The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

For passionate readers, a book about books is as good as it gets. You soak up words like a giant sponge, relishing the shared joy between reader and writer. When that book is also well written it’s like cold lemonade on a hot day. “The Angel’s Game” is a complex story about books and the power they can have. Layer upon layer of mystery, tragedy and beauty reveal and twist back on themselves as you read. David Martin is a writer who gives up the romance of writing novels for the security of a steady income writing sensationalist stories. He moves into a house he’s long admired, one of those murky mansions you find in all good spooky literature. He meets a man who employs him to write a very particular book. Like the house, it feels wrong from the first encounter.
David does a lot of things that cause him grief. His manipulation of other people is brash, even while he feels guilty about it. He knows he in turn is being manipulated, and you can almost see his shame as he allows it to go on. I’m still trying to decide if I like him or not which is a choice I like having. It makes characters more real when you see their flaws, mistakes and internal conflicts.
Another character worth mentioning is Corelli. After a while, I wasn’t sure I wanted to continue reading about him. He’s sinister, and you’ll ask yourself: is he who we think he is? Should we give him a name? Is he a servant or a master? I’ll leave it up to you to decide.
A lot of reviews use words such as ‘gothic’ and ‘ 19th century romance’ and ‘old-fashioned mystery’ and ‘thriller’. “The Angel’s Game” is all these things. On the way to page 504, you’ll find murder, lost love, betrayal, friendship, insanity, supernatural powers, a secret library of forgotten books (with which Ruiz Zafon readers might be familiar) and the ever present, magnificent backdrop of Barcelona. The city is as much a character as any of the people.
Read this: “I opened the windows on all four sides and let the humid breeze penetrate the room. I could see people lying on mattresses and sheets on some of the neighbouring flat roofs, trying to escape the suffocating heat and get some sleep. In the distance, the three large chimneys in the Paralelo area rose like funeral pyres spreading a mantle of white ash over Barcelona. Nearer to me, on the dome of La Merce church, the statute of Our Lady of Mercy, poised for ascension into heaven, reminded me of the angel on the Rolls-Royce and of the one Corelli always sported on his lapel. After many months of silence it felt as if the city were speaking to me again, telling me its secrets.”
Gorgeous!
Of course, another successful element here is the translation. A sound translation is as important as the story. It can change everything. It’s a tricky game, conveying the sensations and atmosphere intended by the author, in words and a context that fit the culture of your readers. I think the most successful translations are invisible, and this one is perfect. There are no gaps, no questions, no missing links.
If you like Diana Gabaldon, historical romance, spooky (but not horror) stories and a good old-fashioned mystery, you will really like this book. I have never been a huge fan of these myself, but I enjoyed this a lot. I’m keeping an eye out for Ruiz Zafon’s other novels too
| Title: The Angel’s Game |
| Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafon (translated by Lucia Graves) |
| Format: Paperback, 504 pages |
| Publisher: Phoenix Books |
