The Prisoner of Heaven

by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Hardcover, 2012

Status

Available

Series

The Cemetery of Forgotten Books (3)

Genres

Description

In 1957 Barcelona, Daniel Semper and his close friend Fermin Romero de Torres find their lives violently disrupted by the arrival of a mysterious stranger who threatens to divulge a terrible secret that has been buried for two decades in the city's dark past.

User reviews

LibraryThing member Clara53

Third in a series of "Cemetery of Forgotten Books", "The Prisoner of Heaven" is a must for those enamored with C.R. Zafon's style and this particular theme. For here, in this book, we sort of come full circle to understand some things which were happening to the characters: all of it comes together

- though it's not to say that we are left with no mystery at the end of this book, for we are. So I hope that there will be continuation. On the down side, here is the problem with books that continue with installments - you have the tendency to compare the books in the series against each other, and though I liked this one, I have to say it was the weakest of the three.

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LibraryThing member mile_mitrov

another beautiful book from zafon.
a great ending to the trilogy and it definitely tied up the loose ends from "the angel's game"

LibraryThing member bookworm12

***My review assumes you’ve already read The Shadow of the Wind and there will be some spoilers for that book, but no spoilers for this book***

This is the third installment in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books series, a series which I adore. All three books are set in Barcelona in the 20th Century

and this book picks up just shortly after the end of The Shadow of the Wind (TSTW). Bea and Daniel are married and living with their son Julian. Fermín is about to be married when a stranger stops into the Sempere & Sons bookshop where they both work. His presence stirs up old memories and Daniel finds himself in the midst of a strange mystery once again.

I just ate this one up, 24 hours and the book was done. I loved reading it. As a standalone novel it didn’t take my breath away like Shadow or get inside my brain like The Angel’s Game (TAG), but it is an extension of those books and because of that I love it. It returned me to the city and people I’ve grown attached to and learning more about their world was wonderful. Zafón adds layers and fleshes out the back stories of some of the characters and that’s exactly what I was hoping this novel would do.

This book mainly focuses on Fermín’s history, which was unknown throughout The Shadow of the Wind. It deviates from the style of the first two in a few ways. It’s a shorter and in many ways simpler book. The plot isn’t quote as complicated and it assumes you’ve already been introduced to the characters through the other books. I think that some people are going to dismiss this one because the writing doesn’t have the same eloquence, but I was more than happy with it. It connected some important dots and set up the final book beautifully.

Prisoner is the string that ties everything in the first two novels together. TSTW and TAG can both stand on their own as independent novels. The characters and places occasionally make appearances in the other book, but they do not take over the story. In Prisoner we are reintroduced to the main characters from both books and we learn how their lives are connected and intertwined.

We learn more about David Martín, the main character in The Angel’s Game, and what become of him. We meet Daniel’s mother Isabella, who also appears in TAG. There’s also a slew of new characters introduced in this book: Maurcio Valls, the governor of a prison, Professor Alburquerque, who may one day write secret history of Barcelona and the sinister Sebastian Salgado. Prisoner is also an ode to The Count of Monte Cristo, paying homage to that classic with continuous references.

Unlike the other two novels in the series, this one ends with a bit of a cliffhanger. Nothing awful, it’s just obviously setting up the final book in the series. I didn’t feel like it left me hanging, it just made me excited to read the final book when it is released.

BOTTOM LINE: A great addition to the series. I would highly recommend starting with The Shadow of the Wind; follow it with The Angel’s Game and then The Prisoner of Heaven. All three are wonderful gothic mysteries, and while Shadow remains my favorite, Prisoner fills in many of the missing gaps in the story.

"'I think today will be the day. Today our luck will change,' I proclaimed on the wings of the first coffee of the day, pure optimism in a liquid state."

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LibraryThing member aadyer

Enjoyable, and very readable, with accessible characters. The plot can be slightly difficult to follow but is not labyrinthine. This is not however, another Shadow Of The Wind, and all that that particular book brought with it. Can be read around Angels Game & Shadow of the Wind, but in my opinion

not as good as either. Will await further instalments, but perhaps not quite the baited breath that I had done, with this.

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LibraryThing member E.J

The beginning was 5 stars for me. I loved how Shadow of the Wind and Angels Game came together here. Both were wonderful and together they were about to become the best of the three. But then. Then... I don't even know what happened. This was about half the length of the other two and it seems like

at some point it just became time to end it. Almost like something else came up and it was a big hurried ffzzzztt for the ending. I would be completely happy if this led to another book because of how open it was but for this to be the ending really let me down. Still, I can only take it down a star.

