Critical Consensus for 6/22: The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Angel's Game
In 2004, Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s The Shadow of the Wind took off unexpectedly, soliciting rave reviews from critics and reaching bestseller status in several countries. But Shadow was never supposed to stand alone - Zafon tells Amazon that he was “toying around with the idea of creating a fictional universe that would be articulated through four interconnected stories,” and he soon realized these stories needed to be four different books. The second book, The Angel’s Game, was released last week, and it doesn’t look like it will step out of Shadow’s shadow any time soon. Zafon wanted the four books to “have a central axis, the idea of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, set against the backdrop of a highly stylized, gothic and mysterious Barcelona,” and in this he succeeds. The book’s protagonist, Daniel Martin, is a Catalan author who enters into a publishing contract with an editor who seems to good to be true - after a visit to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, Martin suspects his contract may in fact be with the devil, thus propelling him into a series of suspenseful and often amusing adventures. Though the book is self-consciously over the top and tongue-in-cheek with its absurd plot twists, the majority of critic say that the plot spins out of control, bowling over the wit and insight Zafon is known for. See below for reviews from both sides of the fence.
“Although the plot retains its overall shape, such as it is, the amount of picaresque incident and Grand Guignol lead to something of a pile-up.” - Hugo Barnacle, The Times
” In wrapping up a host of absurd sub-plots, somewhere in there the writer loses his sense of humour.” - Lionel Shriver, Telegraph
“While I thoroughly enjoyed the first book, I found myself less patient and less moved by its successor.” - Maya Muir, The Oregonian
“Fans of Zafón’s The Shadow of the Wind and new readers alike will be delighted with this gothic semiprequel.” - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“The plot resolves in a rush, [...] but once it sinks in, the result is more than satisfying.” - Kirkus Reviews
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