The Angel's Game - Final Thoughts

I think Carlos Ruiz Zafon is one of my new favorite authors. He is a masterful and poetic storyteller.

I loved The Angel's Game. I will be honest and admit that I probably did not get all of the symbolism and hidden messages within the text, but I really enjoyed the ride. I followed up on goodreads and read some other people's interpretations of the story. I was never sure if Andreas Corelli, the mysterious and ageless publisher, was the devil or a manifestation of the dark side of David. Some readers surmise that Cristina's resurrection was supposed to parallel the resurrection of Christ. I think it is an interesting theory. I also read someone's suggestion that the religious manifesto David wrote for AC could have been a recipe for Nazism. Fascinating. And it makes sense when you consider that the Epilogue is dated in 1945.

Generally speaking, it is a story about human weaknesses and the consequences of giving into them. It is a very dark, morbid, cold, and chilling tale. That said, it also has warmth in the form of Isabella and the Sempere men. More than Cristina, I thought that Isabella was the "light" in David's life. She was his voice of reason and unconditional friend while Senor Sempere was his surrogate father.

I am a little conflicted about Pedro Vidal. He took care of David and encouraged his literary pursuits but at the same time, he "stole" the woman that David loved even while he knew that she loved David. Not cool.

I hope Zafon comes out with something else soon!