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LibraryThing member Mrs_McGreevy

As my 5-star rating of The Shadow of the Wind shows, I fell seriously head-over-heels in love with that book. The setting, the authorial voice, the characters, the convoluted and sometimes gothic plot--I loved it all.

The Angel's Game was okay, but didn't sing to me like Shadow did--too much gothic

convolution, not enough Sempere and Sons.

Now I've finished The Prisoner of Heaven. The sadness and loss are still there. The anger and pain are still there. The longing and love for a Barcelona that will never come again is still there. The unshakable faith in the power of the written word is still there. Twisted plots and literary allusions are still there. Beloved characters leading their lives and finding a small measure of happiness are still there. I completely enjoyed all of these things that were there.

What wasn't there was an ending. Sure, there's a stopping point and even an epilogue, but really that only serves to make the story feel unfinished. There's too much of this particular story left untold. Yes, I know that this means there will be another book, and yes, that makes my cold and black little heart leap for joy. But it also means I'll have to wait, and I'm not very good at that.

Still, it's hard to begrudge time spent in the company of Fermin and the Semperes. The story moves quickly, right up until the point where it stops, leaving the reader desperately turning those blank pages at the end of the book hoping to find the continuation. Will I be reading the next installment? Of course--I'm already jonesing for it. But I really hope we get to an actual ending next time (for this story, not for the characters, who I think I could cheerfully read about from now until doomsday).

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LibraryThing member LemurKat

Despite being beautifully written and lyrically evocative this, the third of the "Cemetary" tales left me feeling unsatisfied. Very little was concluded, and it did not build to any real climax or discovery, merely exposed all the little mysteries early on and then faltered at the end. The only

possible twist occurred in the epilogue and seems to lead into another book - although whether there shall be remains to be seen. Overall, Ruiz Zafon is a skillful writer, and his translator does a masterful job, but I just cannot help but feel that there should have been a longer, stronger plot.

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LibraryThing member JEB5

A great adventure through the history of Fermin, close friend of the Sempere family. Zafon's writing is poetry in prose and his ability to weave a tale of mystery and suspense with a touch of history is incredible! Any one who has enjoyed the previous two novels in this series will not be let down.

Zafon continues the Cemetery of Forgotten Books series and reveals more of the secrets . . . allowing just enough mystery for a future installment.

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LibraryThing member wagner.sarah35

I'm really glad I read this novel shortly after finishing The Angel's Game. I spotted the connections better and it helped put the previous novel into a different perspective. While excellent on its own, this novel is even better when placed in the context of Zafon's other novels about the Cemetery

of Forgotten Books. A great novel and I hope to continue to find more written by this author.

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LibraryThing member DubaiReader

The third book in the series.

I read Shadow of the Wind eight years ago, but have only a vague recollection of the plot and characters. I then jumped the second book, The Angel's Game, as I had an opportunity to borrow The Prisoner of Heaven. I don't think this was the best way to read this third

book and I would probably have got more out of it if I'd had more of the background.
As a 'stand-alone', this was a little sparse. It basically filled in the details of the life of Fermin Romero de Torres, who works in the bookshop, Sempere and Sons, alongside Daniel Sempere and his father.

Fermin's narration of his past is prompted by the arrival of a mysterious stranger, who threatens to reveal all and disrupt the new life that Fermin has woven for himself. Inevitably, this tale has far reaching implications for those around him, which will, no doubt, be carried on into the final installment.

Hovering around this story is the impending marriage of Fermin to Bernarda, which is not legally possible, as Fermin does not have the necessary identity papers.
The 'Prisoner of Heaven' of the title, only makes the briefest of appearances.

I only gave The Shadow of the Wind three stars, so I doubt I shall go back and re-read it, though my curiosity has been roused by this recent read. I have The Angel's Game on my shelves and I must read that before The Prisoner of Heaven also becomes just a vague memory :)

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LibraryThing member Beamis12

I think Zafon could write about anything at all and I would still enjoy it immensely. He just seems to have the touch as far as atmosphere, characters, a perfect bending of history and story. This is kind of a short novel but clears up a few things that probably fit in between his last books.

Disappointed this wasn't longer though, with more depth, but than I could literally read his fiction continuously and not get tired of it. Loved the ending and it seems to be set u for another book. I can only hope.

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LibraryThing member mojers

I loved the entire book from start to finish. The dialogue, imagery, characters and people of Barcelona came alive. I now want to re-read all of the related Zafon books in a different order, as I imagine the story would take on new shape. One of my favorite authors and this latest work did not

disappoint.

