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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
If you loved Carlos Ruiz Zafon's famous book, "The Shadow of the Wind", you'll love this one, too! This is his trademark writing, dark and mysterious. You have to suspend disbelief with his writing, there are kind of dark supernatural forces at work here. But once you begin, you can't stop. Not a typical mystery, wrapped up nice at the end, but so, so enjoyable. He is a master of his craft.
Took a little while to get into, but it was a different story -- an angel has a man write a book. The man is at first intrigued then freaks out.
Not quite as good as The Shadow of the Wind, but a very compelling book. I would recommend it.
I loved Shadow of the Wind, so I was really excited about this book. But it just didn't live up to my expectations. It had an interesting enough plot to keep me reading, but overall not as interesting or as well written as Shadow of the Wind. I also found that I didn't love the narrator, the protagonist -- there are things about him that are less than admirable.
I really like the romances in these books. I usually don't get much out of romances in books, but Zafón makes them more unique, less perfect, like they would be in real life. Sure I like the settings and the plots, love the tone and atmosphere he creates, but the real reason I'll read book three is to meet his interesting and slightly damaged characters, hoping at least one of them falls in love for a least a little while.
Confirmei, com esta releitura, que este é o volume de que menos gosto da tetralogia do “Cemitério dos Livros Esquecidos”. Para além de ser confuso, na medida em que é difícil perceber onde acaba o relato dos factos e começam os devaneios da loucura de David Martín, tem pontas soltas que, contrariamente ao que eu esperava, não são atadas nos restantes volumes da saga.
Ao reler este romance, tive a sensação de que Zafón destina invariavelmente a maioria das personagens à morte. Contam-se pelos dedos aquelas que têm uma história que se prolonga para lá da intriga – ou seja, que não morrem queimados, envenenados ou baleados -, o que considero algo limitativo para a sua complexidade.
Este livro tem, de facto, de ser encarado como o produto de uma alma que se adentra na sua própria demência, caso contrário os pormenores bizarros e quase sem sentido que vão surgindo levarão o leitor à frustração.
O prazer da leitura foi-me tolhido, não só pelas inúmeras questões que se levantavam e eram deixadas sem respostas, mas também pela tradução que li, em que surgiam ocasionalmente gralhas e que não parecia transmitir fielmente a magia da escrita de Zafón.
Os pontos positivos que tenho a apontar são o facto de os capítulos serem curtos, os momentos de suspense, as reviravoltas da trama e a oportunidade que este volume nos oferece de ficarmos a conhecer melhor uma das personagens mais importantes da saga através do seu próprio ponto de vista.
Assim, concluo que este não é, de longe, o melhor livro de Zafón, podendo estar mais bem construído, apesar de nos apresentar personagens essenciais para a tetralogia e de nos cativar pelo seu enredo misterioso.
Ao reler este romance, tive a sensação de que Zafón destina invariavelmente a maioria das personagens à morte. Contam-se pelos dedos aquelas que têm uma história que se prolonga para lá da intriga – ou seja, que não morrem queimados, envenenados ou baleados -, o que considero algo limitativo para a sua complexidade.
Este livro tem, de facto, de ser encarado como o produto de uma alma que se adentra na sua própria demência, caso contrário os pormenores bizarros e quase sem sentido que vão surgindo levarão o leitor à frustração.
O prazer da leitura foi-me tolhido, não só pelas inúmeras questões que se levantavam e eram deixadas sem respostas, mas também pela tradução que li, em que surgiam ocasionalmente gralhas e que não parecia transmitir fielmente a magia da escrita de Zafón.
Os pontos positivos que tenho a apontar são o facto de os capítulos serem curtos, os momentos de suspense, as reviravoltas da trama e a oportunidade que este volume nos oferece de ficarmos a conhecer melhor uma das personagens mais importantes da saga através do seu próprio ponto de vista.
Assim, concluo que este não é, de longe, o melhor livro de Zafón, podendo estar mais bem construído, apesar de nos apresentar personagens essenciais para a tetralogia e de nos cativar pelo seu enredo misterioso.
PLEASE READ AND TELL ME IF I'M WRONG. I have bitterly come to the conclusion that Carlos Ruiz Zafon hates women. Or, at least, thinks very little of them.
In Shadow of the Wind, I thought his female characters were diverse and three dimensional. I loved Bea Aguilar. I love Nuria and Mercedes. But having read The Angel's Game, I see that Zafon employs the same irritating stereotypes male mystery authors always do. They are as follows:
1) The Too-Perfect Angel: Clara, Penelope, Cristina... all beautiful ethereal humourless waifs with dominant male figures (Barcelo, Mr Aguilar, Don Pedro, Miguel) looming over the protagonist's desires to Tell Her How She Feels, all realising their undying love for the Nice Guy when its too late. They all suffer, obviously.
2) The One With Opinions: Bea, Isabella, Nuria... Zafon painstakingly forces "independence" and "stubborness" onto these poor girls like one would drain blood from a stone. Phrases like "you don't know me" and "don't tell me what to do" are just about the only thing they ever say.
3) The background spinsters: Pallid fishwives and waspish secretaries and Maidens Married To God. That's it.
AND NONE OF THE WOMEN CAN EVER MAKE UP THEIR MINDS ABOUT WHETHER THEY'RE IN LOVE OR NOT.
The only fates for women in Zafon's world are to either die for the crime of falling in love, or being abandoned in a loony bin.
I love Zafon's writing and will read his other books too. But as a female reader, I am exhausted by Zafon's obvious past tramatic relationship with a pretty girl who abandoned him at a train station.
In Shadow of the Wind, I thought his female characters were diverse and three dimensional. I loved Bea Aguilar. I love Nuria and Mercedes. But having read The Angel's Game, I see that Zafon employs the same irritating stereotypes male mystery authors always do. They are as follows:
1) The Too-Perfect Angel: Clara, Penelope, Cristina... all beautiful ethereal humourless waifs with dominant male figures (Barcelo, Mr Aguilar, Don Pedro, Miguel) looming over the protagonist's desires to Tell Her How She Feels, all realising their undying love for the Nice Guy when its too late. They all suffer, obviously.
2) The One With Opinions: Bea, Isabella, Nuria... Zafon painstakingly forces "independence" and "stubborness" onto these poor girls like one would drain blood from a stone. Phrases like "you don't know me" and "don't tell me what to do" are just about the only thing they ever say.
3) The background spinsters: Pallid fishwives and waspish secretaries and Maidens Married To God. That's it.
AND NONE OF THE WOMEN CAN EVER MAKE UP THEIR MINDS ABOUT WHETHER THEY'RE IN LOVE OR NOT.
The only fates for women in Zafon's world are to either die for the crime of falling in love, or being abandoned in a loony bin.
I love Zafon's writing and will read his other books too. But as a female reader, I am exhausted by Zafon's obvious past tramatic relationship with a pretty girl who abandoned him at a train station.
I liked the lore behind this and that ending was only fitting. This did feel overly long, however, hence the rating.
While the writing is just as beautiful as in the first book, it didn't really captivate me similarly.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes