Angels Game Carlos Ruiz Zafon at Amazon
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Did You Know… Mexico has 27 World Heritage Sites. It has more World Heritage Sites than Australia (17), Brazil (18), Canada (14), Egypt (7), Greece (17), Peru (10), Japan (14) and the United States (20). Some of the wonders of Mexico are the Historic Town of Guanajuato, the Historic Centre of Puebla, the Pre-Hispanic City of Teotihuacan, the Historic Centre of Morelia, the Historic Monuments Zone of Querétaro, the Pre-Hispanic Town of Uxmal, the Historic Monuments Zone of Tlacotalpan and the Ancient Maya City of Calakmul. Did You Know… Mexico now ranks 53rd of 177 countries in the United Nation`s Human Development Index. Did You Know… Mexico has the world record for beaches: Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, Puerto Escondido, Puerto Angelito, Puerto Angel, Playa Cementerio, Playa Canta Mar, Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco, Barra de Navidad, Zihuatanejo… Did You Know… Guadalajara hosts the 2011 Pan American Games. The Pan American Games will host more athletes from more countries and territories, competing in more Olympic sports for more Pan American medals, than ever before in the 55-year-history of the modern Pan American Games. The Chichen Itzá Pyramid in Mexico was named one of the new seven wonders of the world. Did You Know… The Zacatecas Cathedral is considered one of the world`s most gorgeous churches. Did You Know… The most famous Mexican painter after Frida Kahlo was Diego Rivera. Who was he? Diego Rivera was Frida Kahlo`s husband. Did You Know… More languages are spoken in Mexico than in Europe. That`s because that country is home to 60 Indian nations. Did You Know… In 2007, three Mexican teenagers won the Eight National Geographic World Championship. They were Emanuel Johanssen Campos (15), Carlos Franco Ruíz (14) and Angel Aliseda Alonso (16). Johanssen, was born in Tejalpa, Mexico, said, “To win gold, it`s in truth great. I don´t have any words”. They had aid from translator in the contest, which was held in English. Did You Know… Mexico is a study in contrasts. Bustling progressed places with all the latest amenities are surrounded by mountains and rainforest. Did You Know… Lagunas de Montebello National Park is one of North America`s outstanding wildlife sanctuaries. It is one of the most necessary tourist spots in Mexico. Did You Know… Anthony Quinn was the introductory Mexican to receive an Academy Award-as Best Supporting Actor for his 1952 performance in “Viva Zapata!”. He played Emiliano Zapata, who was one of the leading figures of the Mexican Revolution of 1910. Did You Know… Felipe Muñoz was an Olympic swimmer who won one gold medal in swimming at the 1968 Olympic Games. Did You Know… Mexico is the richest and most highly invented country in Latin America. Did You Know… The national sport in Mexico is soccer. Many Mexican children get started playing football as soon as they may walk. Did You Know… Raul Velasco will stay one of the biggest television hosts of all time. He was born in Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico. Did You Know… Mexico is closely three times as huge as Texas and more than twice as huge as Venezuela. Did You Know… Benito Pablo Juárez García became the initial indigenous president in the world. He was elected president of Mexico in 1858. Benito Juárez is admired for his integrily and steadfast principles. Did You Know… Mexico has a good deal of famous athletes: Soraya Jiménez (weighlifter), Joel Sánchez (athletics), Iridia Salazar (taekwondo), Fernando Platas (diving), Victor Estrada (taekwondo), Cristian Bejarano (boxing), Belem Guerrero (cycling), Oscar Salazar (taekwondo) and Ana Guevara (track and field). Did You Know… Laura Elena Martinez Harring from Texas became the original Hispanic-American woman to be crowned Miss United States pageant (1985). She was born on March 3, 1964, in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico. Did You Know… Salma Hayek is a Mexican motion-picture actress who became a symbol of breakthrough of Latin American performers in U.S. films. She was born in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico. Did You Know… Mexico is for the most part known abroad for formulating outstanding business leaders: Emilio Azcarraga, Roberto Hernández Ramírez, Angel Losada, Jeronimo Arango, Carlos Slium Helú, Joan Sanchez Navarro, María Asunción Arambuzabala, Lorenzo Zambrano, Isaac Saba Raffoul, Alfredo Harp