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LibraryThing member GarySeverance

The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon is a great story in the tradition of The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas. It is the third novel in the series by the popular Spanish writer designed to stand alone and pique the reader's interest in the first two novels, The Shadow of the Wind

and The Angel's Game. Zafon calls these books "the literary universe of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books" in his introduction.

In this novel, the action begins in 1957 in Barcelona at Christmas time. The main character, Fermin Romero de Torres is working in a bookstore owned by Senor Sempere and his son Daniel. Fermin, who is about to be married, leaves the bookstore one day to take care of marriage preparations. A mysterious crippled man painfully enters the store and buys an expensive copy of The Count of Monte Cristo. He inscribes a note in the novel and asks Daniel to deliver it to the person named in the note. After he leaves, Daniel reads the inscription and sees that the name is that of his friend, employee, and local bon vivant Fermin. It seems to Daniel that there is more to Fermin than meets the eye.

The story moves back in time to 1939 to a location of a notoriously bad prison on Montjuic, a hill in Barcelona. Because of his anti-government activity, Fermin has been sentenced to an indeterminate sentence in the hellish institution where brutality and torture are daily occurrences. Fermin is thrown into cell 13. The narrative focuses on Fermin's life in the jail and the fellow prisoners he meets. A particularly interesting inmate is David Martin, a writer imprisoned for expressing supposed anti-government sentiments. He is being blackmailed to ghost-write material for the warden, Mauricio Valls, who claims the productions as his own creative work. Martin's bizarre ranting behavior has earned him the nickname of "the Prisoner of Heaven," but there is a method to Martin's madness.

The story unfolds with many twists and turns, friendships and betrayals, sacrifices and expressions of love. The resolution of the mystery surrounding the bookstore visitor is revealed to Daniel as the novel progresses from 1939 forward to 1957. This is an excellent novel that seemed to me flawlessly translated from the Spanish by Lucia Graves. I enjoyed every page of the The Prisoner of Heaven and will now go back and read the first two novels in the literary universe Zafon has created.

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LibraryThing member WeeziesBooks

“The Prisoner of Heaven” is considered an YA novel by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, but it will captivate adults as well as teens. I enjoyed this book as much or maybe even more than "The Shadow of the Wind, the first in the series." Fermin, Daniel, and other characters are transported back to the

1940‘s. The retelling of the horrors of prison, poverty and tyranny of the leaders of the time are vividly portrayed. This is balanced with the telling of love tenderness and friendship. I have become captivated by his books, which include “The Angel’s Game” following “The Shadow of the Wind.” The descriptions of Barcelona in the forties to sixties is fascinating and makes me want to plan a trip to this famous old city. Zafon’s characters have taken on their own lives in my imagination and I find them well developed and believable. It would be a pleasure to visit Daniels father’s bookstore as I can only imagine the treasures you would fine.
 I recommend Zafon’s books but would suggest that the readers begin with “The Shadow of the Wind” and continue to follow the books as they develop. Zafon’s novels have been translated into 50 different languages and it is easy to understand why this has been done. A wonderful YA book.

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LibraryThing member Quiltinfun06

The Prisioer of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon follows the story of the Sempere's and Fermin as it progesses from the first in the series The Shadow of the Wind. Taking place now in the late 1950's, in Barcelona, is harkens back to the earlier days of Franco's dictatorship.

I enjoyed the story linking

what I had read before in Shadow of the Wind to now. Pieces of the puzzle are coming together but it appears there is still more to tell. I'm on board for that too.

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LibraryThing member VeronicaH.

Carlos Ruiz Zafón, is, in many ways a book nerd’s dream. All of his adult fiction thus far translated into English has centered(however obliquely) around the mysterious Cemetery of Forgotten Books. After the first novel released in English, The Shadow of the Wind, fans were hungering for more of

this secret place with its impossible architecture and its hundreds of thousands of forgotten books. The next book released, The Angel’s Game, promised to bring us closer to this mystery, yet left us woefully confused (at least I was) at the end and nowhere nearer to the central mystery than we were before. The latest installment, The Prisoner of Heaven, promised the same, but only somewhat delivered.

