THE CATAFALQUE

by Robert Goldston ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 13, 1957

A second novel (The Eighth Day) assembles a number of dissatisfied lives at the scene of an excavation in a small Spanish village, and while the narrative- on an external level- is largely concerned with the revelations and results of the dig, there is a good deal of concentric speculation as universal concepts are challenged, personal motives exposed. Wilfred Carrol, an archaeologist looking for Essenic relics, his two assistants- Hans Kreuger and Clopec, and his daughter, Stephanie, make up the expedition which De Vries, a former colleague of Carrol's, fears- and which Don Carlos, the local priest, permits. During the course of their stay there Carrol uncovers what he believes to be the death mask of Judas Iscariot, corroborated by some of the evidence of the Dead Sea scrolls. But before an official of the government appears- to appropriate the relics- other discreditable personal matters have been bared and tragedy closes in on them all.... Goldston, perhaps overly ambitious in pursuing many subterranean areas simultaneously, sparks some controversy for an audience which prefers to deal in the abstractions of argument. It is probably limited.

Pub Date: Jan. 13, 1957

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Rinebart

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1957

Categories: FICTION