Wow! It's been so long since I have read a book that dominated my thoughts for a couple of days; a book that I thought was amazing. Luckily for me I just read The Lost Painting by Jonathan Harr. Jonathan Harr is mostly known for writing A Civil Action, which I enjoyed, but didn't find that it left me breathless the way that The Lost Painting did. The painting referred to in the title is The Taking of Christ by Caravaggio. Until the early 90s copies of the painting had been found, but the original painting had disappeared. Had it been destroyed, or was it lying in an attic somewhere, forgotten? The book follows several people, the octagenerian pre-eminent Caravvaggio scholar in the world, an obscure italian art restorer living in the artistic hinterland of Ireland, and a Roman graduate student in art history. Their lives eventually intertwine, but are separate for most of the narrative. The story really gets going with the graduate student, Francesca, looking for evidence about a different Caravaggio painting in a dark and moldy forgotten archive in Italy. She does find what she is looking for, but also finds previously unknown evidence about the Taking of Christ, that sets her to following the trail of the painting across Europe.

This incredible story is only made more amazing by the fact that it is true. It feels like a detective story, and Harr writes it to be an entertaining narrative. I have to say that I have little to no interest in the religious paintings of the European masters, but that didn't diminish my enjoyment of this book in any way. Ultimately, anyone who is passionate about anything will enjoy The Lost Painting. A Caravaggio might not move me to tears and drop me to my knees, but the love of art and the inspiration the lead characters derive from it comes through loud and clear. Despite my fairly neutral feelings towards European art, as I read the book, I really understood what it meant to these people to find one of the world's great lost treasures. Anyone who has ever discovered anything that has moved them will be captivated as they read this. The Lost Painting is the best book I have read in a couple of years.