"El Prisionero del Cielo" ("The Prisoner of Heaven") is third in a series of four novels, written by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, telling the story about 20th century Barcelona, its people and its secrets. To write about the story would be unfair to those that haven't yet read any of the books so I will try to steer away from it. What is interesting about this book is that it brings together characters from the first two books and makes everything even more connected. The main characters of the series are the Sempere family: Sempere Sr., his wife Isabella, their son Daniel and his wife Beatriz, as well as Daniel's friend Fermín Romero de Torres and a writer named David Martín. How are they all connected is best you find out for yourselves. Nevertheless, I won't spoil anything if I say one of the key places in the story is the Sempere & Sons bookshop. That shows the importance that books have in the series and hints to a kind of meta-quality of it. But I should get back to the specific book.
How to write about a book without telling its story? "El Prisionero del Cielo" is a novel which takes you to many places and times. In itself as well as in your imagination. It talks of love, doubt, happiness, mysteries, fortune, madness, tragedy. Of history as well as future. Of hopes and dreams of the characters it depicts as well as our own. And Zafón writes it through Daniel Sempere's narration with such style, once I opened it, I couldn't stop reading until I got to the end. Its main charm is the atmosphere he creates. Dark alleys, smoky bars, old houses, prison cells and decaying barracks populated by greedy politicians, violent policemen, virtuous scribes, brave women, insecure husbands, noble rogues, mad writers and a lot of books, colored by the scent and murmur of the sea, and filled with secrets you wouldn't dare think of.
Reading this novel, as well as the first two in the series, reminds us of the beauty of books, how much knowledge is hidden in them, and what joy they can bring. The only thing that disappoints is that unlike first two parts, this one leaves perhaps one loose thread too many. Of course, that's bad just because the fourth part isn't written yet and we have to wait to explore new paths which Zafón will lead us through. The wait is unbearable, but luckily there is already a whole world we can immerse ourselves into. Both in the books and everywhere around us.
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