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A review by knuckledown
The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
4.0
I didn't enjoy this quite as much as The Shadow of the Wind, and it took me awhile to figure out why. At first I suspected that my memory of The Shadow of the Wind might be stronger than my actual experience of reading the book. Eventually I decided that was not the case. Instead, I think it was a simple matter of ease. Like or not, a story with a strong romantic element and a happy ending is going to be easier to absorb than a story with psychologically disturbing elements and an ambiguous ending.
That being said, I still liked this book a lot. Even in translation, Carlos Ruiz Zafon's prose is some of the most beautiful in contemporary fiction. He can render a mood like no other, and he truly understands the magic of books.
The first half was probably my favorite. I guess I enjoy reading the history of a fictitious writer in 1920s Barcelona. David is never the most cuddly of narrators, but he's easy to root for in the first act in particular. The introduction of his assistant Isabella is the book's most optimistic and entertaining portion. Perhaps one problem that I had with novel's progression was that Isabella always felt so much more alive to me that Cristina, who is supposed to be David's tragic love. Honestly I never felt Cristina's appeal enough to want them to be together.
I know I will continue thinking about this book in the days and weeks to come. After finishing it, I had to flip through it again, looking for remembered passages and making sure I had all the pieces fit together correctly. For me, that is a mark of quality writing.
That being said, I still liked this book a lot. Even in translation, Carlos Ruiz Zafon's prose is some of the most beautiful in contemporary fiction. He can render a mood like no other, and he truly understands the magic of books.
The first half was probably my favorite. I guess I enjoy reading the history of a fictitious writer in 1920s Barcelona. David is never the most cuddly of narrators, but he's easy to root for in the first act in particular. The introduction of his assistant Isabella is the book's most optimistic and entertaining portion. Perhaps one problem that I had with novel's progression was that Isabella always felt so much more alive to me that Cristina, who is supposed to be David's tragic love. Honestly I never felt Cristina's appeal enough to want them to be together.
I know I will continue thinking about this book in the days and weeks to come. After finishing it, I had to flip through it again, looking for remembered passages and making sure I had all the pieces fit together correctly. For me, that is a mark of quality writing.