Friday, Aug 14, 2009

Book Review: The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Author:  Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Publisher:  Doubleday

ISBN #:  978-0-385-53067-5

Type:   Fiction:Historical/Mystery

Pages:   544 Hardback

Published:   June 16, 2009

Website:  www.theangelsgame.net

Purchase:  $17.16 (HERE) 

The Synopsis

“In an abandoned mansion at the heart of Barcelona, a young man, David Martín, 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.

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.”

(Excerpt is from www.theangelsgame.net)

 

More On The Story & My Review

“…What I want you to do is find an intelligent and seductive way of answering the questions we ask ourselves and you should do so using your own reading of the human soul, putting into practice your art and your profession.  I want you to bring me a narrative that awakens the soul.”

Tall order from a publisher, right?

David Martin is a writer who loves words and the art of story-telling.  Writing is his passion, his existence.  But, what he begins to discover is that perhaps he has aligned himself with a dark, deceptive benefactor/publisher/boss who knows more than he should about David’s life: present, past and future.  By the time that he realizes that he may have, in fact, made a deal with forces beyond the human realm, it is too late to terminate his gentleman’s contract with Andreas Corelli.  Martin has agreed to write a very specific book for Corelli in exchange for 100,000 Francs.  The terms of the topic of this book are nebulous to Martin.  Corelli tries to assure Martin, “…There is nothing in the path of life that we don’t already know before we started.  Nothing important is learned, it is simply remembered.” 

Martin’s options are essentially removed.  He must write this book.  However, there are complications he faces all around him, personally and professionally.  Money of that consideration in the early 1900′s was a small fortune.  You would assume that the money would solve a plethora of issues for a poor man.  However, the monetary compensation became the least important consideration of this contract.  This contract became about Martin’s life or death, love or loss, sanity or madness.

As much as Martin loves writing, he loves Cristina more, however life’s circumstances prevented him from being with her.  Heartbroken and searching, Martin receives an important reminder of love and loss comes from the words of a wise librarian….

“Do you know the best thing about broken hearts?” the librarian asked.

I shook my head.

“They can only really break once.  The rest is just scratches.”

“Put that in your book.”

If you’re David Martin committed to a life-threatening contract, living alone in the world, and surviving the loss of the love of your life, how do you face the day?  What do you do?  How do you solve the mysteries that surround you?  How do you find the answers and escape the forlorning doom that awaits you?  For Martin, it was becoming fearless.

The reader follows Martin on a journey of the spiritual world as well as the physical one.  There are depths of mystery and metaphysical forces at work that take the reader on an intricate trail of intrigue and deception.  It’s a wild ride!  What Carlos Ruiz Zafon and his translator Lucia Graves have created is a literary masterpiece that is epic!  I understand that this book is tied to his previous work The Shadow Of The Wind, which I hear is a remarkable novel.  The beauty of the writing in this novel is beyond memorable with such amazing passages as:

“Nothing is fair.  The most one can hope is for things to be logical.  Justice is a rare illness in a world that is otherwise a picture of health.”

“We’ll get to the adult by having recourse to his frustration.  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.”

“…He didn’t know whether we created God in our own image or whether God created us without quite knowing what he was doing.  He believed that God, or whatever brought us here, lives in each of our deeds, in each of our words, and manifests himself in all those things that show us to be more than mere figures of clay.  Senor Sempere believed that God lives, to a smaller or greater extent, in books, and that is why he devoted his life to sharing them, to protecting them, and to making sure their pages, like our memories and our desires, are never lost.  He believed, and he made me believe too, that as long as there is one person left in the world who is capable of reading them and experiencing them, a small piece of God, or of life, will remain…”

As awe-struck as I was by reading this book, I was equally confused.  I had trouble navigating the last 1/3 of the book.  Perhaps that was the exact intent of the author, to leave the scenarios open to the interpretation and imagination of the reader.  To avoid spoilers for this #1 New York Times Bestselling book, I will reserve my observations and questions about this mysterious ending.  However, if you elect to read this book (and/or have read it) and find yourself confused by the ending like me… then, check this out!

The Rating

The Angel’s Game and I will have a love-hate relationship in that I loved it, yet because of how it ended I will always be perplexed by it.  Again, this may be intentional or somehow connected to The Shadow Of The Wind.  And, I’m okay with that.  Therefore, because all aspects of this book hit on all cylinders, I’m going to give this book a rating of 9 out of 10. That last point is just lost to my confusion on the ending.  The ending was exciting and creative, just a tad too confusing for my mere mortal mind.

Many thanks to Sonia at Doubleday for this intense, remarkable read!

This concludes my 100th Book For the 100+ Reading Challenge!

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