Barbal i Farré, Maria "Stone in a Landslide"

Barbal i Farré, Maria "Stone in a Landslide" (Catalan: Pedra de tartera) - 1985

I read another book by Maria Barbal before, "Campher" and when I saw this one, I just had to pick it up.

We have a great insight into the lives of the people in Catalonia at the beginning of the last century, how their lives were changed by the Spanish Civil War. Conxa tells us about her whole lifetime, from being a poor child given to relatives who didn't have any. I know this happened a lot in former times, people often had to many kids and then there were always those who didn't have any. Then one of the children from that family was given to relatives to "inherit" from them. I've heard this from my parents who knew quite a few examples in their youth.

While this is only a novella, the story is as rich as longer novels, there is so much in this. You almost have the feeling as if the author talks about her own life, even though she lived more than half a century later. But she must have heard a lot from her family, as we all did.

And it's not just about that part of our world or that time. War is awful at all times, and times were harsh anywhere (and still are for many, many people around the world). The author has a great eye for the people. And her style is extraordinary.

From the back cover:

"The beginning of the 20th century: 13-year-old Conxa has to leave her home village in the Pyrenees to work for her childless aunt. After years of hard labour, she finds love with Jaume - a love that will be thwarted by the Spanish Civil War. Approaching her own death, Conxa looks back on a life in which she has lost everything except her own indomitable spirit. This story presents a fascinating timeless voice, down to earth and full of human contradictory nuances. Its' the expression of someone who searches for understanding in a changing world but senses that ultimately there may be no such thing. The Catalan modern classic, first published in 1985, is now in its 50th edition, and has sold over 50 000 copies in the last two years in Germany alone."

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The City of Mist"

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The City of Mist" (Spanish: La Ciudad de Vapor) - 2020
(El cementerio de los libros olvidados #5)

Yes, we return to Barcelona, one last journey with a wonderful author who left a big hole in the literary world with his death. His fans can look forward to a last greeting. All stories that fit somewhere in his Cemetery of Forgotten Books. How it came about and what it has contributed to. One or the other story has already been read beforehand, e.g. "Gaudí in Manhattan" or "The Prince of Parnassus" (El Príncipe de Parnaso), but that doesn't detract from the joy of this book.

And if you haven't read the wonderful series yet, you should do so as soon as possible. These short stories are also good for getting in the mood. You can read all of his books in any order, they complement each other well.

From the back cover:

"Return to the mythical Barcelona library known as the Cemetery of Forgotten Books in this posthumous collection of stories from the New York Times bestselling author of The Shadow of the Wind and The Labyrinth of the Spirits.

Bestselling author Carlos Ruiz Zafón conceived of this collection of stories as an appreciation to the countless readers who joined him on the extraordinary journey that began with The Shadow of the Wind. Comprising eleven stories, most of them never before published in English, The City of Mist offers the reader compelling characters, unique situations, and a gothic atmosphere reminiscent of his beloved Cemetery of Forgotten Books quartet.

The stories are mysterious, imbued with a sense of menace, and told with the warmth, wit, and humor of Zafón's inimitable voice. A boy decides to become a writer when he discovers that his creative gifts capture the attentions of an aloof young beauty who has stolen his heart. A labyrinth maker flees Constantinople to a plague-ridden Barcelona, with plans for building a library impervious to the destruction of time. A strange gentleman tempts Cervantes to write a book like no other, each page of which could prolong the life of the woman he loves. And a brilliant Catalan architect named Antoni Gaudí reluctantly agrees to cross the ocean to New York, a voyage that will determine the fate of an unfinished masterpiece.

Imaginative and beguiling, these and other stories in The City of Mist summon up the mesmerizing magic of their brilliant creator and invite us to come dream along with him.

Blanca and the Departure
Nameless
A Young Lady from Barcelona
Rose of Fire
The Prince of Parnassus
A Christmas Tale
Alicia, at Dawn
Men in Grey
Kiss
Gaudí in Manhattan
Two-Minute Apocalypse"

Carlos Ruiz Zafón †

This is a sad day for readers.

