Everything Under the Sky

OK, so some spoilers contained in the rant below, so on the off chance you intend to read it, maybe look at some reviews better than my 2 stars!


So there are some things going for this book - set in 1920s China, it is an interesting period, and the factual information contained in the novel is interesting and from what I could tell all accurate.
However there are number of problems for me, and as is often the case with a translated book, I don't know where the fault lies - author or translator.
This book is described as and Indiana Jones style adventure story and A thriller to open the eyes and stir the heart, but the writing is just so flat... there is no ebb and flow, there is no build-up of tension and no elation in the successes. It just reads so pedestrian, so even paced and flat. It is a totally linear story, and offered nothing to be considered later, explaining itself in full.(Well, except for the total implausibility).
Secondly the characters are all un-endearing and are hopelessly predictable in their development. They are so clichéd and obvious - the orphan boy who turns out to be a mathematical genius, the drunk Irishman, the pompous European woman who realises Chinese history and culture suggests they are not backwards people, etc
Thirdly the conversational communication is stilted and unnatural. Again I allude to the translation perhaps being the issue here, and the fact that there is a combination of languages used in the conversation (Chinese, Spanish, French and English - obviously all written in English for the reader in this case). However the way the factual information (the history and the culture of China) is presented conversationally is so unnatural that the translation cannot be solely to blame here...
And finally, the plausibility - nope, just not there. Yes, in an Indiana Jones style adventure story you expect some far fetched scenarios, some leaps of faith in the chance occurrences, some bullet-dodging, but you also expect the writing to assist with that. This book just takes the implausible in its stride, moving on and a constant pace, expressing no surprise at events... Just a straightforward linear exercise, the team solving a new two-thousand year mystery every 20 minutes...
As for the monologue of full disclosure at the end, in case the reader for some unknown reason hadn't already figured it out was a fitting end to a mediocre book.
A longer rant than normal, but I did invest a few days in suffering through this...