Carlos Ruiz Zafon is one of my favorite writers, the man has a beautiful way of telling a story... slowly drawing you in and wrapping the narrative around you until your completely immersed and lost in his world. His books always have me thinking about for days afterwards, even if I'm reading something else.. .book hangover that I don't mind :).
I discovered him by chance when I was browsing through Ollie's and saw 'Shadow of the Wind' for $2. It sounded intriguing so I snapped it up and took it home... forgot about it for awhile then I was looking for my next read in my bookshelves and it jumped out at me...
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Watcher in the Shadows is the next in a series of YA novels Zafon wrote before Shadow of the Wind far as I know... This one is my favorite of the lot, so far ;).
An atmospheric, subtly creepy story... I was gone from the very first page:
"Dear Irene,
Sometimes I think I am doomed never to forget the mirage of that summer we spent together in Blue Bay. You'd be surprised to see how little things have changed since those days. The lighthouse still rises through the haze like a sentry, and the road that runs alongside the Englishman's Beach is now just a faint track snaking through the sand to nowhere."
A character name I remembered from 'The Angel's game' re-appeared and my mouth dropped open , I nearly said "You son of a bitch!" aloud before belatedly realizing I was in public haha... If you remember David's "employer" from that book, you know who I mean. (I won't spoil for you his name in the book that he goes by)
This man has a small but significant part in the book, and he sets in motion consequences that Lazarus Jann doesn't fully understand at the time, not until much later.
*Side note: Makes me wonder if Mister Zafon had this planned out as this characters first appearance, laying the ground for the Angel's game or was just testing him out.*
Each person has a part of the story to tell (Lazarus, Simone, Dorian, Irene, Ishmael, Hannah) and it pieces together things for you and leads you subtly down the path. When everything is tied together at the end, a chill ran down my spine and a tingling came in my hands. Giddy, surprised, and creeped out/slightly horrified at the same time.
The 'battle' at the end in Cravenmoore had me gripping the pages, praying that 'it/' could be stopped and hoping for all my favorites to make it out... I wanted to jump in Cravenmoore and help them but all I could do was bite my lip and try to read faster while not missing a word.
The end for one was sad but made sense in the end after I thought about it... he started it all and in a way, it was up to him to get it set to rights. One final scene Ishmael witnessed broke my heart for Lazarus.
The final narration of Irene cleared some things up and ties in with the beginning and leaves you with a smile on your face. :)
I'll leave you with this quote from the book:
"In a world of lights and shadows, every person, every one of us, needs to find their own way."
Another beautiful book from Mister Zafon, I highly recommend any of his works... I can't praise him enough <3
From 'note from the author' at the beginning of the book:
" These novels deliberately hark back to bygone days. They remind me of what the discovery of reading meant to me. I hope they remind you too, regardless of your age. "
I discovered him by chance when I was browsing through Ollie's and saw 'Shadow of the Wind' for $2. It sounded intriguing so I snapped it up and took it home... forgot about it for awhile then I was looking for my next read in my bookshelves and it jumped out at me...
----
Watcher in the Shadows is the next in a series of YA novels Zafon wrote before Shadow of the Wind far as I know... This one is my favorite of the lot, so far ;).
An atmospheric, subtly creepy story... I was gone from the very first page:
"Dear Irene,
Sometimes I think I am doomed never to forget the mirage of that summer we spent together in Blue Bay. You'd be surprised to see how little things have changed since those days. The lighthouse still rises through the haze like a sentry, and the road that runs alongside the Englishman's Beach is now just a faint track snaking through the sand to nowhere."
A character name I remembered from 'The Angel's game' re-appeared and my mouth dropped open , I nearly said "You son of a bitch!" aloud before belatedly realizing I was in public haha... If you remember David's "employer" from that book, you know who I mean. (I won't spoil for you his name in the book that he goes by)
This man has a small but significant part in the book, and he sets in motion consequences that Lazarus Jann doesn't fully understand at the time, not until much later.
*Side note: Makes me wonder if Mister Zafon had this planned out as this characters first appearance, laying the ground for the Angel's game or was just testing him out.*
Each person has a part of the story to tell (Lazarus, Simone, Dorian, Irene, Ishmael, Hannah) and it pieces together things for you and leads you subtly down the path. When everything is tied together at the end, a chill ran down my spine and a tingling came in my hands. Giddy, surprised, and creeped out/slightly horrified at the same time.
The 'battle' at the end in Cravenmoore had me gripping the pages, praying that 'it/' could be stopped and hoping for all my favorites to make it out... I wanted to jump in Cravenmoore and help them but all I could do was bite my lip and try to read faster while not missing a word.
The end for one was sad but made sense in the end after I thought about it... he started it all and in a way, it was up to him to get it set to rights. One final scene Ishmael witnessed broke my heart for Lazarus.
The final narration of Irene cleared some things up and ties in with the beginning and leaves you with a smile on your face. :)
I'll leave you with this quote from the book:
"In a world of lights and shadows, every person, every one of us, needs to find their own way."
Another beautiful book from Mister Zafon, I highly recommend any of his works... I can't praise him enough <3
From 'note from the author' at the beginning of the book:
" These novels deliberately hark back to bygone days. They remind me of what the discovery of reading meant to me. I hope they remind you too, regardless of your age. "
