Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Genre: Fiction
Published: 2012
Recommendation: For die-hard fans of Zafon only, not recommended for stand-alone.
Rating: 7/10
Summary: A mysterious customer enters Sempere's book shop, buys the most expensive book in the place, and leaves it for Fermin with a mysterious message inscribed on the first page. This mystery of Fermin's past will lead Daniel to revelations about his family and Fermin's past.
Reactions: I was looking forward to this book, but once I started reading, I realized that I didn't remember the previous two books in enough detail to get all the references. The Prisoner of Heaven brings in characters from The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game and reveals more of their past. Perhaps I should have re-read the previous books, but I decided to persevere and to my disappointment found that The Prisoner of Heaven doesn't read as well as a stand-alone novel. One problem is that not enough background was given in the book for me to remember what happened in the other two. The other problem is the lack of a satisfying story arch.
The book is divided into three parts. The first and the last are set in the present, where grown Daniel is the main protagonist and the second part is Fermin's back-story. I enjoyed the second part immensely and consider it the biggest reason I gave above rating to the book. On the other hand, Daniel's part of the story felt incomplete and it was quite clearly just a set up for the next book in the series.
Altogether the compelling writing style and Fermin's story arch made this book enjoyable, while the overall product ended up leaving me less impressed. I am thinking of re-reading the The Shadow of the Wind after this to pick up on the references I missed here and bring back the magic of the book well-written.
I just finished The Shadow of the Wind and I loved it. That said, a whole book dealing with Fermin sounds exhausting.
ReplyDeleteI loved The Shadow of the Wind too. Glad you enjoyed it.
DeleteI am sorry to hear that this one was a disappointment. I am hoping to get to Shadow of the Wind this fall, and I won a copy of the second book earlier this year and so have that waiting on my shelves as well.
ReplyDeleteShadow of the Wind was great, so I hope you'll find time for it! Angel's Game is very different and IMO a step down, but worth reading as well.
DeleteBy the way, congratulations on your running achievements. I've been following your blog -- it sounds pretty amazing! Even motivated me to get out for a few runs around the block myself!
I'm glad to hear it! And thank you, I've been having fun.
ReplyDelete