I was quite shocked when I saw this morning that one of my favourite authors passed away. Carlos Ruiz Zafón, author of some great books, especially "The Cemetary of Forgotten Books" (El cementerio de los libros olvidados) tetralogy.

He had been diagnosed with colon cancer in 2018 and succumbed to it yesterday at the age of only 55.

I was always looking forward to his next one. Now I know there won't be any. Tragic.

According to many, he was "one of the best contemporary novelists", and I totally agree with that. He wrote eight novels which were translated into more than 40 different languages and sold 38 million copies.

He received several literature prizes, unfortunately, the Nobel Prize wasn't among them. What a loss. Maybe you remember, I had suggested him in my Nobel Prize post earlier this year.

Rest in Peace!

Here is my list of his books:
- "Gaudí in Manhattan" (E: La Mujer de Vapor) - Gaudí in Manhattan
- "Marina" (E: Marina)
- "The Angel's Game" (E: El juego del ángel - El cementerio de los libros olvidados #2) 
- "The Labyrinth of the Spirits" (E: laberinto de los espíritus - El cementerio de los libros olvidados #4)
- "The Midnight Palace" (El Palacio de la Medianoche)
- "The Prince of Mist" (E: El príncipe de la niebla)
- "The Prisoner of Heaven" (E: El prisionero del cielo - El cementerio de los libros olvidados #3)  
- "The Shadow of the Wind" (E: La sombra del viento - El cementerio de los libros olvidados #1) *
- "Watcher in the Shadows" (E: Las luces de Septiembre)

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "Gaudí in Manhattan"

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "Gaudí in Manhattan" (Spanish: La Mujer de Vapor) - 2009

A short story about a young architecture student who can go to New York with his much admired hero Antonio Gaudí. A very short story. But it was by one of my favourite authors, so I had to read it. And it was just as beautiful as his novels. I just don't get why he didn't make it into a whole book.

A rich person offers Gaudí to pay for the rest of the Sagrada Familia and it turns out to be a young woman … or was it all a dream? A magic realism story like no other. Plus, there were some great illustrations and pictures in the booklet.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2023.

From the back cover (translated):

"A young student of architecture accompanies the famous architect to America, where Antonio Gaudí is to receive the order to build a skyscraper. But when they arrive in Manhattan, things take a different course."

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The Labyrinth of the Spirits"

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The Labyrinth of the Spirits" (Spanish: El laberinto de los espíritus) - 2016 
(El cementerio de los libros olvidados #4)

It was a lucky day in 2001 when I first stumbled upon my first book by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. Finally the fourth book in the series of the Cemetery of Forgotten books has been published and was available as a paperback in translation. You can't imagine how I have waited for this.

And I was not disappointed. The fourth novel was just as exciting as the first three that had originally been called a trilogy but - luckily - the author decided to turn it into a tetralogy. Maybe he'll even write a fifth one? No matter what, if he is writing another book, I am going to read it.

We have learned a lot about the family Sempere and the authors they read, their friends and their lives, esp. the lives of the people in Catalonia during the Franco regime. It must have been horrible. But the author manages to describe all the incidents meticulously, with so much detail that you can imagine having been there yourself.

In this novel, he gets behind the scenes of a minister and his evil deeds. The Sempere family is involved again and we also hear about some of the characters from the previous episodes. Apparently, you can read the series in whatever order you want, there is always some information from the other books. I intend to re-read all the other three books soon.

These are the first books in the series:
- "The Shadow of the Wind" (La Sombra del Viento)
- "The Angel’s Game" (El Juego del Ángel)
- "The Prisoner of Heaven" (El Prisionero del Cielo)

From the back cover:

"The internationally acclaimed New York Times bestselling author returns to the magnificent universe he constructed in his bestselling novels The Shadow of the Wind, The Angel’s Game, and The Prisoner of Heaven in this riveting series finale - a heart-pounding thriller and nail-biting work of suspense which introduces a sexy, seductive new heroine whose investigation shines a light on the dark history of Franco’s Spain.

In this unforgettable final volume of Ruiz Zafón’s cycle of novels set in the universe of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, beautiful and enigmatic Alicia Gris, with the help of the Sempere family, uncovers one of the most shocking conspiracies in all Spanish history.

