Amazon.com Review Book Description From master storyteller Carlos Ruiz Zafón, author of the international phenomenon The Shadow of the Wind, comes The Angelâs Game--a dazzling new page-turner about the perilous nature of obsession, in literature and in love.
âThe whole of Barcelona stretched out at my feet and I wanted to believe that, when I opened those windows, its streets would whisper stories to me, secrets I could capture on paper and narrate to whomever cared to listen...â
In an abandoned mansion at the heart of Barcelona, a young man, David MartÃn, makes his living by writing sensationalist novels under a pseudonym. The survivor of a troubled childhood, he has taken refuge in the world of books and spends his nights spinning baroque tales about the cityâs underworld. But perhaps his dark imaginings are not as strange as they seem, for in a locked room deep within the house lie photographs and letters hinting at the mysterious death of the previous owner.
Like a slow poison, the history of the place seeps into his bones as he struggles with an impossible love. Close to despair, David receives a letter from a reclusive French editor, Andreas Corelli, who makes him the offer of a lifetime. He is to write a book unlike anything that has ever existed--a book with the power to change hearts and minds. In return, he will receive a fortune, and perhaps more. But as David begins the work, he realizes that there is a connection between his haunting book and the shadows that surround his home.
Once again, Zafón takes us into a dark, gothic universe first seen in The Shadow of the Wind and creates a breathtaking adventure of intrigue, romance, and tragedy. Through a dizzingly constructed labyrinth of secrets, the magic of books, passion, and friendship blend into a masterful story.
Carlos Ruiz Zafón on The Angel's Game
Years ago, when I began working on my fifth novel, The Shadow of the Wind, I started toying around with the idea of creating a fictional universe that would be articulated through four interconnected stories in which we would meet some of the same characters at different times in their lives, and see them from different perspectives where many plots and subplots would tie around in knots for the reader to untie. It sounds somewhat pretentious, but my idea was to add a twist to the story and provide the reader with what I hoped would be a stimulating and playful reading experience. Since these books were, in part, about the world of literature, books, reading and language, I thought it would be interesting to use the different novels to explore those themes through different angles and to add new layers to the meaning of the stories.
At first I thought this could be done in one book, but soon I realized it would make Shadow of the Wind a monster novel, and in many ways, destroy the structure I was trying to design for it. I realized I would have to write four different novels. They would be stand-alone stories that could be read in any order. I saw them as a Chinese box of stories with four doors of entry, a labyrinth of fictions that could be explored in many directions, entirely or in parts, and that could provide the reader with an additional layer of enjoyment and play. These novels would have a central axis, the idea of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, set against the backdrop of a highly stylized, gothic and mysterious Barcelona. Since each novel was going to be complex and difficult to write, I decided to take one at a time and see how the experiment evolved on its own in an organic way.
It all sounds very complicated, but it is not. At the end of the day, these are just stories that share a universe, a tone and some central themes and characters. You donât need to care or know about any of this stuff to enjoy them. One of the fun things about this process was it allowed me to give each book a different personality. Thus, if Shadow of the Wind is the nice, good girl in the family, The Angelâs Game would be the wicked gothic stepsister. Some readers often ask me if The Angelâs Game is a prequel or a sequel. The answer is: none of these things, and all of the above. Essentially The Angelâs Game is a new book, a stand-alone story that you can fully enjoy and understand on its own. But if you have already read The Shadow of the Wind, or you decide to read it afterwards, youâll find new meanings and connections that I hope will enhance your experience with these characters and their adventures.
