El Prisionero del Cielo

July 23, 2012
Characters from The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game reconvene in Zafón's newest literary thriller. When a stranger shows up at the struggling Sempere & Sons bookshop in Barcelona in 1957 to buy a rare and expensive volume, Daniel Sempereâthe sonâsets out to uncover the mysterious man's motives. The resulting mix of history and mystery drives this third installment in Zafón's cycle about the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a "sprawling labyrinthâ¦like the trunk of an endless tree." What Daniel discovers will implicate those he loves, has lost, and loathesâfrom his soon-to-be-wed friend, Fermín; to Daniel's mother, Isabella, who died under questionable circumstances; his father; his wife, Bea, and infant son, Julian; and a host of schemers, torturers, corrupt governmental officials, writers, and lovers, many of whom have changed identities, hurriedly penned secret missives, and stashed keys to hidden treasures. Zafón's storytelling is deft and well-paced, and his vivid prose brings the cultural riches and political strife of Franco-era Spain to life. Though the book will undoubtedly please readers familiar with his other novels, as the introduction explains, the book is a "self-contained tale" capable of standing aloneâsomething it does with aplomb.