Speaking to a few avid readers and book lovers (like myself) made me hear the name "Carlos Ruiz Zafon" quite a few times accompanied by some good comments and reviews on his many famous books. The first book of his I got to read was "Marina" and I enjoyed it a great deal - but in my honest opinion it wasn't what I consider an outstanding book. It was a good read, pleasurable and a bit different from the kinds of books I had been reading lately (Zafon has a thing for the supernatural/fantasy story kind of deal). It was good as I finally got to know a bit of his writing style and I no longer was totally in the black when I heard something about him/his books and could give my humble opinion. Very humble indeed as I had actually read only one of his books. And so then last week I picked up his latest book "The Angel's Game" and came to like both the author and his style of writing even more than I had before when I read "Marina".
This time I was able to really get pulled in by both characters, plot and story and got that amazing (and one of my favorite) feelings that I was in the book's grasp and would only be let free once the last page was closed and done.
This book also included a lot of fantasy, underworld and surreal instances - but that just added to the suspense and instigated me to go on further and further through the book to discover what lay behind it all. Well written, well thought of - I'm a fan!!!
Wikipedia on "The Angel's Game"
The Angel's Game (El juego del ángel, 2008) is a prequel to 2001's The Shadow of the Wind by Spanish author Carlos Ruiz Zafón. Like The Shadow of the Wind, it was translated into English by Lucia Graves, daughter of the poet Robert Graves, and published in 2009.
The Angel's Game is set in Barcelona in the 1920s and 1930s and follows a young writer, David Martin, who is approached by a mysterious figure to write a book. The novel returns to The Cemetery of Forgotten Books in Barcelona's Raval district, and the Sempere & Sons bookshop, from The Shadow of the Wind.
In the next book of the series "The Prisoner of Heaven" we hear that Davíd Martín was imprisoned in the Montjuic Castle in 1940. There he wrote the book "The Angel´s Game". We also find out that he is considered schizophrenic, talking to himself and characters who are not there. This leads to our conclusion that much of what appeared to happen in the book "The Angel´s Game" may not have happened, but could have been Martíns dreams/illusions/fantasies.
Reception[edit]
The Canadian Press's Maclean's Magazine placed The Angel's Game as number one for their top ten hardcover fiction books for the week ending July 7, 2009.[1] Marley Walker called it "Zafon's ambitious new historic melodrama."[2] USA Today praised The Angel's Game as "a multi-layered confection that combines undying love, magical realism, meditations on religion, the importance of books and a love affair with the vibrant city of Barcelona."[3]
Andrew Reimer said, "Here is more of the same from the author of The Shadow of the Wind " which "is bound to make his fans whoop with joy." However, he also added, "the climax of this new tale is a bit of a mess, with too many twists and turns and perhaps a few too many corpses."[4]
Aravind Adiga of The Age complained that there was "plenty that is ludicrous, cliched and schematic," but explained that "[l]overs of Barcelona will enjoy Ruiz Zafon's skillful use of that city's architecture--Gothic and Modern."[5]