The Prisoner of Heaven is certainly a good read, better by far than Angel’s Game, but not quite as enchanting as The Shadow of the Wind. In The Prisoner, we return to Daniel Sempere and Fermín, who made their first appearance in the first of Zafón’s intriguing novels. David Martín also makes an appearance and the events of both previous novels are frequently referenced, though you don’t necessarily need to have read them to keep up with this book. Daniel Sempere has been married for two years now, and Fermín is on the verge of marriage. Fermín has some unresolved issues, however, and his past comes a-callin’ one winter evening. Alexander Dumas’s The Count of Monte Cristo plays a significant role in the novel and provides much of Fermín’s backstory, which is mainly what The Prisoner gives us. I don’t like to give things away, so I won’t. The background for Fernín’s story is WWII Barcelona and the red scare. Much of the backstory takes place in a famous castle prison full of nutters, one of whom we’ve already met. The main villain of the novel is Governor Mauricio Valls, a man tied to all of the main characters in The Prisoner, but who remains continually out of reach. The Valls enigma becomes central to Daniel, but that unravelling will have to wait for the next book.

This book is a quick read, and nowhere near as complex as either of the other two novels, though better written than one. After Angel’s Game, I was ready to give up on Zafón, but now I might have to stick around for a bit. There was some cheeky meta-stuff happening here (Daniel telling another character to write a secret history of Barcelona and Julian Carax, a significant character in the first novel; a manuscript titled The Angel’s Game appears, etc.), but I really just wish that the book jackets would stop promising to deliver on the Cemetery of Forgotten Books if the novel is only going to include maybe a scene or two of it, especially when those scenes are not central to the plot. Final verdict: this is an excellent book for a late summer beach read (though try not to get sand in the plastic library covers, like I did).

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LibraryThing member voracious

In "The Prisoner of Heaven", Daniel and Fermin return for another adventure in the dark gothic setting of Barcelona. This story fits in temporally after "The Shadow of the Wind", after Daniel's marriage to Bea but before Fermin's marriage to Bernarda. Martin, the protagonist from "The Angel's Game"

also plays a pivotal role in this story as we learn what became of him after "The Angel's Game", but before "The Shadow of the Wind". I loved how this third novel pulled both stories together as it was clever and made both of the other novels make more sense. I must admit that I re-read "The Shadow of the Wind" before I started "The Prisoner of Heaven" so that I would remember the details of the storyline. Now that I have finished both, I will re-read "The Angel's Game", because I want to see how this third novel changes my understanding of the second. Basically, each of the novels are intricately layered and interrelated, which makes for a thrilling reading experience for any true lover of books. Additionally, this book is also exceptionally well-written... just reading these books is a treat for the senses. I would say the only part I didn't like was how gritty and horrifying the prison brutality is in the middle. It was hard for me to stomach, especially since I was so attached to Martin and Fermin as characters. I would strongly recommend that you re-read at least "The Shadow of the Wind" prior to this third novel, as it helps to clarify the details you likely forgot and makes reading this return to Barcelona a much more rich experience.

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LibraryThing member bell7

A mysterious man shows up at Sempere & Sons book store looking for Fermin, setting Daniel on a quest to find out about his friend's past. He has no idea how intertwined his own story is with Fermin's.

This is the third in the connected stories in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books cycle. While it's not

necessary to have read The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game beforehand, I think I would have been a little lost and not as emotionally connected to events if I had not. Of the three, I think this book stands alone the least, though it still could, as the author intends, be the introduction to the cycle set in 1950s Barcelona. In fact (and I never thought I'd say this), it made me want to go back and reread The Angel's Game because I have the feeling I completely misunderstood it the first time around. While it still doesn't hold a candle to The Shadow of the Wind, I loved getting Fermin's back story and am truly looking forward to seeing where the next book takes these characters.

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LibraryThing member JBD1

This third installment in Zafón's Cemetery of Forgotten Books series takes place temporally between the first two titles, though the author notes that they can be read in any order (it may be helpful, if it's been a while, to re-read the other two; I rather wish I had). This one fills in some gaps

and sets things up for the next volume, which presumably will be the last in the cycle. Zafón's ability to craft a gripping narrative, limn interesting characters, and describe a scene in such detail that the reader feels in the room remain on full display here, and I had a hard time putting this one down once I'd gotten sucked in.

That said, I could have done with a bit more bookshop/Cemetery of Forgotten Books in this volume!

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LibraryThing member BooksCooksLooks

I did not realize when I chose to review this novel that it was part of a series. I didn't really find it out until I read a couple of reviews for it. I could see where some questions could be answered but I in no way felt that I lost at sea, so to speak. The Prisoner of Heaven can definitely stand

on its own and it has certainly piqued my interest in seeking out Mr. Zafon's first two books in this intriguing Spanish tale.

