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Full Circle
Jan. 25th, 2019 08:22 pmBook Review: The Labyrinth of the Spirits, by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Some years have passed, both in this world and in the Spain of Zafón's imagination, since the previous books in this series (The Shadow of the Wind, The Angel's Game, and The Prisoner of Heaven). It is the mid-1950s, though there are flashbacks to the civil war period, in which Alicia Gris narrowly escaped death as a child with the help of fugitive Fermín Romero de Torres, though she did fall through the roof of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books in Barcelona and acquired significant injuries as a result. Orphaned, she became a child of the streets before being caught in the web of Leandro Montalvo, who runs some part of the national security apparatus (it is never given a name). Returning to the 1950s and transferring to Madrid, government minister Mauricio Valls (who has appeared in previous novels) has gone missing, and Montalvo's unit is assigned to investigate. Inevitably, the trail seems to lead to Barcelona and the Sempere bookshop.
The background of the previous novels is not necessary to read this one, though some characters and history do become more immediately visible with that knowledge. It's certainly a dark read, with some quite sadistic and gory episodes, and a disturbingly high body count. Giving one of the "good" characters (who nevertheless does some pretty awful things) a role within the authorities, but also a disillusioned perspective, has a Le Carré touch to it; trying to figure out who is on which side sometimes makes it feel more like the X-Files. The story provides a conclusion, but not necessarily a resolution; despite the standard disclaimer, one is left wondering how much is imagination and how much is grim insight into the years of the Franco regime.
Some years have passed, both in this world and in the Spain of Zafón's imagination, since the previous books in this series (The Shadow of the Wind, The Angel's Game, and The Prisoner of Heaven). It is the mid-1950s, though there are flashbacks to the civil war period, in which Alicia Gris narrowly escaped death as a child with the help of fugitive Fermín Romero de Torres, though she did fall through the roof of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books in Barcelona and acquired significant injuries as a result. Orphaned, she became a child of the streets before being caught in the web of Leandro Montalvo, who runs some part of the national security apparatus (it is never given a name). Returning to the 1950s and transferring to Madrid, government minister Mauricio Valls (who has appeared in previous novels) has gone missing, and Montalvo's unit is assigned to investigate. Inevitably, the trail seems to lead to Barcelona and the Sempere bookshop.
The background of the previous novels is not necessary to read this one, though some characters and history do become more immediately visible with that knowledge. It's certainly a dark read, with some quite sadistic and gory episodes, and a disturbingly high body count. Giving one of the "good" characters (who nevertheless does some pretty awful things) a role within the authorities, but also a disillusioned perspective, has a Le Carré touch to it; trying to figure out who is on which side sometimes makes it feel more like the X-Files. The story provides a conclusion, but not necessarily a resolution; despite the standard disclaimer, one is left wondering how much is imagination and how much is grim insight into the years of the Franco regime.