Nine-year-old Alicia lost her parents during the Spanish Civil War when the Nacionales (the fascists) savagely bombed Barcelona in 1938. Twenty years later, she still carries the emotional and physical scars of that violent and terrifying time. Weary of her work as investigator for Spain’s secret police in Madrid, a job she has held for more than a decade, the twenty-nine-year old plans to move on. At the insistence of her boss, Leandro Montalvo, she remains to solve one last case: the mysterious disappearance of Spain’s Minister of Culture, Mauricio Valls.

With her partner, the intimidating policeman Juan Manuel Vargas, Alicia discovers a possible clue - a rare book by the author Victor Mataix hidden in Valls’ office in his Madrid mansion. Valls was the director of the notorious Montjuic Prison in Barcelona during World War II where several writers were imprisoned, including David Martín and Victor Mataix. Traveling to Barcelona on the trail of these writers, Alicia and Vargas meet with several booksellers, including Juan Sempere, who knew her parents.

As Alicia and Vargas come closer to finding Valls, they uncover a tangled web of kidnappings and murders tied to the Franco regime, whose corruption is more widespread and horrifying than anyone imagined. Alicia’s courageous and uncompromising search for the truth puts her life in peril. Only with the help of a circle of devoted friends will she emerge from the dark labyrinths of Barcelona and its history into the light of the future.

In this haunting new novel, Carlos Ruiz Zafón proves yet again that he is a masterful storyteller and pays homage to the world of books, to his ingenious creation of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, and to that magical bridge between literature and our lives."

Favourite quotes:
"You drink to remember, you write to forget." David Martín
and
"The Semperes travelled through books, not the map."

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2022.

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The Prisoner of Heaven"

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The Prisoner of Heaven" (Spanish: El Prisionero del Cielo) - 2011
(El cementerio de los libros olvidados #3)  

The third book in the series of stories around the Cemetery of Forgotten Books and the Sempere & Sons bookshop after "The Shadow of the Wind" and "The Angel's Game". We see some familiar faces again and go further back in time but also further forward. We meet Daniel Sempere from the former and David Martín from the latter but also their mutual friend Fermín Romero de Torres who is the main character of this novel and whose story before meeting Daniel is told.

Like the two other books, this is a fantastic story. It brings together the characters from the two previous ones, creates the link from one to the other. I really liked that.

I would have liked more visits to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, though. I can't wait for his next book. Get writing, Señor Ruiz Zafón. Please.

From the back cover:

"Barcelona, 1957. It is Christmas, and Daniel Sempere and his wife, Bea, have much to celebrate. They have a beautiful new baby son named Julián, and their close friend Fermín Romero de Torres is about to be wed. But their joy is eclipsed when a mysterious stranger visits the Sempere bookshop and threatens to divulge a terrible secret that has been buried for two decades in the city’s dark past.

His appearance plunges Fermín and Daniel into a dangerous adventure that will take them back to the 1940s and the early days of Franco’s dictatorship. The terrifying events of that time launch them on a search for the truth that will put into peril everything they love, and will ultimately transform their lives."

Within just a few years, Carlos Ruiz Zafón has become one of my favourite authors. Read more about his other books here.

Must learn better Spanish so I can read his books in the original. And I'd love to go to Barcelona and visit all the places. One day I will and then I'll report about it. Watch this space. ;-)

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2022.

Cabré, Jaume "Confessions"

Cabré, Jaume "Confessions" (Catalan: Jo Confesso) - 2011

After reading "Les veus del Pamano" by the same author, I was eagerly awaiting his next book. I thought it was completely different form the first one. Not worse, not better, just extremely different. This book always plays on different levels, different times and stories, they all run alongise each other. The life of a Nazi henchman is interwoven with that of a Spanish inquisitor from the Middle Ages. And that way you find a lot of similarities. Not a bad thought. But also not an easy book to read, he jumps from one thought to the next, from the third person to the first and back again within one sentence and talking about the same person. He jumps between centuries and locations, you really have to pay attention to his train of thoughts. His style is unique.

This novel is as well the story of Adrià Ardèvol and his tumultous life, starting with his earliest memories as a boy until his memories vanish in old age as well as that of a violin whose life is even more exciting.

