[casinobonusfrees]

Keeping in mind that this book was at a time "a must read thing" with all the bad feeling it carries,i would be curious to know the impression it left on those who read it.
For my part,the good i felt after finishing it as become a less than average sensation.Somewhat artificial,and overdramatic,and it seem's that more and more of those mysteriously poetic title are coming about in the wake of this one.

[TaliaJack]

I think the book lives up well to the hype - and am looking forward to the 'prequel', which is due next April (in English).

Carlos Ruiz Zafon has a thoughtful interview in TMO magazine, in English, where he discusses both books:

"I never meant to write a sequential saga, or a series of sequels of sorts. The idea is to write stories around this literary universe centered around the cemetery of forgotten books, exploring this gothic, mysterious universe through different characters and storylines. As you say, perhaps it would have been more commercialy advisable to do that, to write a straight sequel and pick up the story where we left it, but it was never my idea to do so and I think it is more interesting to play around with the narrative spaces and lines to pull the reader into a fictional universe that plays by its own rules."

[Petwrenny]

I found it a bit of a disappointment I'm afraid, I thought it stagey and its mysteries and reveals all terribly obvious. It felt to me like it was trying a bit to hard to be meaningful, artificial and overdramatic are also terms I'd be quite happy applying.

Glad you liked it more Clovismonk and I hope the sequel is just as satisfying for you, though I fear I won't be joining you in exploring it.

[bettingonosports]

This book was a lot of fun, a brilliant gothic page turner, in spite of the unavoidable cliches. I think one needs to read such novels from time to time. It made me feel like I was ten again.

[Petwrenny]

This book was a lot of fun, a brilliant gothic page turner, in spite of the unavoidable cliches. I think one needs to read such novels from time to time. It made me feel like I was ten again.

I love a gothic page turner as much as the next man, and I certainly wouldn't want my own literary diet being nothing but highbrow literary fiction, but did you not think it was a bit long for its content?

My problem with it wasn't that it was a pageturner, I think that's a quality well worth appreciating on occasion and I do (I love Mickey Spillane for example), it was that it was huge but didn't really seem to need all the space it took. It felt a bit fat to me. Do you know what I mean at all, or did you not find that?

[Cd9JfGHR]

I can see why you might think it was too fat. I enjoyed it immensely but am willing to forgive a lot (in this case the cliches and, I thought, fairly predictable secret at the heart of everything) because good old yarns are so few and far between.

[Petwrenny]

You might also enjoy The Quincunx then, by Charles Palliser. I consider it extremely well written actually and not at all fat, but it's also a huge gothic extravaganza about a vast and complex Victorian feud over a disputed inheritance. If gothic pageturning yarns are to folk's tastes (and to be fair, the very phrase gothic pageturning yarn is inherently attractive), it's in my view as good as they come and probably worth checking out.

[Cd9JfGHR]

Oooooh - I'll check that out! Thanks!

[wllsqyuipknczx]

The Angel's Game is now out, already climbing the bestseller lists -- so time to bring this post forward with a report on part two of Zafon's four book project. Having read it and not The Shadow of the Wind, I would say it is both a worthy and expected follower to volume one of this four-volume project. Daniel Martin, a 17-year-old newspaper clerk, aspires to be a writer, starts by being a successful hack, meets a strange publisher and accepts a commission -- "intrigue, romance and tragedy" (those are Amazon descriptors) ensue.

Despite the crimes, the novel is more literary Gothic than action-packed thriller. Those who found the previous volume "fat" would have the same criticism here. Let's face it, books like this are designed for readers who don't read a lot of books but when they do "wish they will never end" -- a thought that doesn't apply to people who read a lot of books.

I've reviewed the book in more detail on my blog. I characterize it as "a summer book" -- great for the cottage. And I don't think I wasted my time, although (just as I suspect Max Cairnduff will feel no need to read this book) I don't think I will be going back to reread it or read The Shadow of the Wind soon. Entertaining and readable as it was, I've had enough for now.

[Zugaxxsn]

when they do "wish they will never end" -- a thought that doesn't apply to people who read a lot of books.

speak for yourself mate. i think that quite frequently.

[wllsqyuipknczx]

speak for yourself mate. i think that quite frequently.

