There are some books you can’t put down and finish within one or two days; yet there are others you just find difficulty in picking up. “The Angel’s Game” falls into the latter category. It has taken me over four months to finish reading it, and only then it was due to my stubborn perseverance, as there had been more than one occasion, I had wanted to abandon it.
The blurb on the back cover sounded promising, which was the reason I began reading it, but as time wore on, I cursed myself at having begun it. However, having started, I was determined to find out how it ended.
I expect having been translated from Spanish, the author’s native tongue, a great deal had been ‘lost’ in the translation. I’m finding similar pitfalls as I slowly translate my novel “Broken Hearts” into French.
Moving on to “The Angel’s Game”, the principal character, is David Martin, an author struggling to succeed (he’s not the only one). The story gets weirder by the minute when he is approached by a mysterious publisher who offers him an advance of such magnitude it would be crazy to refuse.
The story is set in the city of Barcelona, Spain, during the very early years of the twentieth century. David is bound to a publishing house which is owned by a couple of unscrupulous characters. Although, the series of short crime stories he writes for them are extremely popular and sell well, David sees only a fraction of the royalties he is due (I feel his pain).
When a fire destroys the premises of the publishing house, David finds himself the prime suspect of the arson attack, particularly when the ‘advance’ fee he had received, being of a princely sum, allows him to acquire a prestigious property. The house, itself, has an aura about it, which normal people would avoid like the plague, yet David is determined to make it his home.
As time progresses, David’s sanity becomes a matter of concern, and one has to ask whether it is due to the house, or the new publisher who has asked him to write a story like no other.
When David decides to investigate the bona fides status of his new employer, he is drawn into a web of intrigue which only worsens when those he encounters, friend and foe alike, befall some misfortune or untimely death. What makes matters worse, that for each crime, the only person the police suspect as the guilty party is David, himself.
The tale is narrated by David, and as much as you are led to believe in his innocence, by the time you reach the Epilogue, which is set in the year 1945, there is doubt in your mind. However, there is no certainty in this, as I found myself just as confused at what had transpired throughout the 657-page story, as I did at its end.
There was no real explanation, no revelation at what the story was all about…. just an open ending that left more questions than answers!
The only thing I can say about “The Angel’s Game” that is positive, is the way the author describes certain scenes and scenarios. The narrative appears as graphic as an exquisite oil painting of a landscape portrayed by the likes of John Constable. The detail is rich and captivating; but as far as the story is concerned, it falls well short of any masterpiece.
The most I’m prepared to give Carlos Ruiz Zafon is 3-stars for effort. I certainly won’t be bothering to read it again, unless I am paid the princely sum David Martin received!
RLB – Tomewriter
tomewriter 