Apparently, the novel makes reference to Emile Zola's famous "J'accuse" which I haven't read, yet. Should probably go on my wishlist.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2025.

From the back cover:

"Jaume Cabré is currently the Catalan author par excellence for reasons of prizes, number of readers, and international impact.

An instant bestseller in nine languages, Confessions is an astonishing story of one man's life, interwoven with a narrative that stretches across centuries to create an addictive and unforgettable literary symphony. At 60 and with a diagnosis of early Alzheimer's, Adrià Ardèvol re-examines his life before his memory is systematically deleted. He recalls a loveless childhood where the family antique business and his father s study become the centre of his world; where a treasured Storioni violin retains the shadows of a crime committed many years earlier. His mother, a cold, distant and pragmatic woman leaves him to his solitary games, full of unwanted questions. An accident ends the life of his enigmatic father, filling Adrià s world with guilt, secrets and deeply troubling mysteries that take him years to uncover. Ambitious, powerful and deeply moving, with an overwhelming theme of guilt and redemption, Confessions is a consummate masterpiece in any language, with an ending that will not just leave you thinking, but probably change the way you think forever."

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "Marina"

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "Marina" (Spanish: Marina) - 1999

Just as Carlos Ruiz Zafón's other books, "Marina" grips you from the first page. It starts with the end, as the author reveals but it is exciting all the way. This is even darker than any of his other novels.

This book was written before "The Shadow of the Wind" and has only become famous after that big one was such a huge success. Again, Barcelona plays a major role and one gets the idea that it is full of secret and forbidden streets and alleyways that everyone would like to explore.

Óscar and Marina, the protagonists of this story, come across a mysterious character, someone who should have been dead a long time ago. Ruiz Zafón is faithful to his storytelling and doesn't disappoint anyone who has read his later books. Shows how you have to be on all the shelves before you are read. It is a horror story as well as a love story, actually, two love stories, one in the past, the other one in the presence, both beautiful and "forever".

In any case, if you want a short book (only 350 pages) with an exciting story, this is your literature. It's gripping and just brilliant. One of those "unputdownables". I love Carlos Ruiz Zafón's novels and would like to learn Spanish well enough just to be able to read them.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2023.

From the back cover:

"In May 1980, fifteen-year-old Óscar Drei suddenly vanishes from his boarding school in the old quarter of Barcelona. For seven days and nights no one knows his whereabouts. It all began the previous autumn when, while exploring the dilapidated grounds of what seemed to be an abandoned house filled with portraits, he inadvertently stole a gold pocket watch. Thus begins Óscar's friendship with Marina and her father Herman Blau, a portrait painter. Marina takes Óscar to the gardens of the nearby cemetery to watch a macabre ritual that occurs on the fourth Sunday of each month. At 10 a.m., a coach drives up to the cemetery and a woman with her face shrouded, wearing gloves, and holding a single rose is helped down from the coach and walks over to a nameless gravestone, where she sets down the flower, pauses for a moment, and then returns to the coach. The gravestone bears no marking but the outline of a strange-looking butterfly with open wings. On one of their subsequent walks Óscar and Marina spot the same woman and determine to follow her. Thereupon begins their journey into the woman's past, and that of the object of her devotion. It is a journey that takes them to the heights of a forgotten, postwar-Barcelona society, of now aged or departed aristocrats and actresses, inventors and tycoons; and into the depths of the city's mysterious underground of labyrinthine sewers, corrupt policemen, beggars' hovels, and criminal depravity."

Falcones, Ildefonso "Cathedral of the Sea"

Falcones, Ildefonso "Cathedral of the Sea" (Spanish: La catedral del mar) - 2008

One of the best historical novels ever. Barcelona in the 14th century, in the middle of the time of the Inquisition. A church is being built. The story of the people involved with the building, especially the story of Arnau, the son of a runaway serf.

As to our discussion, we all really liked the book, the writing style was captivating, there was a lot to learn about that time, the historical background was great,  the author did a profound research. It was a sad book but that was the life back then. We talked about the middle ages, religion, inquisition, the plague, the Virgin Mary, women's rights, Spain and Catalonia, what has and hasn't changed.

