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A review by sarakomo
The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
2.0
2021: What the actual fuck just happened in this book?
Okay, so presumably you've made it here because you just finished [b:The Shadow of the Wind|1232|The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #1)|Carlos Ruiz Zafón|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1597921581l/1232._SY75_.jpg|3209783], had a great time, and decided to add The Angel's Game to your TBR. I am here to say STOP, DO NOT DO THAT, STAY AWAY ENTIRELY! I have never been so whiplashed by a sequel / prequel of a book I truly loved.
The first act of The Angel's Game sets up an interesting premise, although I have been fatigued by the number of novels based on religion that I've read recently. I thought that perhaps that frustrated me more than usual here, until I reread a passage that reminded me that no, this was worthy of frustration: "The main pillar of organized religion, with few exceptions, is the subjugation, repression, even the annulment of women in the group. Woman must accept the role of an ethereal, passive, and maternal presence, never of authority or independence, or she will have to suffer the consequences. She might have a place of honor in the symbolism, but not in the hierarchy. Religion and war are male pursuits. And anyhow, woman sometimes ends up becoming the accomplice in her own subjugation." Cool.
I was left with the impression that this would be a similar story to SotW, simply with a new narrator. I would define Daniel of SotW as a reliable narrator and a genuine good person that I spent the novel cheering for. I would define David of TAG as the antithesis of that. It just makes no sense why any of the characters who are involved in the "mystery" central to the book would even open up to David - he gives them no credible reason to trust him.
David's a full on creep to Isabella, his "assistant", a 17-year-old who LITERALLY shows up out of nowhere, ready to cook and clean for him, requiring no payment. Then, his best friend's driver's young daughter, who he's in love with, ends up marrying his best friend because David didn't "make a move". A couple chapters later, she divorces the bff and absconds with David abroad, because she "couldn't image life without him". Excuse me, what?! -1 for (you guessed it) not passing the Bechdel test.
As Zafón's describing one of the most pivotal scenes in the book, in which [REDACTED] drowns, he intersperses the fast paced scene with a weird tense: "I remember that I began to run." Sure, the whole narration takes place in the past, but nowhere is it indicated that David is remembering this story, or that he's recounting it to someone else. These inconsistencies appear throughout the book, and threw me off every time.
The third and final act of this wretched book involved David killing every single person he's met in the book (either by murder or manslaughter) and then the reveal that two different sets of characters are, in fact, the same people, oh and btw David is now immortal. The end. What a mess.
Okay, so presumably you've made it here because you just finished [b:The Shadow of the Wind|1232|The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #1)|Carlos Ruiz Zafón|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1597921581l/1232._SY75_.jpg|3209783], had a great time, and decided to add The Angel's Game to your TBR. I am here to say STOP, DO NOT DO THAT, STAY AWAY ENTIRELY! I have never been so whiplashed by a sequel / prequel of a book I truly loved.
The first act of The Angel's Game sets up an interesting premise, although I have been fatigued by the number of novels based on religion that I've read recently. I thought that perhaps that frustrated me more than usual here, until I reread a passage that reminded me that no, this was worthy of frustration: "The main pillar of organized religion, with few exceptions, is the subjugation, repression, even the annulment of women in the group. Woman must accept the role of an ethereal, passive, and maternal presence, never of authority or independence, or she will have to suffer the consequences. She might have a place of honor in the symbolism, but not in the hierarchy. Religion and war are male pursuits. And anyhow, woman sometimes ends up becoming the accomplice in her own subjugation." Cool.
I was left with the impression that this would be a similar story to SotW, simply with a new narrator. I would define Daniel of SotW as a reliable narrator and a genuine good person that I spent the novel cheering for. I would define David of TAG as the antithesis of that. It just makes no sense why any of the characters who are involved in the "mystery" central to the book would even open up to David - he gives them no credible reason to trust him.
David's a full on creep to Isabella, his "assistant", a 17-year-old who LITERALLY shows up out of nowhere, ready to cook and clean for him, requiring no payment. Then, his best friend's driver's young daughter, who he's in love with, ends up marrying his best friend because David didn't "make a move". A couple chapters later, she divorces the bff and absconds with David abroad, because she "couldn't image life without him". Excuse me, what?! -1 for (you guessed it) not passing the Bechdel test.
As Zafón's describing one of the most pivotal scenes in the book, in which [REDACTED] drowns, he intersperses the fast paced scene with a weird tense: "I remember that I began to run." Sure, the whole narration takes place in the past, but nowhere is it indicated that David is remembering this story, or that he's recounting it to someone else. These inconsistencies appear throughout the book, and threw me off every time.
The third and final act of this wretched book involved David killing every single person he's met in the book (either by murder or manslaughter) and then the reveal that two different sets of characters are, in fact, the same people, oh and btw David is now immortal. The end. What a mess.