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degroot_maartje's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
lricoy's review against another edition
5.0
Um presente póstumo para todos que acompanharam uma Barcelona que só existiu entre essas páginas, tão mais real que a realidade.
alecia's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
I loved the Cemetery of Forgotten Books series so very much.
I'm sad to say I was rather underwhelmed with The City of Mist short stories. The love that I have for Zafón's writing makes it especially hard to write such a review, since the anthology was published posthumously. Alas, I write the review for others who may want to read or who have read The City of Mist.
The gothic atmosphere that Zafón so loves is here in full force. His writing, as always, is atmospheric and lyrical. However, I think that his writing became stunted due to the fact that these are short stories. I found myself to not be invested in any of the stories or the characters - even those that we had met before in previous novels fell flat for me. It felt that the male protagonist in each story was interchangeable - all some tortured auteur who craved greatness in a universal sense. This greatness can only truly be achieved through arcane dark deals with devilish angels. I find this to be an interesting theme, but the characters themselves did not have traits that defined them. (Perhaps this was intentional, but I don't particularly enjoy this).
I kept getting pulled out of the stories by the representation of women and girls. They are few and far between. They exist to 1)be the object of male desire, and to give into that desire. Because these are short stories, there is no time for love or desire to form in a believable way. Instead, immediate desire is formed, with very little narrative to support it. Even the women who are seen on the page more often exist in the capacity to serve men as prostitutes. 2) The women are all breakable, fragile, sickly. They are all alabaster skinned, porcelain. They are interchangeable. I could not tell you what any of the non-angel men look like. 3)Because the women are all so fragile, they all break. And their breaking results in the irrevocable soul-shattering of the men that so obsessed over them. If their is a message to be sent here, I'm not understanding it. Perhaps poets and artists overly romanticize women, in general. And true, pure love is unachievable, or transient, or irreplaceable? I'm being generous. Perhaps these depictions are meant to ultimately support the gothic atmosphere. I just wish it was different to be honest.
I'm sad to say I was rather underwhelmed with The City of Mist short stories. The love that I have for Zafón's writing makes it especially hard to write such a review, since the anthology was published posthumously. Alas, I write the review for others who may want to read or who have read The City of Mist.
The gothic atmosphere that Zafón so loves is here in full force. His writing, as always, is atmospheric and lyrical. However, I think that his writing became stunted due to the fact that these are short stories. I found myself to not be invested in any of the stories or the characters - even those that we had met before in previous novels fell flat for me. It felt that the male protagonist in each story was interchangeable - all some tortured auteur who craved greatness in a universal sense. This greatness can only truly be achieved through arcane dark deals with devilish angels. I find this to be an interesting theme, but the characters themselves did not have traits that defined them. (Perhaps this was intentional, but I don't particularly enjoy this).
I kept getting pulled out of the stories by the representation of women and girls. They are few and far between. They exist to 1)be the object of male desire, and to give into that desire. Because these are short stories, there is no time for love or desire to form in a believable way. Instead, immediate desire is formed, with very little narrative to support it. Even the women who are seen on the page more often exist in the capacity to serve men as prostitutes. 2) The women are all breakable, fragile, sickly. They are all alabaster skinned, porcelain. They are interchangeable. I could not tell you what any of the non-angel men look like. 3)Because the women are all so fragile, they all break. And their breaking results in the irrevocable soul-shattering of the men that so obsessed over them. If their is a message to be sent here, I'm not understanding it. Perhaps poets and artists overly romanticize women, in general. And true, pure love is unachievable, or transient, or irreplaceable? I'm being generous. Perhaps these depictions are meant to ultimately support the gothic atmosphere. I just wish it was different to be honest.
pazley's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
k101's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
gabbybooks91's review against another edition
4.0
Nunca había leído nada de este señorón, y para ser mi primera vez me quedo con un gran sabor de boca.
No le doy las 5⭐️ porque me di cuenta que hablan de personajes de la saga del “cementerio de los libros olvidados”, por lo cual me quedo con esta calificación hasta el momento en que lea aquella saga.
No le doy las 5⭐️ porque me di cuenta que hablan de personajes de la saga del “cementerio de los libros olvidados”, por lo cual me quedo con esta calificación hasta el momento en que lea aquella saga.
angevba's review against another edition
5.0
Desde lo mas profundo de mi alma debo decir que voy a extrañar leer historias como estas, poéticas, cálidas, tristes y profundas. Me encantaron, extrañare a Zafon, me formó como lectora desde que tenia 14 años.
bwatk893's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5