The Angelâs Game has many games inside, one of them with the reader. It is a book designed to make you step into the storytelling process and become a part of it. In other words, the wicked, gothic chick wants your blood. Beware. Maybe, without realizing, I ended up writing a monster book after all... Donât say I didnât warn you, courageous reader. Iâll see you on the other side. --Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Product Description From master storyteller Carlos Ruiz Zafón, author of the international phenomenon The Shadow of the Wind, comes The Angelâs Gameâadazzling new page-turner about the perilous nature of obsession, in literature and in love. âThe whole of Barcelona stretched out at my feet and I wanted to believe that, when I opened those windows, its streets would whisper stories to me, secrets I could capture on paper and narrate to whomever cared to listen . . .â
In an abandoned mansion at the heart of Barcelona, a young man, David MartÃn, makes his living by writing sensationalist novels under a pseudonym. The survivor of a troubled childhood, he has taken refuge in the world of books and spends his nights spinning baroque tales about the cityâs underworld. But perhaps his dark imaginings are not as strange as they seem, for in a locked room deep within the house lie photographs and letters hinting at the mysterious death of the previous owner.
Like a slow poison, the history of the place seeps into his bones as he struggles with an impossible love. Close to despair, David receives a letter from a reclusive French editor, Andreas Corelli, who makes him the offer of a lifetime. He is to write a book unlike anything that has ever existedâa book with the power to change hearts and minds. In return, he will receive a fortune, and perhaps more. But as David begins the work, he realizes that there is a connection between his haunting book and the shadows that surround his home. Once again, Zafón takesus into a dark, gothic universe first seen in the Shadow of the Wind and creates a breathtaking adventure of intrigue, romance, and tragedy. Through a dizzingly constructed labyrinth of secrets, the magic of books, passion, and friendship blend into a masterful story.
Mystical and beautifully writtenApril 26, 2009 Bookphile(USA) 66 out of 71 found this review helpful
Anyone who has never read Zafon really should. It's rare for an author to have a way with words as he does and what makes his ability all the more amazing is the knowledge that these are works in translation. I can only imagine what a wonder his books must be in their original Spanish and his writing is so beautiful that it makes me want to learn the language simply so I can read his works in the original.
I read and loved "The Shadow of the Wind" and when my husband asked me if this book was better, I thought for a moment and told him I thought it was as good. It's hard to really judge which is better as this work is quite different from "The Shadow of the Wind".
Part of what really drew me into this work were its uncanny similarities to the works of Poe. Zafon imbues the very city of Barcelona with such menace that it seems like a beast, hulking over its inhabitants. So many of the pages are suffused with a sense of dread and there are scenes in the book that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. There are definitely more elements of the supernatural in this work than I remember there being in "The Shadow of the Wind", but that's not to say that this is a ghost story.
At its heart, this book is about obsession. Zafon delves into some pretty heavy questions about the nature of human obsessions with everything from faith and religion to literature to love. In reading about David's obsessions, it is easy for the reader to reflect on his or her own forms of obsession. Zafon has created a deeply psychological work that leaves the reader wondering just how reliable David Martin's narrative really is. How many of the horrors that he experiences are the product of his own imagination?
His characters are complex and well-drawn and they exist in varying shades of gray. Even though David is the hero, it's difficult at times to really reconcile with his behavior. He is certainly a dark hero and this is a dark novel. Zafon excels at plumbing the depths of the human psyche, at examining the question of what it is that motivates us to act as we do. Some characters are more admirable than others but very few are pure of heart. They are like actual living, breathing people--usually propelled by their own desires and their own sense of self-interest.
This is truly a very dense work, one that will leave the reader thinking long after the last page has been read. Zafon's gift is singular and he rewards his reader with a story that will stick with him or her for a long time.
Back to the fantastical world of Shadow of the WindMay 3, 2009 sb-lynn(Santa Barbara, California United States) 21 out of 24 found this review helpful
I was delighted just now to read the interview Amazon posted with the author, Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I had no idea that that he had thought about writing one book about a fictional universe, and instead broke it up into four stories. Shadow of the Wind ("the nice good girl in the family") is one of those stories, and The Angel's Game, ("the wicket, gothic stepsister") is another.
There is such a wonderful and strange feel to both these books. If I were to try to describe the tone of The Angels Game, I would say it was like the movie Pan's Labyrinth, but with funny and witty repartee. (As much as that may make your head spin.) This world is eerie, dreamlike, and fantastical.
Short, no spoiler summary:
We return again to the dark, mysterious Barcelona of Zafon's imagination. Whereas Shadow of the Wind starts off in 1945, this story begins almost 3 decades earlier.
