The Angel’s Game is the second in Zafon’s Cemetary of Forgotten Books sequence, though it actually precedes the first chronologically (this is not a series but rather standalone books in the same setting). I found it brilliant and possibly a litter better than The Shadow of the Wind. It was also darker and much more ambiguous with really very little resolution at the end. Although essentially a murder mystery story, infused with a liberal dose of magical realism, do not expect the perpetrators of all the crimes that occur during the book to be cleanly revealed. Much is left unexplained including the culpability of most of the main characters.
In many respects this does not matter; the book is not really about who committed what crimes but rather about the characters and their relationships and interactions, and the pre-civil war Barcelona that it is set in. Indeed, that Barcelona is arguably one of the book’s main characters.
The writing is, once again, beautifully poetic which, though possibly not to everyone’s taste, is certainly to mine. However once again, as with many of the translated works I have read I am left wondering how much of my appreciation is for the skill of the author or the translator. Both books were translated by Lucia Graves who is, interestingly, the daughter of the poet Robert Graves. I can but heap praise on both of them as the final text ranks alongside some of the most melodic English I have had the pleasure of reading. Frankly I could just enjoy reading such text no matter where the plot should take me.
I suspect it will take another reading or two before I can begin to attempt to answer any of The Angel’s Game’s unanswered question. But I’m not sure that is of great significance; the journey is often more important than the arrival.
In many respects this does not matter; the book is not really about who committed what crimes but rather about the characters and their relationships and interactions, and the pre-civil war Barcelona that it is set in. Indeed, that Barcelona is arguably one of the book’s main characters.
The writing is, once again, beautifully poetic which, though possibly not to everyone’s taste, is certainly to mine. However once again, as with many of the translated works I have read I am left wondering how much of my appreciation is for the skill of the author or the translator. Both books were translated by Lucia Graves who is, interestingly, the daughter of the poet Robert Graves. I can but heap praise on both of them as the final text ranks alongside some of the most melodic English I have had the pleasure of reading. Frankly I could just enjoy reading such text no matter where the plot should take me.
I suspect it will take another reading or two before I can begin to attempt to answer any of The Angel’s Game’s unanswered question. But I’m not sure that is of great significance; the journey is often more important than the arrival.