Helú and Ricardo Salinas Pliego. Did You Know… The vast majority of Mexicans in the United Mexican States area now get enjoyment from a more outstanding quality of life than over before. Did You Know… The most famous Mexican song is “Maria Bonita” by Agustín Lara. “Maria Bonita” is a symbol from Mexico in the world. Agustín was born in Tlacotalpan, Veracruz, Mexico. Did You Know… Mexico is one of the most stable and democratic nations in the Third World. Did You Know… Eulalio Ríos attains his place in history as the basi Mexican to win a Pan American gold medal in the 200 meter butterfly swimming contest at the 1955 Pan American Games. Did You Know… Acapulco hosted the Miss Universe 1978. For the introductory time, Miss Universe pageant was kept in Mexico. Acapulco was chosen as hosts by Miss Universe Organization in June 1977. There were 75 contestants taking part in this year´s pageant. Margaret Gardinier won the original Miss Universe title for South Africa. Miss Yucatan and Miss Mexico, Alba Margarita Cervera Lavat, qualified for the semi-finals at the Miss Universe. The judges were Christian Martell (Miss France and Miss Universe 1953), Dewi Sukarno (former firstborn lady of Indonesia), Ursula Andress (Swiss actress), Mario Moreno (Mexican actor), Roberto Cavalli (Italian fashion designer), Anna Moffo (American soprano), Line Renaud (French actress), Melba Moore (American singer), Milos Forman (Czech filmmaker) and Wilhelmina (former Dutch supermodel). Most helpful customer reviews 200 of 208 people found the following review helpful. But wow, what a writer. From the first page, you are once again immersed in Ruiz-Zafon’s writing style. He is so atmospheric. The Barcelona I visited some years ago, that was light and bright and full of fun architecture, is here transformed into a Gothic vision of darkness and depression and cruelty. Ruiz-Zafon is masterful at creating a sense of place in his books. He knows his way around Barcelona with his eyes closed, and the city is just as much a character in the book as anyone else. The Angel’s Game is in a different vein entirely than The Shadow of the Wind, but the same themes (and at least two characters) resonate in both. Most importantly, both novels detail the power that books can have in our lives, the voids they fill within us, and the myriad methods by which they can mold us- for better or for worse. 229 of 241 people found the following review helpful. And when the first page offered up the following sentence, “Don Basilo was a forbidden-looking man with a bushy moustache who did not suffer fools and who subscribed to the theory that the liberal use of adverbs and adjectives was the mark of a pervert or someone with a vitamin deficiency,” my enthusiasm grew. Which is, of course, my way of easing into my disappointment in this book. True, my expectations were too great, but while I enjoyed “The Angels’ Game”, I felt it took on a bit too much and lost some of the main threads that “Shadow of the Wind” wove so masterfully. The first 2/3 of the book contained everything I was looking for. The lush descriptions of Barcelona, of the characters that inhabit her, the rising crescendo of the plot. All kept me turning the pages. Here, too, I found the most insightful comments…the ones that are spoken in a fictional 1920′s Spain but seem just as fitting in today’s world. “…like all wars, was fought in the name of God and country to make a few men who were already far too powerful when they started it, even more powerful.” And even truer, “What a mess the world is in,” cried the man, reading the news in his paper. “It seems that in the advanced stages of stupidity, a lack of ideas is compensated for by an excess of ideologies.” I am realizing as I go through my notes that I enjoyed these side notes almost more than the main story of the book. The main character, David Martin, is commissioned to write a book for which “people will live and die”. He is set with the task of creating a basis for a new religion, and as such, looks at those that have been created before, trying to find their commonalities and the hook, if you will, that drew in the followers. His employer in that endeavor, comes with the requisite scent of sulfur, and was very reminiscent (to me) of Robert DeNiro in “Angel Heart”, fingernails and all. He also comes with a full serving of cynicism that was immensely enjoyable. “An intellectual is usually someone who isn’t exactly distinguished by his own intellect,” Corelli asserted. “He claims