We loved the description of their dedication of building the cathedral, it would be nice to see it.

One question that cannot be answered even today: How is it possible that people can be so cruel in the name of Christianity? And the Jews were closed up in ghettoes back then already. Yes, history hasn't changed much.

We discussed this in our book club in August 2010.

From the back cover:

"Cathedral of the Sea follows the fortunes of the Estanyol family, from their peasant roots to a son, Arnau, who flees the land only to realize spectacular wealth and devastating problems.

During Arnau's lifetime Barcelona becomes a city of light and darkness, dominated by the construction of the city's great pride -- the cathedral of Santa Maria del Mar -- and by its shame, the deadly Inquisition.

As a young man, Arnau joins the powerful guild of stone-workers and helps to build the church with his own hands, while his best friend and adopted brother Joan studies to become a priest.

When Arnau, who secretly loves a forbidden Jewish woman named Mar, is betrayed and hauled before the Inquisitor, he finds himself face-to-face with his own brother. Will he lose his life just as his beloved Cathedral of the Sea is finally completed?"

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2024.

If you liked this, you will also love "The Hand of Fatima", Ildefonso Falcones' second book.

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The Angel's Game"

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The Angel's Game" (Spanish: El juego del ángel) - 2008
(El cementerio de los libros olvidados #2)

If you enjoyed "The Shadow of the Wind", this is the book for you. Another book about books, history, mystery and the fabulous town Barcelona. It has everything, it's a love story and a crime story. This time, a writer brings us back to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books and the Sempere & Sons bookshop on another quest for the author of a book.

I just love Carlos Ruiz Zafón's style of writing, the way he gets you to wonder what will happen next, how you try to figure out what is behind the story, you're almost there but never quite reach it. His unravelling of the thread is stunning, extraordinary. Can't wait for his next work. His novels make me want to learn Spanish better so I can read them in the original.

Find more books about this great author here.

From the back cover:

"In an abandoned mansion at the heart of Barcelona, a young man - David Martin - makes his living by writing sensationalist novels under a pseudonym. The survivor of a troubled childhood, he has taken refuge in the world of books, and spends his nights spinning baroque tales about the city's underworld. But perhaps his dark imaginings are not as strange as they seem, for in a locked room deep within the house letters hinting at the mysterious death of the previous owner. Like a slow poison, the history of the place seeps into his bones as he struggles with an impossible love.Then David receives the offer of a lifetime: he is to write a book with the power to change hearts and minds. In return, he will receive a fortune, perhaps more. But as David begins the work, he realises that there is a connection between this haunting book and the shadows that surround his home..."

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2022.

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The Shadow of the Wind"

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The Shadow of the Wind" (Spanish: La Sombra del Viento) - 2001
(El cementerio de los libros olvidados #1) 

This novel certainly deserves to be on my list of favourite books ever. I don't know why I actually love it so much but I do. Usually, I try not to read a famous bestseller immediately as everyone raves about it and then I am disappointed. But something attracted me to this book, I just had to read it. And then I had to finish it as soon as possible. Hardly got any sleep in those days ...

This is one of the best books I ever found. It is intriguing, exciting, has all the parts a good book should have, an interesting story, a historical background, a description of a great city. And, most important, it's a book about a book, how someone can get involved in something after reading a story. A wonderful book by a very promising author.

We discussed this in our book club in October 2006.

Find more books by this great author here.

From the back cover:

"Hidden in the heart of the old city of Barcelona is the 'cemetery of lost books', a labyrinthine library of obscure and forgotten titles that have long gone out of print. To this library, a man brings his 10-year-old son Daniel one cold morning in 1945. Daniel is allowed to choose one book from the shelves and pulls out 'La Sombra del Viento' by Julian Carax.

But as he grows up, several people seem inordinately interested in his find. Then, one night, as he is wandering the old streets once more, Daniel is approached by a figure who reminds him of a character from La Sombra del Viento, a character who turns out to be the devil. This man is tracking down every last copy of Carax's work in order to burn them. What begins as a case of literary curiosity turns into a race to find out the truth behind the life and death of Julian Carax and to save those he left behind. A page-turning exploration of obsession in literature and love, and the places that obsession can lead."

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2022.