About the book
"Marina" has a similar veil of mystery as “The shadow of the
wind” by the same author, which I had read before. The plot is made of a
dark history from the past, solved by two teenagers.
The history takes place in Barcelona, a city described in a very
poetic way by the author, making it able for the readers to imagine sights,
architecture and landscape. This effort was probably pretty intentional of the
author, as not to make Barcelona boring for the readers, since used as a context
in other books too.
Writing style
As with any complex stories, a lot of names are involved,
which are a little hard to recall and connect to each other once you interrupt
the reading by a few days. The storyline goes on quite fast, not leaving you
wonder for what seems like an eternity.
However, the author is actually quite
generous on descriptive passages and he gives all the necessary details to
emerge the reader into every single scene. I personally believe that is the
main factor that makes Zafón
a great writer. He can fearlessly stand by the classics in terms of descriptive
writing style.
Characters
It’s interesting to state that the main characters (Oscar
and Marina) are not introduced thoroughly from the beginning, but they develop
through the story instead. Their feelings are also left on a second plot layer
most of the time, letting the mystery take all the focus.
Sometimes secondary
characters are described in a few sentences or paragraphs, while special
attention is reserved for Marina’s father at the beginning of the book.
General thoughts
Quite often, the details of the action scenes are quite intense
and scary, making it feel like you’re reading pure fiction, crime and mystery
literature, something I found unexpected from Zafón.
A few of the final events and explanations unfolded at the
end of the story can be easily guessed, so some things shouldn’t have been
treated as a huge mystery to begin with. But then again, it’s two teenagers solving a
story which started hunting them against their will, so maybe things should actually be presented as
they are – quite terrifying.
Overall, the read is quick, as long as you don’t interrupt
more than twice and relatively light. Although the author has build the whole
book based on the most universal pillars of life, such as love, wealth, greed,
generosity and the need to conquer death, he has still managed to keep it quite
light on the top level.
It’s a nice balance between narrative and dialogues, mystery
and history, love and action, details and crucial matters.
Of course a few tears were shed at the end, but that could just be my hypersensitive self.
The odd bits
At times one can wonder how people like doctors and police
officers open up, trust and reveal they old secrets to two very young people. I
wonder what made 15 year olds trustful, appealing and why people told them the
truth, while still protecting them from the possible dangers, warning them all
the time. They sure had material proofs once or twice, but for the rest of the
meetings they had nothing but insecurity, fear and a few of Marina’s “straight
to the point” questions and answers.
In general, I was left with a slight feeling that several secondary
stories within the book were left unfinished. I wouldn’t mind reading about
Oscar’s relationship with his family, because it’s unbelievable for things not
to have changed after all he went through.
Tips
- Try not to interrupt the reading more than a couple of
times. Ideally, the book is better read from start to finish.
- Pay attention to the story when it is unfold for the first
time, as it won’t be explained again as a whole and you’ll find it difficult to
keep track of the characters and their relations.
- Appropriate for teens, vacation days or a quick winter read before
bed.
- Will be appreciated by all fans of Carlos Ruiz Zafón and everyone that favors an
excellent writing style over a fascinating plot.
Read: January 2014
Language: Albanian
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I'd love to know what you think about the book, whether you've read it or not. Also, any other fans of Carlos Ruiz Zafón? I am so glad I discovered him two years ago and truly believe he should be called a classic.
| Love, Lisa |
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