The
Prisoner of Heaven
is the third installment in Carlos Ruiz
Zafón's
gothic masterpiece, The Cemetery of Forgotten Books.
This mystery novel, set in Barcelona, is a a direct sequel to both
The
Shadow of the Wind
and The
Angel's Game.
In comparison to its two predecessors, The
Prisoner of Heaven
is a relatively short book of 300 page. Does its short length make
this book better, or worse, than the previous books? Before I discuss
this book, let me first provide a synopsis for the story.
Synopsis:
It
was the Christmas of 1957, white snow decorated the city of Barcelona
into a winter palace. For the Semepere family, it was a time of joys
and celebrations; Daniel and his wife Bea welcomed the arrival of
their baby, while their best friend, Fermín
Romero de Torres, was finally tying the knot with a wonderful lady.
The
mood of celebration evaporated, on the day when a dark stranger
stepped into the Semepere bookshop. This mysterious man brought with
him, a terrible old secret from the early days of General Franco's
reign. It is a secret that dragged Fermín and Daniel into a lethal
game of exposing Barcelona's forbidden history.
My
thoughts on this book:
The
Prisoner of Heaven
was a delightful read. The writings were superb and the worldbuilding
is top notch. This is a rich tale about undying love, revenge, and literature. Zafón's
prose brought the city of Barcelona vividly to life. Every
description and every scene was oozing with the gothic theme. The
Prisoner of Heaven
is also partial historical fiction. With a historical backdrop in
General Franco's regime, the book explored the question, about what
moral actions are acceptable during a war and after the war. The
narrative style is non-linear. The majority of the story is told in
the first person narrative, from Daniel's perspective. However, certain plot revelations used flashbacks and were narrated in the
third person. While the storytelling is non-linear, but the chapter-to-chapter transition was surprisingly smooth. This book
moved at a very fast pace and it was unputdownable.
A
handful of beloved characters from the previous two books returned in
The
Prisoner of Heaven.
It was very good to revisit Daniel, Bea, and Fermín.
This book also shed more light into David Martin's fate after the
events in The
Angel's Game.
My favorite character in this series is Fermín, whom the book
described as a little man, witty and brave. In many ways, this book
is actually about Fermín and I was reminded of why he is my favorite
character in the series. I laughed at his jokes, and I was moved by
his brevity and unwavering dedications to his best friend Daniel.
Earlier
on I mentioned, The
Prisoner of Heaven
amounts to only 300 pages. This is about half the length of the
previous books. Most of the time, the short length of a novel is not
necessarily a demerit. However, in this case, I couldn't help but
feel, The
Prisoner of Heaven
could have benefitted from a longer length and more story
expositions. Let me just say, this book feels rushed, and I was
disappointed when Zafón
ended it with a cliffhanger. I mean, sure, we know there is a fourth
(and the final) installment coming to the series, but The
Prisoner of Heaven
ended in an abrupt manner and it was not very satisfying.
Will
I recommend The
Prisoner of Heaven?
Yes, absolutely. Despite its abrupt ending, this is still a
beautifully written book and its story is mesmerizing. If you have
read The
Shadow of the Wind
and The
Angel's Game,
then you cannot afford to miss out The
Prisoner of Heaven.
Meanwhile, if this is the first time you've heard of The
Cemetery of Forgotten Books
and you are a book lover, then you owe it to yourself to read The
Shadow of the Wind.
It won't disappoint. As for me, I heard the fourth book will conclude
this series. Apparently, it is still being translated from Spanish into
English and it will be released next year. This is very exciting news
and I cannot wait to find out, what is in store for Daniel and
Fermín.
Until
the next time, happy reading!
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