David Martin is a young journalist and aspiring novelist who works for a small newspaper that has "seen better days". He is befriended by a a wealthy coworker named Pedro Vidal, who sees the young man's potential and helps him get an assignment writing an action-packed series about the dark side of Barcelona.
David is not physically well, and he is in love with someone who may or may not love him back. He finds himself strangely drawn to a sinister towering residence, and he ends moving in. David also receives, and accepts, a lucrative offer from a mysterious publisher to write a book that will make people want to live or die. Things start to go wrong, people are dying, and David tries to find out what's going on.
And of course, we revisit that mystical, wondrous place, The Cemetery of Lost Books, as well as the Sampere and Son bookshop.
Lastly, there is an epilogue - which takes place in 1945. The same year Shadow of the Wind, begins. (And we see another example of how this story ties into that one.)
It is difficult to do a decent summary of this book, mainly because Zafon is such a masterful storyteller, and there is so much that happens. That is one of the reasons that this book gets 5 stars - because it is such a rich, amazing, imaginative, gothic world, replete with villains and heroes, joy and horror.
One of the things you may not realize, hearing the various summaries of this book, is that it is incredibly funny, and has some of the best banter I've read anywhere. Truly laugh-out-loud funny. That's part of what makes this such a fulfilling reading experience - you're laughing one moment and horrified at the next.
Also know that there is a wonderful "twist" in the story, that comes close to the end.
If I were to rate my favorite between Shadow of the Wind, and this novel, I'd have to pick the first one. (And you can read either book first - you don't have to read them in any order.) If I were to have any criticisms of this book, it's that the book can get a bit confusing in spots, and people are going to have varying opinions on whether or not they like how it ends.
In conclusion, I am thrilled knowing that there will be two more books in this series. I think Carlos Ruiz Zafon is a masterful good old-fashioned storyteller, and I anxiously await his next novel so that I can be transported back to this imaginative world that has completely charmed me. I rarely reread books, but I would like to to do that when this series is completed, so that I could have a greater appreciation of how they are all interconnected and part of one great story.
A dark incandescenceMay 12, 2009 switterbug(Austin, Texas United States) 8 out of 9 found this review helpful
In his follow-up prequel to Shadow of the Wind, Zafon continues to astonish me with his intoxicating prose and enigmatic story. He explores the more shadowy aspects of morality with a blend of valiantly Sphinx-like characters and cretins that go bump in the night. The pages flew. It is like he handpicked every word for flavor and saliency.
In 1917 Barcelona, David Martin is a struggling writer working for a second-rate newspaper in a third-rate position of employment. When the rich, talented Pedro Vidal opens doors of influence and opportunity for him, David embarks on a career of some merit, writing penny dreadfuls for the newspaper and maintaining a friendship with his new avuncular mentor and patron. Through Vidal, he meets and is mesmerized by Cristina Sangier, who is Vidal's secretary and the chauffeur's daughter. Subsequently, in an act of altruism toward Vidal, Cristina and David form a strong working bond with each other that becomes like an opera to a Gordian Knot.
David also becomes a mentor--to the young and wily Isabella, with whom he develops a deep fondness. She has native writing talent but no guidance. Their insouciant banter adds levity to the novel and acts as counterpoint to the melodrama. The eventual gravitas of Isabella's character will echo long after you close the pages of the book.
The pilot light and flame-thrower of the novel and David's nemesis is the sartorial and subterranean Andreas Corelli, the Jungian shadow of archetypes. He makes David a beguiling offer that will make him a wealthy man. It requires him to write a most extraordinary doctrine.
David is plagued by surreal and erotic dreams that take him through a labyrinth of streets, alleys, and dwellings. These dreams are more like Carl Jung's unconscious and subconscious states that impel David's character and intensify the sinuous story.
