Anchor Books The Angel's Game: A Psychological Thriller

it was a beautiful, tragic, suspenseful novel. It was almost like you weren't actually reading, but pulled into the story itself. poetic and enrapturing.

Utmärkt, precis som utlovat!!!!!

1910年頃のスペイン、バルセロナが舞台。その中世的な雰囲気がこの作品を余計に神秘的にし、全体を古い良質な白黒映画の様に盛り上げている。主人公は若い作家志願者で、最初の1/3はその出世物語である。しかし、その出世に協力した人物達が、この才能ある作家を徐々に昔起こった未解決の事件へと誘導し、ついには新たな殺人事件の関係者として疑われ、しかも命を狙われるまでになる。魅力的な女性を含んだこれら周辺の人物が、陰に陽に彼を取り巻き、最後まで一体何が起こっているのかが分からないまま読者を引っ張り続けてくれる。刺激的なバイオレンスもなく、荒唐無稽な仕掛けも何もないが、最後まで徐々に気持ちをワクワクさせてくれる作者の力量はさすが。名作The Shadow of the Windも大変面白い作品だが、私個人的にはThe Angel's Gameの方が好きだ。読後に深い満足感を持ったため息の出る作品である。

I've been having a foreign affair (evidence in the photo), and what a ride.It goes to show just how important it is for books to be translated and shared around the world, because these three are great.This post is about my favourite one though, Carlos Ruiz Zafon's, The Angel's Game.Where do I start with this book? It's one of the few books I've read that doesn't fit into a given genre. It is thrilling, sexy, frightening and spooky, in equal measure. It is pacey, has excellent and very memorable characters; there is love and loss, and all wrapped up in the atmospheric backdrop of early twentieth century Barcelona.So, where better to read a book that is set in the fair city of Barcelona, than Barcelona!No I didn't arrange my summer holiday around my reading habits, (I'm not that sad), but I did wait for Barcelona before I started the book, and it added to the experience.The novel follows the life the loves, the ups and downs, of the main character, David Martin, as he fights his way out of poverty, start to write under a pseudonym, fall desperately ill, only to be saved by the mysterious Senor Corelli, with a book deal to end all book deals: One hundred thousand Francs, for a single book to be written over a twelve month period. (I'm still waiting for my letter, Senor Corelli).The deal is struck and Martin's illness wanes, but there is skulduggery abound. His previous employers are killed in an arson attack, his beloved Cristina, is betrothed to another, (his benefactor) only to be driven to despair and . . . (no spoilers here I'm afraid). His muse, a young girl by the name of Isabella, is thrust upon him one night, and I couldn't tell whether she was going to be a distraction, a love interest, or fill his world with further anguish!!A shockingly good read then, and all the better I think for being the middle book in a three book series, that was so good as a stand-alone novel, that I didn't realise it had a prequel and a sequel, until after I'd read it.As near to a five star book as I've got this year and I feel certain that it will be in my top five books of 2016.Highly recommended

..ein Roman, den man nicht aus der Hand legen möchte..😉