A most suitable correction of my statement. I was trying to link "books like this" with the thought and the sentence does not do that. Now if you read this book and don't want it to end, please post again. (Having said that, of the books that I have read so far this year, I would say less than five per cent fit the "never end" criteria -- for me, part of a good book is the author knowing when to end it.)

[Xxedxevh]

It made complete sense to me, Kevin.

[sbgctsa]

Just finished The Shadow of the Wind and on a whole, I'm pretty happy with it being my first Holiday Read (TM) of the year. It's definitely a thriller, a pageturner as they say, with healthy doses of sex, violence and... OK, no rock'n'roll, but used books are kind of like rock'n'roll and there's a lot of those in it too. But it's a thriller written the way I wish more thrillers were; by a writer who might not be a genius but knows his craft, who can bring a setting and a character to life, make you smell the dusty old pages or the fresh blood, and keeps you turning the pages not by having a cliffhanger on every fifth page and killing someone else every time he runs out of plot, but simply by setting up a complex plot and then letting it unfold bit by bit. Oh, and I like the fact that he sets it in a fascist dictatorship just a few years after a very divisive civil war but doesn't make a huge deal of it, just lets it seep through without constantly spelling it out for the reader; it's become normal to the characters, after all. And while it's not exactly Pereira Declares, it touches upon the literature-as-resistance plot but turns it into something more personal than political. Plus, lots of gothic horror novel influences too, can't complain about that.

That's the good news. The bad news? Well, like others have said, it goes on a little too long for an ending that's a little too predictable. That comes with the territory, I guess. And while some of the characters are nicely drawn, others - in particular the women - seem like pawns, prizes or plot devices in the boys' game a little too often. (It feels a bit a propos that one of the major clues is sold for the price of a prostitute.) But hey, it's a machismo culture and of course that's part of the plot too, so I'll overlook that. What's worse is Zaf?n's tendency to switch narrator when it fits the story; he stays in first person for most of the book, but at times he cannot figure out a way to develop the backstory and just goes into omniscient third for a few pages until we're up to scratch. It yanks me out of the story, reminds me that it's just a story after all, and I'm not too fond of that.

Maybe that's a little unfair to Zaf?n; after all, with all the weird coincidences and generally blurred lines between the story itself and the stories within it, we might just have a slightly unreliable narrator here (we'd almost have to, or there would be some things that just don't add up). Maybe the book is (or tries to be) smarter than it looks; maybe I should have kept a cooler head than the weather permits, and not let the Barcelona fog trick me. But for now, it's a ; thoroughly enjoyable pageturner, no less, but probably no more.

[Petwrenny]

I've never really understood the concept of holiday reading, why would i want to read something worse just because I'm on holiday? If anything, I tend to read heavier stuff on holiday, as I have the time.

Kevin's quite right though, the sequel isn't tempting me.

[Giselle]

I've never really understood the concept of holiday reading, why would i want to read something worse just because I'm on holiday? If anything, I tend to read heavier stuff on holiday, as I have the time.

Kevin's quite right though, the sequel isn't tempting me.

It depends, if I'm at the beach I sure want to read a thriller or something "lighter". If I'm at a mountain or a lake, it could be both. If I have vacations and I'm only at home, that's where I take advantage to read something more complex or a long book so I can dedicate it a lot of time.
For example I'm waiting for Christmas holidays for reading 2666, mainly because of its extension.
It's a question of likings, sometimes I want something ligther, but not worse.

[sbgctsa]

I've never really understood the concept of holiday reading, why would i want to read something worse just because I'm on holiday?

I don't necessarily understand it either (I'm usually more prone to reading thick Russian 19th century novels over the summer) but it seems like the kind of book a lot of people do read while on holiday, so I thought I might as well squeeze it in.

[Giselle]

I just finished the novel and I have to agree with pretty much everything that Bjorn said about it.

It is a consistent thriller, a page turner that always keeps you on suspense about what is going to happen, but nothing more than that.
What I would highlight about the novel is the construction of a gothic novel that Ruiz Zaf?n tries to depict in the whole story, and which personally I think he achieves very well. The environment is always right, surrounded by old huge shadowy mansions, gloomy streets at night and enormous libraries of old used books. I think this is the main aspect of the book and for which I'm going to remember it.

