‘The Angels Game’ by Carlos Ruiz Zafon – Review

One of the fastest selling books in the Spanish publishing history – The Angels Game.

Author : Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Genre : Gothic/Supernatural Thriller

Goodreads Rating : 3.8

“Nothing important is learned; it is simply remembered.”

Fossicking through what I call the readers “Cemetery of Forgotten Books”– bookchor.com, was when I stumbled upon “The Shadow of the Wind”. Falling in love with the text within made me grab the next- “The Angels Game”– a good stop for supernatural fantasy lovers.

“Do you know the best thing about broken hearts? They can only really break once, rest are just scratches.”

The angels game, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, is a gothic thriller staged in the streets of Barcelona. Through his book, Zafon, enigmatically reveals the life of his protagonist, a young writer of pulp fiction, David Martin.

The curtain is raised with Martin narrating about his troubled childhood, how his mother left him at a very young age, his sleepless nights, and how he never got along with his father. The only refuge he could find was within the folds of books – he was always welcome at the dear old Sempere and sons.

Young Martin began his career at a local newspaper, from where he started writing ‘penny dreadful stories’.

Having got sacked from his current job, Pedro Vidal, his mentor, helps him sign a pact with another publisher were he was asked to come up with gothic novels under a pseudonym. His success with the public enables him to rent ‘the old tower house,’ thereby satisfying his greatest desire.

Work consumes and lands him in loss of health. That is when a mysterious publisher, Andreas Corelli, a man known to be dead, shows up with an offer so tempting that leaves him bumfuzzled – a work which starts seeping into his bones, connecting with his life.

Flipping through these four hundred pages I felt a lack of balance between different elements. The writing, the plot, the characters, and an ‘impossible’ love, all remained a mystery – pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that never fell into place!

Check out Carlos Ruiz Zafon for more info on books by him.