Collector of Dying Breaths: si pudiéramos vivir más vidas

COLLECTOR OF DYING BREATHS

M. J. ROSE

Esta semana está siendo muy histórica ;o) 

Decidí leer este libro porque me apasiona el Renacimiento italiano y más si la novela incluye misterio, una obsesión prohibida y dos historias paralelas que suceden en tiempos y lugares diferentes.

"El coleccionista del último aliento", por traducirlo de algún modo, relata una misión rayana en la locura por capturar el hálito final de un ser humano en un frasco. Trata sobre la búsqueda de la inmortalidad a través de la alquimia más oscura y perfecta. En realidad, refleja el ansia de toda persona por agarrarse a la vida presente y por no perder jamás a los seres queridos que abandonan este mundo demasiado pronto.

Con una prosa bella y elegante, la autora relata en capítulos alternos la historia de René el florentino y Jac L'Etoil. En el Medievo francés, René es aprendiz de un monje obsesionado por preservar la vida en su laboratorio clandestino del monasterio. Casi a punto de perderlo todo, René acabará trabajando al servicio de Catalina de Medici. Resulta absorbente y didáctico aprender sobre hierbas, elixires, las costumbres de la época y las traicioneras políticas de la corte.

Por otro lado, Jac vive en la Francia actual. Ha crecido como co-heredera de un imperio del perfume aunque trabaja investigando mitos históricos y tiene un programa de televisión. Cuando la tragedia vuelve a abatirse sobre ella, se ve compelida a descubrir el secreto de un elixir que puede devolver el alma de una persona querida a la vida.

Aunque he echado de menos las anteriores novelas, es cierto que la autora repasa los acontecimientos previos de manera que sirva para hilar tanto su romance condenado a la destrucción como el poder de regresión a vidas pasadas que tiene Jac. Ha sido sorprendente y muy intenso asistir a esos episodios que recuerdan las reencarnaciones de Jac. Está vívidamente conectada al pasado de René y puede redescubrirlo a través de olores. Ella es una experta en perfumes y los ingredientes en que están basados. Y por eso es reclutada por una pareja de hermanastros ricos y excéntricos que quieren completar la investigación del elixir que comenzó el hermano de Jac.

La trama se despliega mediante una descripción pausada, pormenorizada y con un estilo rico e imaginativo. He aprendido muchísimas cosas sobre hierbas, laboratorios medievales y gabinetes de curiosidades. La Historia es un tesoro esperando ser descubierto, en serio. Los personajes son tremendamente interesantes, tanto los dos protagonistas como los hermanastros. Además, las reencarnaciones han sido un extra muy atractivo. Lo que no me esperaba y ha sido precioso aunque muy, muy dramático, es la doble relación amorosa. Tenemos la historia de Jac con un hombre que parece abocado a morir por ella. Y tenemos la historia de René con una dama alejada de su esfera social. Ambas son bellísimas. Aunque la relación de René me ha colmado de recuerdos dolorosos.

Vista de principio a fin, la novela es cautivadora, está llena de secretos y giros que son estimulantes, propone varias tragedias y vínculos románticos y obsesiones oscuras que dejan huella en la mente muchos días después de terminar la lectura.

MY OPINION

I wanted to read this book because I'm passionate about stories set on certain historical periods. Renaissance Italy is one of my favourite places and times. Then, I couldn't help myself when I found out that this book had two parallel stories that revolved around a perfumer and his quest to encapsulate life.

In an elegant, lush style that evokes rich images in the mind, the author introduces two lifetimes through a chain of alternate chapters. There is the man who delves in potions and esoteric fragrances in sixteenth century Florence. From humble origins and dire circumstances, René le Florentin strives to serve Catherine de Medici at the same time he longs to uncover the secrets of alchemy and capture a dying breath to pursue immortality.

And there is Jac L'Etoile, a mythologist who has grown up amidst perfumes renowned in present France. She has suffered the loss of her loved ones in different ways and is besieged by visions of past lives. The only way to survive is to find out why so many secrets haunt her.

It's a magnificent story that soothes the spirit thanks to the author's prose. It was a pleasure to read all those wonderful descriptions of beautiful houses, fragrant aromas and ancient alchemy. It is also enlightening in the way it brings to life the dark world of herbs and poisons, the twisted ways of the royal court, the mystic experience of reincarnation, and a deepening sense of lasting love.

What blew my mind was the coexistence of the parallel stories set in different times and places, both beguiling in their own way. I was especially pleased with the recounting of the perfumer's life and endeavours. And surprised by the tender and passionate romance that arises in both time lines.

Even though the author recapitulates what happened to Jac and her family in previous novels, I still missed having read those adventures before this one. Nevertheless, everything is explained in detail so nothing is lost and the new events can connect easily.

As I was reading, the romance wowed me. It's beautifully written in an explosion of feelings and colour and scents as intense as the most expensive perfume.

In the end, both stories come together in a heart-wrenching way. The immortality of the spirit achieved through the immortality of scents and elixirs that reach to us through the immortality of the words bound in those books we read and write throughout time. It's a beautiful circle.

The novel inspired me to search for more information about medieval laboratories and old cabinets full of secrets. Part of its captivating magic is how it unearths plenty of interesting facts from the past. And I appreciate for my mind to be surprised and intrigued by such unknown treasures.

Rife with dark deeds and sensuality, this novel tells a compelling tale with a gripping conclusion. Now, after I've finished it, I look back with pleasure at everything I've learned and also how much it made me suffer. It's a safe bet for readers who like historical mysteries, mystical love stories and tragic, passionate characters.

 M.J. Rose

"It is with irony now, forty years later, to think that if I had not been called a murderer on the most frightening night of my life, there might not be any perfume in Paris today. And that scent—to which I gave my all and which gave me all the power and riches I could have hoped for—is at the heart of why now it is I who call myself a murderer."

From The Collector of Dying Breaths “

 “When a woman is in the arms of a man she loves, in the dark of the night, 

the perfume she is wearing plays a very important role.” ―Jean-Paul Guerlain

About the Author...

M.J. Rose is the international best selling author of fourteen novels and two non-fiction books on marketing. Her fiction and non-fiction has appeared in many magazines and reviews including Oprah Magazine. She has been featured in the New York Times, Newsweek, Time, USA Today and on the Today Show, and NPR radio. Rose graduated from Syracuse University, spent the ’80s in advertising, has a commercial in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC and since 2005 has run the first marketing company for authors – Authorbuzz.com. The television series PAST LIFE, was based on Rose’s novels in the Renincarnationist series. She is one of the founding board members of International Thriller Writers and runs the blog- Buzz, Balls & Hype. She is also the co-founder of Peroozal.com and BookTrib.com.

Rose lives in CT with her husband the musician and composer, Doug Scofield, and their very spoiled and often photographed dog, Winka.

For more information on M.J. Rose and her novels, please visit her website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

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¿Qué os parece el tema de las reencarnaciones? ¿Habéis leído alguna novela sobre este tema?

Babel que recuerda haber vivido en Florencia.