The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon If you were a fan of Zafon’s first book “The Shadow of the Wind,” then pull up a comfortable chair, turn off the phone, and get the popcorn and snacks ready because you’re in for another treat. From master storyteller Carlos Ruiz Zafon, author of the international phenomenon The Shadow of the Wind, comes The Angel’s Game — a dazzling new page-turner about the perilous nature of obsession, in literature and in love.
Carlos Ruiz Zafón in 2008 | |
| Born | Carlos Ruiz Zafón 25 September 1964 (age 55) Barcelona, Spain |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Writer |
| Language | Spanish |
| Period | 1994–present |
Carlos Ruiz Zafón (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkaɾlos rwiθ θaˈfon]; born 25 September 1964) is a Spanish novelist.
- 3Bibliography
Biography[edit]
Ruiz Zafón was born in the city of Barcelona. Growing up in Spain, he began his working life by making money in advertising. His grandparents had worked in a factory and his father sold insurance.[1] In the 1990s Ruiz Zafón moved to Los Angeles where he worked briefly in screen writing. He is fluent in English.[2]
Literary career[edit]
Ruiz Zafón's first novel, El Príncipe de la Niebla 1993 (The Prince of Mist, published in English in 2010), earned the Edebé literary prize for young adult fiction. He is also the author of three additional young adult novels, El palacio de la medianoche (1994), Las luces de septiembre (1995) and Marina (1999).
In 2001 he published his first adult novel La sombra del viento (The Shadow of the Wind), a Gothic mystery that involves Daniel Sempere's quest to track down the man responsible for destroying every book written by author Julian Carax. The novel has sold millions of copies worldwide and more than a million copies in the UK alone. Since its publication, La sombra del viento has garnered critical acclaim around the world and has won many international awards.
Ruiz Zafón's next novel, El juego del ángel, was published in April 2008. The English edition, The Angel's Game, is translated by Lucia Graves. It is a prequel to The Shadow of the Wind, also set in Barcelona, but during the 1920s and 1930s. It follows (and is narrated by) David Martin, a young writer who is approached by a mysterious figure to write a book. Ruiz Zafón intends it to be included in a four book series along with The Shadow of the Wind.[3]
The next book in the cycle, El prisionero del cielo, appeared in 2011, which returns to The Shadow of the Wind's Daniel Sempere and his travel back to the 1940s to resolve a buried secret. The novel was published in English in July 2012 as The Prisoner of Heaven.[4]
The Labyrinth of Spirits (original title: El laberinto de los espíritus) is the fourth and final book in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books series. The novel was initially released on 17 November 2016 in Spain and Latin America by Spanish publisher Planeta. HarperCollins published the English translation by Lucia Graves, which was released on September 18, 2018.
Carlos Ruiz Zafón's works have been published in 45 countries and have been translated into more than 40 different languages.[5] According to these figures, Ruiz Zafón is the most widely published contemporary Spanish writer, followed by Javier Sierra, whose works have been published in 42 countries, and Juan Gómez-Jurado, whose works have been published in 41 countries.
Bibliography[edit]
Young adult[edit]
- El Príncipe de la Niebla (1993), republished as The Prince of Mist (2010)
- El palacio de la medianoche (1994), republished as The Midnight Palace (2011)
- Las luces de septiembre (1995), republished as The Watcher in the Shadows (2013)[6]
- Marina (1999), republished as Marina (2013)
Novels[edit]
El cementerio de los libros olvidados series (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books)[7]
- La sombra del viento, 2001 (The Shadow of the Wind)
- El juego del angel, 2008 (The Angel's Game)
- El prisionero del cielo, 2011 (The Prisoner of Heaven)
- El laberinto de los espíritus, 2017 (The Labyrinth of Spirits)
Short stories[edit]
- 'Rosa de fuego', 2012 ('The Rose of gold')
- 'Two-Minute Apocalypse', (2015)[8]
Influences[edit]
Influences on Ruiz Zafón's work have included 19th century classics, crime fiction,[9]noir authors and contemporary writers.
Apart from books, another large influence comes in the form of films and screenwriting. He says in interviews that he finds it easier to visualize scenes in his books in a cinematic way, which lends itself to the lush worlds and curious characters he creates.[3]
References[edit]
- ^Manuel Roig-Franzia October 14, 2016 The bestselling literary sensation you may struggle to name. The Washington Post.
- ^Sara J. Brenneis, 2008. Dictatorship Noir: post-war Spanish history in Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s La sombra del viento. Romance Studies 26 (1): 61-73.
