The Angel's Game

This is a thriller mystery novel about a novel. It's about writers and being in love with books. There is a lot of mystery and bits of supernatural elements. The Gothic parts are apparent in the mood and the use of buildings especially, which are always huge, dark and gloomy, if not dank, tiny and grimy.

I am almost done with it, but man is it a slog to go through. I found that I no longer care about the main character. I just want this story to end. The journey was more interesting than the destination let's just say. The revelations I feel did not warrant the trouble the characters went through solving it.

I like the B and C plots more, as I think the supporting characters are better people than the main ones.

I think I like the first book more.

- - - - -

So I just right now finished the book, and surprisingly, I liked the ending. It dipped at the part I was talking about earlier, and I still think that the plot wasn't resolved satisfactorily. Nevertheless, the Epilogue pulled things back together.

I still think the main character is unlikeable, and that's the point of that character, which makes him a 'good' character in the sense that his interactions with the other minor characters would be interesting. I hope I am making sense somewhat.

Overall, I am interested now in how things would proceed for that character. So if he still appears in the other books I would probably read those too.

My copy

Rhis is the third of the books I've read in [a:Carlos Ruiz Zafón|815|Carlos Ruiz Zafón|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1364011316p2/815.jpg]'s Cemetery of Forgotten Books series, and I've just realised that I've neglected to write reviews of the other two either here in GoodReads or on my blog.

I read [b:The Shadow of the Wind|1232|The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #1)|Carlos Ruiz Zafón|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344545047s/1232.jpg|3209783] first, followed by [b:The Prisoner of Heaven|13623012|The Prisoner of Heaven (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #3)|Carlos Ruiz Zafón|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1335994402s/13623012.jpg|18067409]. But since the books follow in a series, and share many of the same characters, I think I might need to reread them in the correct order.

There is something about Zafón's books that is reminiscent of [a:Phil Rickman|182452|Phil Rickman|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1292252234p2/182452.jpg], with the shared characters, and the undertone of fantasy and horror. The difference is, as I can now see, that Zafón's books need to be read in order, even though [b:The Angel's Game|22474439|The Angel's Game|Carlos Ruiz Zafón|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402880320s/22474439.jpg|41916978] is a kind of prequel to [b:The Shadow of the Wind|1232|The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #1)|Carlos Ruiz Zafón|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344545047s/1232.jpg|3209783].

In that respect they are more like [a:C.S. Lewis|1069006|C.S. Lewis|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1367519078p2/1069006.jpg]'s Narnia books, where it is better to read them in published order rather than the chronological order in the sequence of stories. Chronology is an obsession of modernity, and Lewis, in particular, was trying to lead his readers out of modernity into a mythical world.

[a:Carlos Ruiz Zafón|815|Carlos Ruiz Zafón|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1364011316p2/815.jpg] has a similar intertwining of the mythical and the modern, though in a somewhat darker and more adult way than Lewis.

Having said that, I'm not sure I can review [b:The Angel's Game|22474439|The Angel's Game|Carlos Ruiz Zafón|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402880320s/22474439.jpg|41916978] now. I think I will have to re-read [b:The Prisoner of Heaven|13623012|The Prisoner of Heaven (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #3)|Carlos Ruiz Zafón|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1335994402s/13623012.jpg|18067409] first, since I have forgotten most of the plot.

So for now let me just say for that the seres is about different generations of the Sempere family who run a bookshop in Barcelona, and the different generations of the family are introduced in turn to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, where they are invited to leave a book that has been, or is likely to be forgotten, and to take one forgotten book and read it. Behind this lurke the idea that the book has something of the soul of its author and its readers embedded in it.

This is an epic tale. Not as a fable, but more as a detective/mystery/friendship/love story. It is so well-written, that any cliché is useless against it. Sure, it contains a few usual pushes and pulls, common in detective stories, but for example, one quarter into the book, it goes into a completely (for me) direction than I expected, and it goes on like that. Not in a tiresome way, because the book really breathes; it allows the reader to go up and down and back and forth in great ways. And there's love. And people lovelorn:

Tomorrow, or perhaps the next day, I’ll write again to tell you that I love you, even if it means nothing to you.

‘I owe you much more than an explanation . . .’ ‘Then tell me about her.’ Vidal looked at me with desperate eyes that begged me to lie to him.

This is an epic tale. Not as a fable, but more as a detective/mystery/friendship/love story. It is so well-written, that any cliché is useless against it. Sure, it contains a few usual pushes and pulls, common in detective stories, but for example, one quarter into the book, it goes into a completely (for me) direction than I expected, and it goes on like that. Not in a tiresome way, because the book really breathes; it allows the reader to go up and down and back and forth in great ways. And there's love. And people lovelorn:

Tomorrow, or perhaps the next day, I’ll write again to tell you that I love you, even if it means nothing to you.

‘I owe you much more than an explanation . . .’ ‘Then tell me about her.’ Vidal looked at me with desperate eyes that begged me to lie to him.

This is an epic tale. Not as a fable, but more as a detective/mystery/friendship/love story. It is so well-written, that any cliché is useless against it. Sure, it contains a few usual pushes and pulls, common in detective stories, but for example, one quarter into the book, it goes into a completely (for me) direction than I expected, and it goes on like that. Not in a tiresome way, because the book really breathes; it allows the reader to go up and down and back and forth in great ways. And there's love. And people lovelorn:

Tomorrow, or perhaps the next day, I’ll write again to tell you that I love you, even if it means nothing to you.

‘I owe you much more than an explanation . . .’ ‘Then tell me about her.’ Vidal looked at me with desperate eyes that begged me to lie to him.

