Romancing Italy

This was my summer beach companion, The Angel's Game which, for me, was like the growing and fading light of day. It began slowly with the story of a writer who gets a promising break to write for a newspaper and his career gets brighter and brighter. Just as the day fades into night, the story shifts into various depths of despair.

Zafon's writing is vivid and he paints clear pictures of old Barcelona....images that drew me into the story of the main character David Martin. When David had a paranormal experience, I kept on reading thinking there must be a rational explanation.

The story becomes darker as Martin's life progresses with the equilibrium of the story weighing more and more on the supernatural side. This is not generally my taste in reading and perhaps if I had another English book to read I might have dropped this one. However, it is to Zafron's credit that I'd admit he had me hooked with the build-up of his plot that I wanted to read to the end.

Martin is a writer looking to get ahead during the difficult 20's in Barcelona. He gets a break at work that eventually leads him to a publisher with a shady and somewhat mystical past. His dealings with the publisher not only changes his life but also that of everyone close to him.

Zafron chooses his words well to describe Martin's journey through a myriad of emotions; hope, joy, despair, fear and certain madness. His characters become alive and the story picks up speed like an action movie toward the end.

There are no loose ends as Zafron neatly ties up every story line he started but even with story resolution, this tale left me feeling low. I imagine if you like supernatural fantasy, The Angel's Game with Zafron's descriptive writing style, will be the book for you. (Click the link below to go to Amazon.com)