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Loading... Das Spiel DES Engels (German Edition) (original 2008; edition 2010)by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Work InformationThe Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (2008)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Mehhh, the misogyny and general disinterest of Zafon to write female characters wore on me here. Also the unresolved plot lines bugged me. David was an asshole and it was hard to like much about it, especially when the mysteries weren't really solved. However, I read that the next book is illuminating so I started it right away, showing an interest in the world and story in general. This reader wasn't as good as Jonathon Davis, but still managed a whole range of good voices. A lush and savory exercise in gothic horror set in 1950s Spain, about a preternaturally gifted young writer of gothic serial fiction - cynical but likeable - who may or may not have made a deal with a devil to trade his soul for health and financial security. All the mandatory gothic tropes are here: there's a creepy house with secrets concealed in the walls, a suave devil, tragic lives, gruesome deaths, weird tomes, supernatural occurrences, graveyards, thunderstorms, insane asylums, rotting corpses, and a bang-up finale in which the bodies pile up like the last act of a Shakespeare tragedy. And, this being Carlos Ruiz Zafon, you can be sure there's tons of deliciously gothic and expertly rendered atmosphere, from the sinister edifices and twisting alleyways of Barcelona's old town to the cast of colorful characters our protagonist meets along the way - crusty newspaper editors, self-loathing aristocrats, fatherly book store owners, tormented ingenues, villainous police officers, cunning conmen, creepy witches, murderous madwomen, and suave devils. The action never flags as our unlucky protagonist catapults from one misadventure to the next, all infused with just enough ambiguity that can never be sure which bits are "real" and which bits the products of his tormented imagination. Yes, the plot (especially the ending) is a bit of a muddle, but feel like it's unfair to expect gothic fiction to make sense ... the goal of the genre is to create a pall of inescapable dread, and this Zafon achieves with panache. Nothing I'm likely to remember for very long, but capably written and satisfyingly creepy. Wow, well I don't know exactly what all to say on this one. It definitely messed with my mind---I'm still not totally sure I completely comprehend everything I just read...especially the "little girl twist" at the end. I still think Zafon is definitely a genius...but there was a LOT going on in this book and I've come away feeling pretty confused.
The result is a twisty, sarcastic ode to books, with a satisfying dollop of religious theory thrown in for good measure. On its surface, "The Angel's Game" is a thriller laden with Gothic elements, but readers who need a traditional denouement with answers neatly laid out will come away disappointed. (I definitely had a little moment of "Wait! What? Huh???" at the end.) But while the plot payoff may not be what readers are expecting, the novel itself is such a pleasure to read that the characters could have ended with a rendition of "The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow," played on cowbells and a zither, and I would have shrugged it off. “Faust” this isn’t. Ruiz Zafón’s flamboyant pulp epic is something altogether sillier, a pact-with-the-devil tale whose only purpose is to give its readers some small intimation of the darker pleasures of the literary arts, the weird thrill of storytelling without conscience. Game is a multi-layered confection that combines undying love, magical realism, meditations on religion, the importance of books and a love affair with the vibrant city of Barcelona. Zafon hits the reset button on what it means to be a great writer. His visionary storytelling prowess is a genre unto itself. While much of this novel is highly enjoyable, at some latter point the tongue withdraws from the cheek. In wrapping up a host of absurd sub-plots, somewhere in there the writer loses his sense of humour. When the book ceases to be self-conscious about its own manipulations, it stops being fun. This won’t bother some readers; some will happily dive into the mysticism up to the neck. But others will miss the drollery and sophistication with which the novel began, and for these readers Zafón’s straight resolution will disappoint. Zafon delivers a warning about the dangers of obsession, mixed with an obvious passion for literature and the printed word; his book is also a song of love for Barcelona with all its creaking floorboards and hidden subbasements. A nice fit with the current craze for learned mysteries and for spooks of both the spying and the spectral kind. AwardsDistinctionsNotable Lists
Fiction.
Literature.
Thriller.
HTML:From the author of the international phenomenon The Shadow of the Wind, comes a riveting masterpiece about love, literature, and betrayal. In this powerful, labyrinthian thriller, David Martín is a pulp fiction writer struggling to stay afloat. Holed up in a haunting abandoned mansion in the heart of Barcelona, he furiously taps out story after story, becoming increasingly desperate and frustrated. Thus, when he is approached by a mysterious publisher offering a book deal that seems almost too good to be real, David leaps at the chance. But as he begins the work, and after a visit to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, he realizes that there is a connection between his book and the shadows that surround his dilapidated home and that the publisher may be hiding a few troubling secrets of his own. Once again, Ruiz Zafón takes us into a dark, gothic Barcelona and creates a breathtaking tale of intrigue, romance, and trag No library descriptions found.
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LibraryThing Early Reviewers AlumCarlos Ruiz Zafón's book The Angel's Game was available from LibraryThing Early Reviewers. Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)863.64Literature Spanish and Portuguese Spanish fiction 20th Century 1945-2000LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. Penguin Australia2 editions of this book were published by Penguin Australia. Editions: 1921520523, 1921656719 |
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