I got the ‘The Prisoner of Heaven’ as a Christmas present, promised it was the second installment of ‘The Shadow of the Wind’ series. Now that I finished reading the actual second installment, I’m not so upset that the blunder even occurred. I even advise readers to go through the series with the following order: ‘The Shadow of The Wind’ (TSOTW I), ‘The Prisoner of Heaven’ (TSOTW III) then ‘The Angel’s Game’ (TSOTW II).

Anyhow, you know you’re back in Zafon’s world when layers of dust and shadows interbreed in order to paint an archaic Barcelona, a city weighed down by dark secrets and darker souls.
TSOTW III ends with Daniel receiving a parcel David Martin has left him. The package contained a book, ‘The Angel’s Game’, and a letter from its author, none other than David Martin himself, explaining his motives, promising some answers. In the letter, David informs Daniel: “You’ll find some of the answers in this manuscript, where I have tried to portray my story as I remember it, knowing that my days of lucidity are numbered and that often I can only recall what never took place.”

I’ve started writing this review back when I was still in part one of the book. I was so absorbed by the storytelling of Zafon and the intricate melodrama of David Martin’s troubled childhood that I thought, well, nothing could vex me. Erroneous I was, because from the last pages of part one till the very end of the book, the story keeps taking a small yet inexorable steep. Slowly you become frustrated by the overlapping events and revelations, the metaphysics crippling in from here and there, and the mental state of the author that keeps on deteriorating.

The manuscript was supposed to give Daniel some answers. However, I don’t really see the point of it. Besides that it confirms that David and Isabella Sempre (Daniel’s mother) never made love discarding the possibility that David may be Daniel’s father, the whole idea behind it is wobbly. It doesn’t even provide Daniel with the true stats regarding Isabella’s death.

That put aside, The Angel’s Game, as an independent installment is addictive. There is something so inviting, so narcotic about the character’s fates; fates baptized in despair and misfortune. Add to that a gothic atmosphere drenched in blood, ice and flames and voilà, you have a truly engaging novel, the type of novel you can’t go through without depleting your senses.

Après avoir dévoré et adoré "L'ombre du vent" de Carlos Ruiz Zafon, je me suis plongé dans "Le jeu de l'ange" du même auteur.

Dès les premières chapitres, je n'étais pas perdu : j'ai retrouvé l'univers si particulier de l'auteur espagnol, mêlant des personnages passionnés de littérature, des histoires d'amour, une bonne dose d'enquête policière, et un soupçon de fantastique.

Malheureusement, le résultat est moins exaltant et enthousiasmant que dans "L'ombre du vent". Sans doute parce que celui-ci ressemble trop au précédent mais n'arrive jamais à l'égaler. J'ai eu l'impression que l'auteur s'était contenté de réutiliser les mêmes recettes mais sans rien apporter de vraiment nouveau. Il va même jusqu'à réutiliser des personnages de "L'ombre du vent" : ça commence comme un clin d'oeil sympathique, mais cela finit comme une tentative un peu désespérée de se raccrocher au succès - mérité - de son chef d'oeuvre.

Malgré tout, ce roman se laisse lire. Le suspense est bien présent et même si j'ai jamais vraiment réussi à me passionner pour les aventures et le destin du narrateur, j'ai lu sans peine les six cent pages du récit.

Isaac took a lamp from the floor and raised it to my face.

“You don’t look well,” he pronounced.

“Indigestion,” I replied.

“From what?”

“Reality.”

“Join the queue.”

This is not a review — you can read hundreds of them in literature journals and blogs. I am writing about this book, because I am probably one of the very few persons out there that I liked the “Angel’s Game” more than the “Shadow of the Wind,” the most popular book of Carlos Ruiz Zafon.
David Martin is a writer who lives in Barcelona (of course!). Writing is his passion and through books he develops his whole life. His friends, his relationships with other people are related and closely connected with books.

He lives a melancholy life in a big, old, full of mysteries house that its turbulent history seems to transform him. His life changes completely when he decides to accept the proposal of a mysterious French publisher (the boss) to write a book in exchange of a huge amount of money. Soon he discovers that he committed himself to a life-threatening contract, he loses the woman he love; despite the money he has no purpose in life, he feels that gave up his dreams and desires of his youth.

He is frustrated, because as the boss says,

“As life advances and we have to give up the hopes, dreams and desires of our youth, we acquire a growing sense of being a victim of the world and of other people. There is always someone else to blame for our misfortunes or failures, someone we wish to exclude. Embracing a doctrine that will turn this grudge and this victim mentality into something positive, provides comfort and strength. The adult then feels part of the group and sublimates his lost desires and hopes through the community.”

David thinks that it is essential to solve the mysteries that surround the house and the previous owner. It is this chase of truth and justice that transforms him. The last 1/3 of the book is dark and confused. It is the part of the book that unlike many other readers, I liked most.

The story becomes an exciting thriller and you are not certain if this story is real or a fantasy that takes place only within the confused mind of David. Mercy will finally find him; the moment David thinks he lost the last person he ever loved him, a second chance is given to him years, to live again.

I loved the Angel’s Game because of how it ended. I believe that it was the intention of the author to present us with a perplexed and confused ending. I also loved that dark, gothic, atmospheric Barcelona. In general, the book is beautifully written, highly intelligent, ironic, and funny in times. You may like this book, you may not, but certainly you cannot ignore it.

“Envy is the religion of the mediocre. It comforts them, it responds to the worries that gnaw at them and finally it rots their souls, allowing them to justify their meanness and their greed until they believe these to be virtues. Such people are convinced that the doors of heaven will be opened only to poor wretches like themselves who go through life without leaving any trace but their threadbare attempts to belittle others and to exclude – and destroy if possible – those who, by the simple fact of their existence, show up their own poorness of spirit, mind and guts. Blessed be the ones at whom the fools bark, because his soul will never belong to them.” p.12