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The Prisoner of Heaven A Novel Carlos Ruiz Zafon Books

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The Prisoner of Heaven A Novel Carlos Ruiz Zafon Books

This is an unfinished work, in my opinion. Storylines that should have taken up long chapters are given merely pages. The truncated nature of this book is tragic because the bones of the story have so much potential. Many undercurrents were not explored thoroughly enough.

It's not often that one wishes a book would exceed 500 pages, but this is definitely one of them. Major characters are here and then gone all of a sudden, with little to no explanation. Not enough space is given to exploring minor characters. Important scenes seem to pull up lame, as though unsure of their potential. And, worst of all, Zafon never quite stretches out his wings, depriving us of the unique turns of phrase and descriptive abilities that make him such a compelling writer. This book has the feeling of a three minute song that had every right to become a two hour opera but simply wasn't given the chance. The inexplicable brevity leaves the reader with the impression that this is more a publication of sketches rather than the fully fleshed-out, rich, and captivating world we've come to expect from the Cemetery of Forgotten Books series.

I love the idea behind this story. I admire the way Zafon created interesting characters. I loved imagining myself in the streets of this bygone Barcelona. Therefore, I cannot imagine why someone saw fit to publish a book that clearly had so much more to offer. Make no mistake about it: This is not a case of a story being unworthy of further exploration. This is a book that was left rushed and released in an incomplete form. I hope that someday, maybe in his old age, Zafon decides to return to the Prisoner of Heaven and release a much, much longer version.


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The Prisoner of Heaven A Novel Carlos Ruiz Zafon Books Reviews

The novel takes place in the 1940's in Barcelona, Spain during the era of Franco's cruel dictatorship. It is a novel that is the story of a man who is imprisoned under false pretenses in a terrible prison in which people that are incarcerated there, do not leave but die. The hero of this novel manages to escape. He has a nemesis that threatens his life and his loved ones. He faces torture and menace in this time but in the end, he is able of find deep love that enables him to exist and have a meaningful life. This novel was the third in a trilogy and I hadn't read the first two, so it was bit confusing at times. I think had I read the first two books that I would have enjoyed it more! I would definitely recommend reading the books in order.
While the book itself is filled with excellent prose and lively characters, The Prisoner of Heaven falls short in the actual storytelling department. Compared to Zafon's previous two books, which were both over 500 pages and told complete stories, Prisoner of Heaven doesn't even reach 300 and ends without any kind of closure whatsoever, as though his agent walked in on Zafon writing one day, took a look at what he had done so far, and thought 'Good enough!' before whisking it off to the publishers.

Zafon presents readers with a plethora of mysteries, all very loosely related, and then never explores them, leaving plenty of unanswered questions that even the characters themselves want answers to and repeatedly wonder why they aren't given. It's obvious that Zafon has a follow up novel in the works, taking place immediately after this one that will act as a Part II to the story. But as it stands, Prisoner of Heaven not only feels incomplete, but IS incomplete. With new, obviously principal characters still being introduced even in the last chapters, I went so far as to look online to see if perhaps there was an error with the eBook version that left me without an entire second half. There wasn't. And because of this, Prisoner of Heaven feels more like a fan fiction story focusing on everyone's favorite character, Fermin Romero de Torres, rather than on the story as a whole.

Don't get me wrong - were it the first act of an actual, complete book, you wouldn't be reading such a negative review. What story we do get is engaging and wrought with emotion and beautiful imagery. But it's because it's being sold as a complete novel and because The Prisoner of Heaven only exists as a lead up to another, unreleased novel that the disappointment I felt at its premature ending was so severe. Had they advertised the book as a 'Part I' from the get go, my reaction and expectations would have been vastly different.

As it stands, if you're considering reading the book, I'd recommend waiting until the inevitable box set containing both parts of the one story is released, that way you're not stuck in an unfinished limbo like the rest of us.
I can't say enough good things about Carlos Ruiz Zafon's books about Barcelona in the 1950s. The Cemetery of Forgotten Books is a delightful concept and the characters feel like real people. This installment reaches back into the days of the Spanish Civil War and World War II and sheds light on the mysterious history of Daniel Sempere, the son of a local bookstore owner and his friend and protector, Fermin.

If you haven't read any of Zafon's books I would suggest starting with The Shadow of the Wind,which is one of my all time favorite novels. Each book is beautifully written, full of twists and turns and surprises, some humor as well is insights into the human condition. A highly recommended series.
This is an unfinished work, in my opinion. Storylines that should have taken up long chapters are given merely pages. The truncated nature of this book is tragic because the bones of the story have so much potential. Many undercurrents were not explored thoroughly enough.

It's not often that one wishes a book would exceed 500 pages, but this is definitely one of them. Major characters are here and then gone all of a sudden, with little to no explanation. Not enough space is given to exploring minor characters. Important scenes seem to pull up lame, as though unsure of their potential. And, worst of all, Zafon never quite stretches out his wings, depriving us of the unique turns of phrase and descriptive abilities that make him such a compelling writer. This book has the feeling of a three minute song that had every right to become a two hour opera but simply wasn't given the chance. The inexplicable brevity leaves the reader with the impression that this is more a publication of sketches rather than the fully fleshed-out, rich, and captivating world we've come to expect from the Cemetery of Forgotten Books series.

I love the idea behind this story. I admire the way Zafon created interesting characters. I loved imagining myself in the streets of this bygone Barcelona. Therefore, I cannot imagine why someone saw fit to publish a book that clearly had so much more to offer. Make no mistake about it This is not a case of a story being unworthy of further exploration. This is a book that was left rushed and released in an incomplete form. I hope that someday, maybe in his old age, Zafon decides to return to the Prisoner of Heaven and release a much, much longer version.