The Name of this Book is Secret

"The Name of this Book is Secret" (2007) is a fantasy novel by Brown Little under the pen name Pseudonymous Bosch. It chronicles the adventures of two children, Cass and Max-Ernest, as they investigate the mysterious death of local magician Pietro Bergamo. The author claims that because the book revolves around a secret, the story itself is a secret, which is why the title cannot be revealed to the general public. Even the names of the characters are false names used to protect their identities. Bosch explains that the reason he is writing the book in the first place is because he can't keep a secret.He quotes,

"...But the real reason is nothing so glorious. It's very simple.I can't keep a secret. Never could.I hope you have better luck..."

Frequently during the course of the book he chastises himself for writing the secret, going so far as to change his mind and stop halfway through, only to bribe himself into completing the story. Bosch carries a resemblance to Lemony Snicket, the pen name used by Daniel Handler for his Series of Unfortunate Events books. A sequel is due for publication late 2008, under the name "If you're reading this, it's too late". You better read it if you want to know the secret.

Characters

Cass - Cass is the female protagonist of the story. She is always prepared for any disasters that may occur and carries with her a backpack filled with survival gear. The narrator frrequently refers to her as a survivalist. Although she prefers to think of herself as a loner, she allows Max-Ernest to collaborate with her on her investigation of Pietro's death.

Max-Ernest - Max-Ernest is the male protagonist of the story. His parents became divorced shortly after his birth because they couldn't decide whether to name him Max or Ernest. Despite this, they still live in the same house divided into two sections. Max-Ernest has a talking disorder that has caused his parents to take him to many doctors. Instead of inhibiting his speech, it makes him talk incessantly until someone stops him.

P. Bosch - Bosch frequently interrupts the story as its narrator, stating that he shouldn't have written the book, or editing out parts that are too "scary" to write in. He talks about his own life in relation to the adventures of Cass and Max-Ernest. In essence, he becomes his own character in the story.Ms. Mauvais and Dr. L - Ms. Mauvais and Dr. L are the two antagonists of the story. They seem to know the cause of Pietro's death and are desperate to find his journal, which contains the secret the book revolves around. Once they find out Cass and Max-Ernest have his notebook, they go to many lengths to take it from them. It is also revealed during the story that Dr. L is Pietro's brother after Cass discovers a birthmark of a crescent moon on the backside of his neck that is mentioned earlier in the book, Max-Ernest and Cass discover this when they are in a dungeon disscusing information with Dr.L.

The Dead Magician (Pietro)Pietro Bergamo is the magician, who was given "The Symphony of Smells" from Ms. Mauvais many years earlier. He also wrote the notebook, that Cass and Max-Ernest found, telling them about how he joined the circus. He had a brother, called Luciano, who was kidnapped by Ms. Mauvais. Although the narrator often refers to him as "dead" Cass and Max-Ernest receive a note from him in code using Max-Ernest's code cracker. Pietro's initials are used at the end of the note.

Plot

The plot of this story is the quest for a special box, the Symphony of Smells. This is a special box because it allows people who see music and hear colors to see colors. It has 99 glass vials containing oils and salts with every scent in the world in them such as said in the book "mint, lime, root beer, sassafrass, wet wool, old socks and freshly mown grass.", Cass & Max-Ernest depart on a lively journey to take this artifact out of Dr.L and Ms.Mauvais's evil claws.

"The Secret"

The Name of This Book is Secret is based on a discovery of a very dangerous secret, discovered by a court physician in Luxor, 1212 BC. 3 days after his discovery, he was executed either because he refused to tell the Pharaoh the Secret, or he did, and the Secret made him angry and demanded him to be executed. Before the court physician died, he wrote the Secret on a scrap of papyrus, and asked for the papyrus to be buried with him. And it was, until years later, when it was taken by tomb-raiders. Again, they died violent deaths. In the early 1800s, the papyrus was found, and taken to the Prague, where it was purchased by a curious antique dealer. He gave it to an Egyptologist for translation. The Egyptologist went mad, and the papyrus was never seen again. The antique dealer spent the rest of his life searching for the Secret, when he died alone, by a terrible flesh-eating virus. In the book, Dr L said,

"...It's a formula. It's many things..."

In Pietro Bergamo's notebook, there are torn pages. These pages possibly have some mention of "The Secret".