Book Review: The Labyrinth of the Spirits, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books #4)

The enamouring story of The Cemetery of Forgotten Books concludes with The Labyrinth of the Spirits, this is the fourth installment in the series. I was dying to read this grand finale and the wait was excruciating, especially since the translation from Spanish into English took two years. The day the bookseller delivered the book to my doorstep I thought it was a trick. I opened the parcel and found a big book wrapped in a dust jacket as beautiful as it is inviting, it was almost as if the book was whispering into my ears: "Shall we begin"?

Synopsis:

In 1938, the Spanish Civil War took Alicia's parents from her and gave her an injury for life. Alicia was only nine years old. Twenty years later Alicia grew up to become a top investigator for Spain's secret police. Despite being good at her job, Alicia was weary and she wished to retire. Her boss, Leandro Montalvo, granted her retirement on one condition – she must solve the case about the strange disappearance of Spain's Minister of Culture, a man called Mauricio Valls.

Alicia travelled from Madrid to Barcelona with her partner, a big and experienced cop called Juan Manuel Vargras, to investigate this case. Their investigations uncovered a piece of bizarre but vital clue, a book called The Labyrinths of the Spirits, written by one Victor Mataix. The duo followed the clue and unearthed a terrifying secret tied to the Franco regime which also involved David Martin, Julian Carax, and the Sempere family.

My thoughts on this book:

The Labyrinth of the Spirits is a massive tome of 800 pages, but it reads like a piece of crime detective noir, fast-paced and thrilling. The book has numerous plots and sub-plots, but they are all connected to the central mystery, which was revealed one layer at a time like peeling off the onion skins. This is an intricate and beautiful story, you will want to loose yourself in this book and explore every corner of it. I was especially shocked and moved by the descriptions of life in Franco's regime. I mean, I have lived in the western world for the most of my life, and while in the western society there are a lot emphasis and stories about how communist states oppressed the life of its citizens, but there aren't many stories and emphasis about how the fascist regimes can be equally as oppressive. I wonder why? Perhaps it is because the West has made communism its only enemy so fascism is deemed more tolerable? But surely totalitarianism can go under any slogan, right? Anyway, I digress.

The book introduces a new protagonist, Alicia Gris, a femme fatale who wrestled with a wound she sustained from the Spanish Civil War, when she was still a little girl. Alicia's wound is both physical and emotional, and the book did an excellent job at translating how her wound shaped her into the person she was. I like Alicia, she and Fermin are my favorite characters in the series. Where Fermin has a good humour and roguish charms, Alicia is mysterious, seductive, but also subject to sympathy.

A host of characters appeared in this book alongside Alicia. Some characters, such as detective Vargras and Leandro, are new characters. These new characters are well fleshed out, I especially like Vargras, who is like a rugged bear, and his relationship dynamic to Alicia, one that bears resemblance to a father and and his daughter, was vividly portrayed. Meanwhile, many of our beloved characters from the previous entries returned in The Labyrinth of the Spirits; Daniel, Bea, Senor Sempere, Isaac, and of course, Fermin. This book continued their stories and then gave each a fitting conclusion. The book also rewarded the long time readers by finally revealing the fates of both David Martin and Julian Carax, who were the main characters in The Angel's Game and The Shadow of the Wind respectively. In other words, not only did The Labyrinth of the Spirits introduced a new protagonist and a new mystery, but it also tied up every story threads in the end, and the conclusion is beautiful yet bitter sweet. You will remember these characters long after you waved good bye to them.

The Labyrinth of the Spirits is the grand finale I have been waiting for, and it did not disappoint. In fact, the book exceeded my expectations. The Shadow of the Wind is my in my list of top 5 books of all time, and I like The Labyrinth of the Spirits as much as The Shadow of the Wind, so this is saying a lot about the love I have for this book. Now that I have read the entire series, I realized Zafon is a genius, because you can enter this literary maze from any book in the series, yet still reach the heart of it. I love this series. This is one I will revisit many times in the future.

(Re-read) Book Review: The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books #3)

A number of my most beloved books, are about books. To name a few; The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco and The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte. But my favorite of the lot is Carlos Ruiz Zafon's The Cemetery of Forgotten Books series. The story is set in Barcelona in the early to the mid twentieth century, with a historical backdrop in turbulent times such as the Spanish Civil War and then General Franco's ultranationalists, fascist regime. It is a grand story about the lives of people who found themselves under the circumstances, it is a story of their struggles and loves. The series began with a stunner called The Shadow of the Wind, and it is followed by The Angel's Game, a fascinating meditation on the role of myths and the nature of beliefs. A couple of weeks ago I decided to revisit this series, and since then I have been loving the re-read experience. In the re-reads I discovered details which escaped my eyes previously, and I also came to appreciate the characters and the stories even more. My re-read has carried me to The Prisoner of Heaven, this is the third installment in the series, and it is also a direct sequel to The Shadow of the Wind.

Synopsis:

It was Christmas time and the year was 1957, white snow decorated Barcelona into a winter palace. For the Sempere family it was a time of joys and celebrations; Daniel and his wife Bea welcomed the arrival of a baby, while their best friend, Fermín Romero de Torres was finally tying the knot with a wonderful lady.

The mood of celebration, however,  evaporated on the day when a dark stranger stepped into the Sempere bookshop. This mysterious man brought with him a terrible old secret from the early days of General Franco's reign. The secret dragged Fermín and Daniel into a lethal game of exposing Barcelona's forbidden history, about a man known as the prisoner of heaven.

