Review: The Angel's Game (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books #2)

Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Started reading: June 14th 2019
Finished the book: July 12th 2019
Pages: 522
Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Historical
Published: June 16th 2009
Source: Bought the book
Goodreads score: 3.90
My score:

Synopsis

The whole of Barcelona stretched out at my feet and I wanted to believe that when I opened those windows — my new windows — each evening its streets would whisper stories to me, secrets in my ear, that I could catch on paper and narrate to whomever cared to listen…

In an abandoned mansion at the heart of Barcelona, a young man, David Martin, 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 city’s 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.

My thoughts

Carlos Ruiz Zafón is one of the most poetic writers I've ever read a book from. I adore the way he is able to create an atmosphere in his books. This book was not as good as the first book, but still highly enjoyable. The first book just has a very special place in my heart and I'm sure that book will always be one of my favorites. It's hard to top that!

Pros

• Characters: It's a nice style of writing; a separate story but laced with characters from a previous book. It's refreshing to sometimes read books like that. In this book you meet a lot of new characters, but will meet some of your beloved ones from the first book as well. As I'm used from Mr. Zafón; the characters are flawless and so believable.
• Writing: Like I just said; the writing style is beautiful. It feels poetic and the atmosphere is dragging you inside the pages. I was able to imagine everything so easily and especially the feelings that the author wants to give you with his book are coming across vividly.
• Plot: This book has a plot, in a plot, in a plot. At some point you're questioning the main character and are wondering what is real and what is not. I like how you don't really get the clear answers at the ending of the book. It's a bit vague and it leaves some room for your own interpretation.
• Books: The fact that books are such a main subject in this series is so cool. I'm fond of the way we followed a book-reader in the first book and how we follow a writer in this book. It's a nice difference, but still books are the main topic.

Cons

• Length: The book is so long. It felt like it could easily be 150-200 pages shorter. Especially at the middle of the book, I felt like it was a bit dull at some point. I just loved the writing style, so that is what "helped" me through the book and I was sure the ending was going to be amazing. But I can imagine that readers will drop out in the middle of this book.

Overall

The book seems a bit long for the story that is told, but it's filled with amazing characters, a great atmosphere and a plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The way Carlos Ruiz Zafón wrote this book; you will get the feeling that you're right there with David Martín.

Carlos Ruiz Zafón on this series:

"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."

Memorable quotes from this book

"I don't suppose you have many friends. Neither do I. I don't trust people who say they have a lot of friends. It's a sure sign that they don't really know anyone."

"Every book has a soul, the soul of the person who wrote it and the soul of those who read it and dream about it."

"I stepped into the bookshop and breathed in that perfume of paper and magic that strangely no one had ever thought of bottling."

Thanks for reading!

I'd love to talk books; please let me know what you think about this book/review