- ^ abPorter, Steve. 'Books hold no passports – Carlos Ruiz Zafon talks to Three Monkeys Online'. TMO Magazine.
- ^'The Prisoner of Heaven (El cementerio de los libros olvidados #3)'. goodreads.com. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
- ^'about the author' in The Prisoner of Heaven, Orion edition (2012)
- ^London: Orion. ISBN978-1-4440-0165-5
- ^GoodReads.com 2016-02-25
- ^'Carlos Ruiz Zafón'. Author Series. Archived from the original on 9 July 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
- ^Infloox Inc. 'Crime fiction → Carlos Ruiz Zafón – infloox'. infloox.com. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
External links[edit]
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to Carlos Ruiz Zafón. |
- Author's website(in Spanish)
- Biography(in Catalan)
| Author | Carlos Ruiz Zafón |
|---|---|
| Original title | El juego del ángel |
| Country | Spain |
| Language | Spanish |
| Series | Cemetery of Forgotten Books |
| Genre | Mystery |
| Publisher | Planeta (Spain) Weidenfeld & Nicolson (UK) |
Publication date | April 17, 2008 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback) |
| Pages | 672 |
| ISBN | 978-84-08-08118-0 |
| Preceded by | The Shadow of the Wind |
| Followed by | The Prisoner of Heaven |
The Angel's Game (El juego del ángel, 2008) is a sequel to 2001's The Shadow of the Wind, by Spanish author Carlos Ruiz Zafón. The novel marks a return to The Cemetery of Forgotten Books in Barcelona's Raval district, and the Sempere & Sons bookshop. Like The Shadow of the Wind, it was translated into English by Lucia Graves and published in 2009.
Plot[edit]
The Angel's Game is set in Barcelona in the 1920s and 1930s and follows a young writer, David Martin.
In a once-abandoned mansion at the heart of Barcelona, Martín makes his living by writing sensationalist stories under a pseudonym in the newspaper La Voz de la Industria. The survivor of a troubled childhood, he has taken refuge in the world of books and spends his nights spinning baroque tales about the city’s underworld.
His own life begins to take on a dramatic bent, in the form of a number of complex relationships: with Pedro Vidal, his champion at La Voz de la Industria, with Cristina, the daughter of Vidal's chauffeur, and with Isabella, a young admirer of David and his work.
Furthermore, the history of the house he lives in begins to seep into his life - in a locked room within the house lie photographs and letters hinting at the mysterious death of the previous owner. At the same time he receives a letter from a reclusive French editor, Andreas Corelli, who makes him an irresistible offer. He is to write a book unlike anything that has ever existed—an attempt at a new religious work with the power to change hearts and minds. Yet as David begins the work, he realizes that there is a connection between his haunting book and the shadows that surround his home.
Reception[edit]
The Canadian Press's Maclean's Magazine placed The Angel's Game as number one for their top ten hardcover fiction books for the week ending July 7, 2009.[1] Marley Walker called it 'Zafon's ambitious new historic melodrama.'[2]USA Today praised The Angel's Game as 'a multi-layered confection that combines undying love, magical realism, meditations on religion, the importance of books and a love affair with the vibrant city of Barcelona.'[3]
Andrew Reimer said, 'Here is more of the same from the author of The Shadow of the Wind ' which 'is bound to make his fans whoop with joy.' However, he also added, 'the climax of this new tale is a bit of a mess, with too many twists and turns and perhaps a few too many corpses.'[4]
Aravind Adiga of The Age complained that there was 'plenty that is ludicrous, cliched and schematic,' but explained that '[l]overs of Barcelona will enjoy Ruiz Zafón's skilful use of that city's architecture--Gothic and Modern.'[5]
The Angel's Game Carlos Ruiz Zafon
References[edit]
- ^'Top Ten list', The Canadian Press, 9 July 2009, retrieved 9 March 2011
- ^Walker, Marley (21 June 2009), 'Ambitious Historical Melodrama Playfully Entertaining', Winnipeg Free Press, retrieved 9 March 2011
- ^Memmott, Carol (16 June 2009). 'Zafen Writes like an Angel in 'Game''. USA Today.
- ^Riemer, Andrew (6 Jun 2009), 'It's a devil of a game', Sydney Morning Herald, retrieved 9 March 2011
- ^Adiga, Aravind (Jun 13, 2009), A Shadow of the Shadow, retrieved 9 March 2011
External links[edit]
- Official website(in Spanish)
The Angels Game Carlos Ruiz Zafon