My thoughts about this book:

At 270 pages, The Prisoner of Heaven is a lot shorter than its two predecessors. The quality of writing in this book is top notch, and it is on par with the previous books. However, having read this book for the second time, I now see The Prisoner of Heaven more as a bridge to connect the previous books to the future story rather than a stand alone novel. Mind you, I still like The Prisoner of Heaven, yet I cannot help but feel the book is unable to stand on its own and it should have been a part of the next installment. This is especially since the book finished with a cliff hanger and it is quite short.

The Prisoner of Heaven took place in two different timelines; one is set in 1959, the other is set in 1941. In the 1959 timeline, the book reunited the readers with Daniel and Fermin, each is a fantastic character in his own way. Along the duo also marked the return of our beloved support characters, such as Bea, Isaac, Señor Sempere, and Bernada. Meanwhile, the plot set in the 1941 timeline shed some lights into the mystery of David Martin and some of Fermin's past life, and it will answer some of the remaining questions from The Angel's Game. The characters who appeared in both timelines are memorable and likable. However I would say Fermin stole the show with his remarkable wits, and his roguish yet honorable character.

There is a shocking reveal in The Prisoner of Heaven. I am currently half way through The Labyrinth of the Spirits (the concluding installment in the series), and from the hindsight I can see how The Prisoner of Heaven connects the previous two installments with the fourth installment into a grand story, while also keeping them stand-alone books. It is almost as if the whole series is a maze with multiple entries, and one can choose to venture into the maze from any entrance yet still reaching the heart of the maze. The Cemetery of Forgotten Books is a stunning piece of literature with lovable characters, a compelling story, and intricate worldbuilding. I feel as if Zafon wrote these books for me, and this is telling me that these books are very close to my heart, and I believe there are many kindred spirits out there who feel the same. I highly recommend The Cemetery of Forgotten Books series.

Stay tuned, next time I will review the final book in the series, The Labyrinth of the Spirits, a whopping tome of 800 pages.

(Re-read) Book Review: The Angel's Game, by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books #2)

My re-read for The Cemetery of Forgotten Books series took me to The Angel's Game. This is the 2^nd installment in the cycle. This book is a prequel to The Shadow of the Wind, and it differs to the previous book by a great deal. When I read this book two years ago I thought the ending was a bit confusing. It was too abstract, but I liked 80% of the book. This re-read has changed my opinion about the book, and I came away with an understanding of its significance in the entire series.

Synopsis:

In the vibrant city of Barcelona stood an abandoned tower house, its walls and bricks echoed with the memory of a tragic past. Meanwhile, David Martin, a budding novelist, took residence in this forsaken mansion and made a living by writing penny dreadfuls under a pseudonym.

David was struggling with an impossible love, and he was also tormented by the memories of a troubled childhood. Not even his beloved books could shelter him from the onslaught of despair. When David's world reached the point of collapse, he received an invitation from a French publisher, Andreas Corelli, to write a book so powerful that can change hearts and minds.

My thoughts on this book:

The Angel's Game is a Faustian journey where the readers and the book's protagonist descend into a world of mystery and ambiguity. This is a story about the tragic consequence of love turning into obsessions, and I especially like the book's meditation on myths and the nature of belief systems, it is profound and thought provoking. Meanwhile, the story's theme reminded me of Dorian Gray and the works of Edgar Allan Poe, it blends mystery with romance, with splashes of horror in between.

The book is well written just like The Shadow of the Wind even though it is an English translation. In fact, the entire series was translated from Spanish into English by Lucia Graves. This opens the question whether if the excellent writings testify the skills of the author or the translator. A lady from my book club has a friend who can read Spanish, and according to her, the English translations are very faithful to the Spanish originals.

The worldbuilding in this book is superb. In this re-read, I took my time with the book and I noticed details which I didn't see before. Zafon's Barcelona is a living and breathing city with shadow-haunted mysteries and deep intrigues. Many secrets and plot twists were hidden in the story, but Zafon kept them close to his chest and revealed them very late in the book. There are multiple story threads in this book and the transitions were seamless. The Angel's Game introduced David Martin, a new protagonist who plays a central role (minor spoiler) in the rest of the series. The story narrates David's rise and fall in the literary world after he took on a strange contract to write an unusual book. The story kept me guessing whether if David's ordeal was supernatural or the product of his own imaginations, and there was a good tension between these two possibilities. Other than David, the book also introduced Isabella, a support character whose identity, when revealed in the end, will shock veteran readers of the series, while also setting up the premise for the follow-up story. This also means one can enter The Cemetery of Forgotten Books series from The Angel's Game instead of The Shadow of the Wind.

Out of all characters who appeared in the book I like Isabella the most. She is charming and her qualities left a deep impression on my mind. As for David, I feel sorry for this ill-fated novelist, especially since the ending left rooms for doubt whether if his ordeal wa a result of a mental illness or that of a supernatural encounter. I have already read the 3rd book, The Prisoner of Heaven, and I am currently reading The Labyrinth of the Spirits, which is the final installment in the series, I can see the ambiguous ending in The Angel's Game was intentional. I can also assure you, my gentle readers, that the next two books answer the mystery about David. Therefore if you are confused by the final chapter in The Angel's Game, then make sure to continue and read The Prisoner of Heaven.

I still prefer The Shadow of the Wind to The Angel's Game, but after this re-read I see the book in a different light. The first time I read The Angel's Game I liked 80% of it but I found the ending confusing. In this re-read I came to appreciate those 80% even more, and most importantly now I understand the ending was written in a manner, not only for the book to be a stand-alone story, but it is also a connecting piece to a grand narrative and the theme in the series, it is very clever and intricate. The Cemetery of Forgotten Books is a series for lovers of stories, and it is a place where I will revisit time and again in the future.