1991 he began working in an administrative position within the Valencian Health Service. In this way, he had enough time to write. For this reason, It is not appropriate to consider her a late writer, despite having published her first novel at the age of 37.

Thanks to his style, the Spanish writer has achieved position your books among the best sellers in recent years In the Iberic Peninsule. Martin Eye of Pcan, his latest trilogy is an unequivocal sample of it. It has stood out as a literary success in the networks and its sales are still valid in physical format and as an e-book.

Matilde Asensi books

Its literary premiere, El amber room (1999) and his next novel, James (2000), obtained good sales numbers. Although nothing comparable with The last cat (2001), a whole consecrating book nationally and internationally. Thus, The lost origin (2003) was a highly anticipated novel.

Controversy

Matilde Asensi's fourth novel was heavily peppered with controversy (even when Editorial Planeta defended it). Well Argentine chronicler and journalist Pablo Cingolani publicly accused her of plagiarism. Additionally, the anthropologist Álvaro Díez Astete —who appears within the work set mainly in Bolivia— also complained about alleged alterations in his statements.

All this lawsuit led to a lawsuit and a summons by the Bolivian justice to Asensi in 2006. The jurists and deputies of the South American nation considered that the Spanish writer had "violated the most basic property rights of Bolivia and the copyrights of the members of the Madadi Expedition."

Most recent posts

• Trilogy Martin Silver Eye:
  • Mainland (2007)
  • Revenge in Seville (2010)
  • The conspiracy of Cortés (2012)
• The return of the cat (2015); sequel to The last cat.

Argument from The last cat

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Asensi took for his third novel one of the crucial symbols of Christianity: the Vera Cruz. With the rise of Catholicism, the cross on which Jesus of Nazareth was crucified was smashed into small pieces. Which, would have been sent to different churches around the world, resulting in a capital offense for the Staurofílakes.

Se It is about a secret sect (fictitious) that emerged in the third century with the mission of recovering the fragments of the Vera Cruz and thus be able to rebuild it. As candidates progress through their initiation, older members make cross marks on their skin.

Summary

The caton

He is the leader of the Staurofílakes, he is in charge of organizing the various initiation rituals. Since the establishment of the brotherhood to the present, there have been 257 Cathons, elected by consensus after the death of the Regent Catholic. In the final test, the candidates are marked with Greek letters forming the word "STAUROS".

The novel begins with the discovery of an Ethiopian citizen with all the distinctive marks of the sect, who died in a wrecked plane. News of the accident reaches the Vatican. There, the ecclesiastical authorities have many suspicions due to the box full of pieces of wood found next to the dead man.

La Vera Cruz

The box with pieces of wood is especially suspicious because prior to the air incident several Christian relics had been stolen from churches. Despite the efforts of the Staurofílakes to remain hidden for centuries, in the Vatican they have not gone unnoticed.

Research

From the Holy See they decide to send Ottavia Salina, PhD in Paleography and History of Art, member of the Order of La Venturosa Virgen María. She is the director of the Vatican Archaeological Restoration Laboratory. Born into one of the most influential families in Palermo, Italy.

Along with the symbology expert is Kaspar Glauser-Röist. While the Swiss Guard captain's official job is to help with the investigation, his real assignment is to "remove the dirty laundry." Later, they are joined by the professor of the Greco-Roman Museum in Alexandria, Farag Boswell, a scholar in Byzantine Archeology. With whom Dr. Salinas will have a loving relationship.

La divine comedy

In order to clarify the facts and recover the fragments of the Vera Cruz, the researchers decide infiltrate the sect. Namely, go through seven admission tests (fatal, if failed) related to The Divine Comedy, the work of a — presumably — Staurofílake, Dante Alighieri. In fact, the nine circles of hell described by the Florentine poet turn out to be the keys to overcoming them.

Each test has a direct link to some capital sin and is carried out in a specific city. In this point, the author of the novel demonstrates her vast documentation on Christian symbols and different historical-religious elements. At the peak of the plot, the investigators face the cat after passing each of the tests and being rammed like Staurofílakes.

The doubts

The primary intention of the protagonists is to confront the catón and force him to return the stolen relics. However, when they check the quality of people who are the Staurofilakes, they begin to believe that perhaps the Vera Cruz he is better off in the custody of the sect.

In the end, Ottavia questions his own faith and family origins, due to his father's dark past. But not only Dr. Salina has transformed their way of thinking, Captain Glauser-Röist and Professor Boswell have decided to change themselves to find the longed-for paradise.