Monday, December 09, 2019

THE PRISONER OF HEAVEN


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The Prisoner of Heaven, Carlos Ruiz Zafon, HarperCollins, 2012, 278 pp (translated from the Spanish by Lucia Graves)
 
Surely you have read The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I have rarely met anyone who hasn't. I read it in 2005 and had this to say about it:
 
"Yesterday I finished The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. It is longish (487 pages) but I loved every minute of reading this book and it was a fast read. The story takes place in Barcelona spanning the years of the Spanish Civil War up to the 1960s. As a young boy, Daniel, son of a bookseller, is mourning the loss of his mother. His father takes him to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books where he is allowed to choose one book. His choice is The Shadow of the Wind, by Julian Carax. Daniel reads all night, is entranced and begins to search for other books by this author.

So I am immediately entranced because it is a book book and that is exactly what I do when I read a book that I love. I look for more by that author. But Daniel's search opens up a mystery which becomes an epic of murder, madness and hopeless love. The successful mixture of genres is only one of the wonders of Zafon's writing. He also now and then drops in philosophical, political or humorous bits that are clearly his views, but done with such a deft touch that you hardly notice. The characters are excellent, the mystery is gripping and the descriptions of Barcelona are truly stunning.

Then he pulls off a great ending. I want more books by this author."
 
I read the next book in what is now a four book series, The Angel's Game, as soon as I could get my hands on an Advance Readers Copy in 2009. Not all readers were entirely pleased to be taken into a much darker and more Gothic tale, set just after WWI in Barcelona. I was as entranced as I was by the first book.
 
Somehow I missed the fact that there have been two more books since. I learned about those from a fellow blogger recently, ran out and bought both of them.

Compared to the first two, The Prisoner of Heaven felt much shorter, almost like a novella, but it sizzles with just as much adventure, danger and history. Daniel Sempere, the boy from The Shadow of the Wind, is now married with a new baby, named Julian of course.

The irrepressible Fermin Romero de Torres, Daniel's close friend, is about to be married but has become mysteriously distracted and depressed. By the time Daniel finally forces Fermin to confide in him, a dangerous man and the threat of a terrible secret involve both of them in a terrifying adventure. As the two friends search for true events from the 1940s and the early days of Franco's dictatorship, as the day of Fermin's wedding approaches, the suspense has built to an unbearable pitch.

I enjoyed The Prisoner of Heaven in equal amounts to the previous books. There are scenes in a prison, involving an escape by a writer/political prisoner, in which that prisoner refers several times to Alexandre Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo. I have purchased a copy. In the coming year I plan to read long books, the ones I have been putting off all this year in an attempt to read more books. The Count will be one of them.

On the very last page of the paperback edition of The Prisoner of Heaven, Zafon provides a list of "Dead Fellows You Should See and Read Frequently:"
*Charles Dickens
*William Faulkner
*Charlotte Bronte
John Dos Passos
*Emile Zola
*Honore de Balzac
Victor Hugo
Alexandre Dumas
*Graham Greene
*Raymond Chandler
*James M Cain 

I have read at least one book by the starred ones. How about you?

22 comments:

  1. Only read one of his so far: The Watcher in the Shadows, which was amazing. I do have several more (including this and 'Shadow') which I'll definitely be reading at some point.

    Authors listed that I've read: Dickens, Bronte, Chandler & Cain. I have books by Balzac, Hugo, Dumas & Greene in various piles.

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    1. I will have to get The Watcher in the Shadows. Ha. I have those piles too!

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  2. I read The Shadow of the Wind years ago but never continued with the next book and can't really remember the first one now. The Count of Monte Cristo is great - I'm glad you're planning to read it! As for that list of authors, I have read Dickens, Bronte, Zola, Balzac, Hugo and Dumas, but none of the others.

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    1. What should I read first by Hugo? I am excited to read The Count of Monte Cristo and I think my husband will read it too. He read and liked The Prisoner of Heaven without having read The Angel's Game and it went fine for him.

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  3. i started the first one but dropped it when it began describing blood-spattered walls... gagging response, actually...

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    1. It is odd. I cannot stand blood and injured bodies in real life. Could never, ever be a nurse or doctor. But in books it doesn't bother me. In movies, I have to peak through my fingers when it gets gory.

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  4. I've read: Charles Dickens
    Charlotte Bronte
    Victor Hugo (Love Hunchback!)

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    1. OK, Hunchback is going on my list!

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  5. I have not read Zafon at all. These books sound well worth reading. If I liked the first book in the series, I would probably read them all straight through.

    For awhile, I was reading so many long books. Lately however, many of the books that I have been reading have been shorter.

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    1. If you read The Shadow of the Wind you will most probably love it. As far as book length goes, I guess we are changing places-:)

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  6. I confess I haven't read Zafon but he is definitely on my radar, especially after this review. I have read something by all the authors on the list except Balzac and Dos Passos. Not sure how I've missed them.

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    1. Well, with all the books around, so many books, it is not hard to miss a few! I tried Dos Passos once but it was over my head at the time. Now I am inspired to try again.

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  7. Yes I'm one of the few who still needs to get to Zafon's books ... my husband read Shadow of the Wind & liked it a lot so I know it is here somewhere. It is a book book so I know I will love it too. I'm moving to it as a must in 2020.

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    1. Always a good sign when the husband likes a book that is not a crime thriller or war book! Though there actually are plenty of both, in a different sort of way, in Zafon's books. Isn't it fun to be thinking of what we will read in 2020?

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  8. I think this is actually book 3 in the series? I'm a huge fan of this series and I'm not kidding you when I say that I have read Shadow of the Wind 11 times already!

    I found a great little snippet by the author, where he is talking about this series. It really gave me good insights in it, maybe you'll find it interesting too:

    https://www.randomhouse.com/ddpg/feature/zafon/essay.php

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    1. Yes it is Book 3. I would love to reread Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game, because I would wager there is more to get out of each book. I hope to read the final book, The Labyrinth of the Spirits soon. Thanks for the link. It was interesting and informative and so indicative of the spirit of Zafon!

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  9. I guess I should give another chance to that series. I started listening to the first book years ago, and stopped after 60% at least. Something made me mad, but I can't even remember what!!

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    1. I find that hilarious, only because it has happened to me while reading a novel: something made me mad!!

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  10. Well you know I have not read it! As for the list, I have read Dickens, Faulkner and Dumas.

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    1. Well, there you go. I have not yet read Dumas.

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  11. As you know, Carlos Ruiz Zafón is one of my favourite authors. I think, "The Prisoner of heaven is one of my favourites from the series, besides "The Shadow of the Wind", of course.

    Great review.

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    1. Thanks, Marianne. Now that he is gone I better get going on books I have not read from that list of authors. I think The Count of Monte Cristo will be the first one I read.

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