Amazon Feature: Larry Nolen’s Review of Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s El Juego del Ángel
Jeff VanderMeer • May 11th, 2008 @ 9:31 pm • Book Reviews
Thanks to Larry at OF Blog of the Fallen for agreeing to do what may be one of the first (possibly the first) English-language reviews of Zafon’s new book, currently only available in Spanish. Zafon’s previous novel, The Shadow of the Wind, was an international bestseller. Check out this exclusive Amazon feature.
May 11, 2008 at 9:47 pm
As I said before, it was a pleasure doing this, Jeff. Thanks for giving me the opportunity, as this has been a novel I’ve been wanting to read for years now and thankfully it was better than what I had expected. If you ever need me to review something published in Spanish, let me know and I’ll do my best to help :D
May 12, 2008 at 9:09 am
Can’t wait to read this book. I loved the first one!
May 12, 2008 at 10:58 am
Yay! Time to get my copy. Thanks for the review, Larry.
Although the peninsular Spanish still makes my brain sore every once in a while. I wonder if I can get a Mexican ‘translation’. =D
May 12, 2008 at 11:04 am
I loved the first one too, Ann, which is why I jumped all over this when Jeff offered it to me. Thankfully, all of what I loved about the first was preserved in the second and improved upon in a few places.
Timblynod, I felt the same way, although more so when I was translating those interviews with a Salvadorean friend of mine than when I was reading the novel!
August 5, 2008 at 4:12 pm
I finished it last night. I think I liked it a little less than Larry (and a little less than SHADOW OF THE WIND), but overall it was quite good. My main complaint is that parts of it felt rushed and not thought all the way through. Curiously, the ending, which is what some Spanish language reviewers have groused about, I liked the best. It also has a stronger fantastical element than the first novel.