The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruis Zafon

Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson; First Edition edition (1 Jun 2009)

ISBN: 978-0297855545

There are some key words which sum up The Angel's Game for me and include; sinful; mysterious; engaging; erotic; magical; lyrical and just plain pure pleasure. It is a gothic, supernatural novel, which reflects the style of Shelley and is a tale about secrets and lies and a book about books.

David Martin is the main character, an author who at the beginning of the story we find writing sensational and successful tales under a pseudonym. He lived in a huge crumbling mansion which he later discovers holds many secrets and there are two things he desires. To write for ‘real’ and to declare his love for Christina, daughter of the chauffer to Vidal a long-term friend and affluent man who is also desperate to write. Then the mysterious publisher Andreas Corelli, who promises to pay him a sackful of money if he can produce a manuscript, which will define a new religion, offers Martin a solution. Not a man of faith, Martin struggles with this concept but his interactions with the ‘Angel’ take him deep into a dark world, which results in death for many around him. Young Isabella is a girl with an attitude and becomes his assistant, but takes her duties a little too far in terms of protecting him. Martin begins to explore the life of the man who lived in the mansion before him and stumbles on things that may have been best left alone, particularly for those people he seeks out for information. But does he realise his two desires? Well, you have to read the book and discover that for yourself, for the answers are not clear, nor are they murky. It is a matter for the reader to decide.

The Angel’s Game is set just after World War I in the struggling streets of Barcelona. It takes us back to the childhood of the main protagonist and takes to forward to his future and in-between there is a maze of subplots and hidden secrets, a little like Pandora’s Box. It also takes us back to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books first visited in The Shadow of the Wind. But this book is not a sequel to that equally satisfying read. Zafon has a great skill with story telling which doesn’t appear to be diluted in translation. He hooks you like a fish, slowly winding in the line, providing regular morsels to nibble on and whet the appetite until you are caught up in the very essence of the story. Unwilling to put the book down yet at the same time wanting to savour every word, every evocation.

About the Author

Carlos Ruis Zafon was born in Barcelona and has penned six novels. His The Shadow of the Wind was the most succesful publication in Spanish history since Don Quixote. He has won numerous international awards.

Readability Rating: 10

Recommendation: Without Doubt