But rather than try and give a detailed description of this highly complex novel and its events, I recommend immersion. You will be hooked by page two, and a goner soon after that. The Angel's Game is like a Dali painting with Escher strokes, an amalgam of impressionistic and surreal textures overlaid with Penrose stairs. The city and streets of Barcelona is also a character with a visceral, beating heart. And, as in Shadow of the Wind, the bookshop of Sempere and Sons and The Cemetery of Forgotten Books figure importantly as touchstones for the protagonist and Rosetta stone for the story. Zafon, throughout the book, conveys that every book has a soul that deepens with each reader. The beauty of this belief reflects an enigmatic antagonism to patriarchal and suffocating religious beliefs and, I think, a lucid compass to his themes.
The ending is circumspect to some degree. But the more I meditate on it, and the deeper into my consciousness I go with it, the more it makes sense as a paradox--and a portal to Zafon's next magnum opus.
PS Lovers of this novel can expand their relationship to this story with its accompanying music! I was so happy to discover this. It has Zafons stamp of approval (it is part of the book's website). Google the book's website--I tried to leave it on my review but Ammy edited it out.
Dark and sinisterMarch 14, 2010 Lance Mitchell(Hampshire, UK, Northern Hemisphere, Planet Earth) 4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is the macabre and sinister tale of David Martín, a journalist who turns to writing books. Initially, these are regularly churned out, trashy stories, written purely for income. I won't tell where he progresses to, or describe any of the weird events that ensue, for fear of spoiling this wonderfully intriguing story for you. Suffice to say that this book is packed with action and mystery.
If you build an affinity with a strongly crafted character, then you are in danger of becoming quite depressed as you follow the exploits of unfortunate David Martín. He lives out his life in dull sepia. If anything could ever go wrong for the poor chap, it did. If he went to Heaven, St Peter would show him to the worst suite in the place and show him a bed of nails on which he may rest.
Despite all this, Martín's tale is so compelling that you cannot leave it until you have read to the last sentence of the book.
Although the events described in The Angel's Game precede those of Shadow of the Wind, there are clear connections between the characters and places which are featured in both books. The magical writing of Zafón is, once more, captivating. However, if I were to rank the two books against each other, I would say that Shadow would slightly edge it. There were times in this book when a discomforting feeling of boredom started to impinge on my enjoyment. Overall. It is a wonderful book and deserves five stars.
As compelling as Shadow of the Wind, but very differentMarch 21, 2010 Laurie A. Brown(SANDPOINT, ID USA) 4 out of 4 found this review helpful
The Angel's Game is set in the same gothic Barcelona that The Shadow of the Wind is, but earlier in time. A couple of the characters from Shadow are in this book. But this Barcelona is even darker than that of Shadow; where Daniel Sempere had his father and a few friends he could trust, David Martin, orphaned as a boy, has no one.
David hopes to be a writer. He gets his chance, and his writing is good, but he is not making much money and is a virtual slave to the publishers who hold his contract. When the mysterious publisher Andreas Corelli asks him to write a book for a huge sum, David accepts. The book is to be unlike any other- it's to help create a new religion. And then people start dying around David. Soon David finds himself in a Kafka-esque situation, beset on all sides, with no one being who or what they seem to be. You keep thinking things couldn't get any worse for this character, and then it does. David Martin's world is grim and ugly and bloody.
But despite it's darkness, this is a very compelling book. One can't wait to see what happens to this man next. There are a couple of characters who, despite being flawed, shine like beacons, lightening the mix. The complexity of the plot takes full concentration. I eagerly wait for Zafon's next installment in his Barcelona series.
CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED ‘AS IS’ AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME.
Years ago, when I began working on my fifth novel, The Shadow of the Wind, I started toying around with the idea of creating a fictional universe that would be articulated through four interconnected stories in which we would meet some of the same characters at different times in their lives, and see them from different perspectives where many plots and subplots would tie around in knots for the reader to untie. It sounds somewhat pretentious, but my idea was to add a twist to the story and provide the reader with what I hoped would be a stimulating and playful reading experience. Since these books were, in part, about the world of literature, books, reading and language, I thought it would be interesting to use the different novels to explore those themes through different angles and to add new layers to the meaning of the stories. 