that label to compensate for his own inadequacies. It’s as old as that saying: tell me what you boast of and I’ll tell you what you lack. Our daily bread. The incompetent always present themselves as experts, the cruel as pious, sinners as excessively devout, usurers as benefactors, the small-minded as patriots, the arrogant as humble, the vulgar as elegant and the feeble-minded as intellectual.” And later, “You should publish tourist guides instead of religious texts,” I suggested. “It comes to the same thing, more or less.” The last 1/3 of the book, though, is where I felt it faltered. The plot becomes very wound up, the characters become less distinguishable from one another, and there is more blood spilled than seems exists in the body of the book. And the underlying draw, the idea that books, that words can have souls, that the printed page contains magic and power, seems forgotten. “…the perfume of paper and magic that strangely no one had ever thought of bottling” dissipates until it is but a memory, save for one scene near the end that feels a bit tacked on. I love books. I love books about books. I enjoyed “The Angel’s Game” but felt a different kind of sadness when I turned the last page. Instead of feeling a loss for what was finished, I felt a loss for what could have been. I will still eagerly await the next book by Carlos Ruiz Zafon…but hope there are more “Shadows” in it than “Angel’s”. 89 of 94 people found the following review helpful. I read and loved “The Shadow of the Wind” and when my husband asked me if this book was better, I thought for a moment and told him I thought it was as good. It’s hard to really judge which is better as this work is quite different from “The Shadow of the Wind”. Part of what really drew me into this work were its uncanny similarities to the works of Poe. Zafon imbues the very city of Barcelona with such menace that it seems like a beast, hulking over its inhabitants. So many of the pages are suffused with a sense of dread and there are scenes in the book that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. There are definitely more elements of the supernatural in this work than I remember there being in “The Shadow of the Wind”, but that’s not to say that this is a ghost story. At its heart, this book is about obsession. Zafon delves into some pretty heavy questions about the nature of human obsessions with everything from faith and religion to literature to love. In reading about David’s obsessions, it is easy for the reader to reflect on his or her own forms of obsession. Zafon has created a deeply psychological work that leaves the reader wondering just how reliable David Martin’s narrative really is. How many of the horrors that he experiences are the product of his own imagination? His characters are complex and well-drawn and they exist in varying shades of gray. Even though David is the hero, it’s difficult at times to really reconcile with his behavior. He is certainly a dark hero and this is a dark novel. Zafon excels at plumbing the depths of the human psyche, at examining the question of what it is that motivates us to act as we do. Some characters are more admirable than others but very few are pure of heart. They are like actual living, breathing people–usually propelled by their own desires and their own sense of self-interest. This is truly a very dense work, one that will leave the reader thinking long after the last page has been read. Zafon’s gift is singular and he rewards his reader with a story that will stick with him or her for a long time. |
Years ago, when I begun working on my fifth novel, The Shadow of the Wind, I started toying around with the idea of creating a fictional universe that would be articulated through four interconnected stories in which we would meet a good deal of of the same characters at dissimilar times in their lives, and see them from dissimilar perspectives where galore plots and subplots would tie around in knots for the reader to untie. It sounds more or less pretentious, but my idea was to add a twist to the story and provide the reader with what I hoped would be a stimulating and playful reading experience. Since these books were, in part, regarding the world of literature, books, reading and language, I thought it would be interesting to use the dissimilar novels to explore those themes through dissimilar angles and to add new layers to the meaning of the stories. 
The Angel’s Game
Great Expectations
Mystical and beautifully written