Update on Carlos Ruiz Zafon

18 years ago

Well... searching through news articles, I found this Spanish press release dated March 7, 2008 (not sure when an English translation or overseas release might be planned):

Seven years since the publication of The Shadow of the Wind, ZafÃ³n's many Spanish fans are looking forward to April 17, when a print run of one million copies of his latest, still unnamed book, will go on sale.

The "cemetery of lost books," a huge, baroque library of obscure and forgotten titles that have long gone out of print, in the Barcelona neighborhood of Raval, and the father figure of the hero of The Shadow of the Wind are the elements which link the new work with its predecessor. Barcelona in the 1920s and 1930s, with its flamboyant bourgeoisie and powerful workers' movement, provides the backdrop to the story, which is a prequel to The Shadow of the Wind.

More tragic in tone, but with the same mixture of mystery and adventure that characterizes its predecessor, the new work is divided, according to Planeta publishing house, into three parts and is set in the old market of the Barcelona neighborhood of Borne and the area of Can Tunis, home to Andalusian emigrants

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Comments (7)

dynomutt
18 years ago
Great. So that gives me ..... about a few weeks to learn Spanish. ;-)
sherwood38
18 years ago
I think I was in the minority here when I read and said that I didn't think this was that great a book...it has been years since we read it to discuss, so I can't recall a lot of my thoughts-did anyone save the discussion?

Pat
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woodnymph2_gw
18 years ago
Thanks for keeping us posted. I look forward to the translation.
sheriz6
18 years ago
I really liked Shadow of the Wind, I do hope there will be an English translation issued sooner rather than later.
thyrkas
18 years ago
I was able to find the discussion on "The Shadow of the Wind", and moved the thread up - I think!
reader_in_transit
18 years ago
The new book--in Spanish--is out there, has been for a few months.

Its title: El Juego del Angel (The Angel's Game or literally The Game of the Angel). It is 667 pages long, but the print is larger than most books in English, so the translation may be slightly shorter. Surprinsingly, it's not too heavy.

As the press release posted by Georgia Peach above says, it takes place in early twentieth century Barcelona, and it is a prequel to The Shadow of the Wind. There is a character from that book in El Juego del Angel. As in that previous book, old Barcelona it's one of the main characters, you are there with our hero riding the trolley, walking the different neighborhoods, searching for clues in a slum by the sea.

I'm about 2/3 into it. So far, it's good. Won't say more now.

Dynomutt, if you were able to learn Spanish, as you considered doing (*big grin*), it is available at
B & N and Borders, in their Spanish book section.
reader_in_transit
18 years ago
correction:

...old Barcelona is one of the main characters, not it's

Update on Carlos Ruiz Zafon

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dynomutt

sherwood38

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