About the narrator, in someway it's true what Bjorn said about feeling the change of narrator in some episodes. The truth is that the main story is told by Daniel Sempere, and when you say it goes to a third person, basically is because Zafon gives voice to other characters who are telling their stories, adding more to the construction to this long and very well detailed story. Is not that complex, I could summarize it in just a few lines, but that another skill by the author, who is giving you in a paused way the information you need to keep on building the story and turning the pages very quickly.

An excelent thriller, and a good book. Same rating that Bjorn gives it.

[Tribas4u]

I'm sorry I post here so infrequently, for an Englishman on the continent I really need to get reading the translations more. Anyway, I feel like I need to build up a presence prior to the WLF Smackdown (er, I mean Book Club) and I've had my Calvino ready to go while I polished this off, so here are my thoughts - with a few SPOILERS.

I enjoyed The Shadow of the Wind while I was reading it, but almost from the start it was obvious what was going on. It didn't really matter at the time, but: vanished author, book burning, mysterious burned stalker - at page 40 out of 503 you know it all. The rest is still good: the story manages to crackle along even if it is somewhat longer than it need be; with few exceptions Zaf?n paints his lively characters with clear and vivid strokes, and the action and emotion pound away at the stomach and ribcage - but you already know it all. So part of the enjoyment has to come from the filling in of details, some of which I didn't see coming, rather more I did; and yet much of the technique behind this, while in tribute to a well-loved literary style, seemed clumsily handled. The paralleling of Daniel's life with Carax's, too close, too obvious. The vital confession unveiling, for the protagonist at least, all, too omniscient, too convenient - and, for this reader at least, far too late. As for the funereal procession of codae bringing up the rear - too Tolkien.

As I say, I think Zaf?n writes well, but for what audience I am not sure. From early on I wondered to myself, am I reading Young Adult fiction here but have simply not been told? Some of the content challenged this impression, but only just - the sex just a shade too much, the violence just a little prolonged, perhaps one relationship reveal a touch beyond the pale - while otherwise it seemed comfortably, even admirably appropriate for younger readers, exposing them to a coming of age story wrapped in a rich and unfamiliar world and a worthy bound beyond the fare of Harry Potter. In the author bio, I find that Zaf?n published four successful YA novels prior to this one - and that is I think what this is, cleverly marketed to the rest of the adult world as an accessible romantic thriller.

So well done. If those who read The Angel's Game come back and say the writing of Carlos Ruiz Zaf?n has itself come of age, I will give it a try. If it is more of the same, perhaps I'll not. There are so many books in the cemetery it might be fairer to look elsewhere. We only needed one copy of a Carax after all.

[Giselle]

As I say, I think Zaf?n writes well, but for what audience I am not sure. From early on I wondered to myself, am I reading Young Adult fiction here but have simply not been told? Some of the content challenged this impression, but only just - the sex just a shade too much, the violence just a little prolonged, perhaps one relationship reveal a touch beyond the pale - while otherwise it seemed comfortably, even admirably appropriate for younger readers, exposing them to a coming of age story wrapped in a rich and unfamiliar world and a worthy bound beyond the fare of Harry Potter. In the author bio, I find that Zaf?n published four successful YA novels prior to this one - and that is I think what this is, cleverly marketed to the rest of the adult world as an accessible romantic thriller.

That's correct, before publishing the Shadow of the Wind, he published three novels for young adults, The Prince of Mist, 1993, Midnight Palace 1994 and September Lights 1995.
After this, he published Marina, 1999, which is the one that inaugurates his Barcelona cycle which continues with the Shadow of the Wind.
So I think it's normal you still can see some strokes of yound adults novellas in his writings.
I would give it a chance to The Angel's Game, but it will have to wait for me being at the beach and avoiding everything that could puzzle my mind.
What we all agree is that this is a very entertaining three stars thriller.

[Tribas4u]

I would give it a chance to The Angel's Game, but it will have to wait for me being at the beach and avoiding everything that could puzzle my mind.

All things going well, I will be on a Sicilian beach in ten days time, but my holiday reading will be Toni Morrison's A Mercy (of who's work I've read nothing to date) followed by Clive Cussler's Medusa (of who's work the less said the better). I'm mini-reviewing both for the free EngLang paper InMadrid. My price? Dos ca?as, m?s o menos...*

What we all agree is that this is a very entertaining three stars thriller.

Apparently so!

* and with that I'm pushing the envelope of my Spanish vocabulary. Shameful.