I was drawn to the story by the promise of a bit of historical novel, a bit of a love story and the hint of mystery. It delivered on all fronts. It's a very hard book to try and describe as it is quite unlike anything I've read before. It is a dark gem full of rich characters of both good and evil and it uses my favorite novel, The Count of Monte Cristo as a reference and a reverence.

Mr. Zafon creates a dark world for war torn Barcelona in 1939. Fermin Romero de Tores is swept up into prison for reasons never fully explained (one of those questions I mentioned above) and he meets famous author David Martin who helps him to escape with the promise that he will look after his friend Isabella and her child.

In present day Barcelona (1957 in the book) Fermin and Daniel, Isabella's child are best friends and the book details how that came to be through Fermin's confession to Daniel when the past rises and threatens the peace of the present.

It's a horrifying and well written tale and it is not over...another book is alluded to and I will look forward to it. The writing is exceptional; Mr. Zafon's pen sets a mood whether dark or light with words that dance on the page. He draws you into the dank, smelly prison where Fermin suffers and he celebrates the beauty of a sunset just as effectively. He is a seductive writer no matter the subject. I will most certainly seek out more of his work and keep this one in my library.

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LibraryThing member sbenne3

What can I say . . . I am addicted to this series since the first day I picked up the Shadow of the Wind. After reading The Prisoner of Heaven I want to go back and read the other two again so that I have it all straight. I cannot wait for the next part of this beautiful story to unfold.

LibraryThing member susiesharp

Love how this book ties in all the stories and characters from the previous 2 books it makes me want to go back and re-read the whole series again. I loved this one almost as much as Shadow of the Wind and now with the details in this book I think I would enjoy Angel’s Game more. It was so nice

to be back with these characters as the truth of the past is revealed to Daniel and how that affects his current life.

I just love this man’s writing he can transport you into a story so fast that it was so hard to let go. There were a couple times I wanted to shake Daniel (when it came to his wife). I enjoyed Fermin’s story and liked how it unfolded. This one didn’t have as much suspense to it just because it pulled in the stories from the first 2 books and it was more ah-ha moments of how everyone & everything fit together.

This didn’t feel like an ending of this series though so I hope there is another one! Although it was like the end of a chapter I would love more stories from these characters. Also this one seemed to be over quickly and left me wanting more.

Peter Kenny narrated this installment and I thought he did a very good job, I do wish Jonathan Davis would have narrated the entire series but each book has a different narrator and I liked Peter better than I liked Dan Stevens who narrated Angel’s Game but still not as much as Jonathan Davis.

This is a great series and this was a short but satisfying addition.

4 Stars

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LibraryThing member pw0327

So after two massive novels, creating the atmospheric reality of Barcelona and the Cemetery of Forgotten books. It is no wonder that Carlos Ruiz Zafon came back with a much thinner output this time. It is actually the bridge between The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel Game. The story line ties up

some loose ends and nicely puts things in context of each other. But alas, the bridge is actually a kind of a tease. This is the story of Fermin Romero de Torres, the erstwhile sidekick to the main protagonist of the first novel, Daniel Sempere.

Fermin's story is the vehicle by which Ruiz Zafon ties the two segments together. I must say the story is quite worthy of it's own book. Ruiz Zafon's skills at stirring the emotions and conjuring Barcelona of the early Franco years are masterful and does transport us to that long ago place. It brings to the surface all of our romantic notions of what it was like to live in Spain at that time. And Fermin's story, is quite spell binding, although not really strong enough to stand on a massive tome of his own. So this thinner book is a perfect vehicle. yet I do feel somewhat cheated because I was awaiting a rollicking romp much like the first book. the Angel Game was less favored by myself due to the phantasmagorical turns it took.

Ruiz Zafon could have continued with the story beyond just telling the story of Fermin. he could have gone on to tell the story that he really wants to tell: the continuing saga; instead, he teases us coyly and gets our hopes up for the next installment of the further adventures into the Cemetery of Forgotten books. All I can say is, this title has somewhat forestalled my hunger, much like a nice set of tapas, but I am still hungry for the main course, and it had better be good.

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LibraryThing member TheJeanette

Nothing can match the complexity and sinister suspense of The Shadow of the Wind, but The Prisoner of Heaven is a worthy follow-up to that story. I liked this one better than The Angel's Game, which I found somewhat confusing and overwrought.

Fermin Romero de Torres was my favorite character in The

Shadow of the Wind(TSOTW), so I was delighted to discover that he takes center stage in this story. Remember in TSOTW when the boy Daniel meets Fermin, a pitiful, starving wraith in rags, prowling the streets of Barcelona? The Prisoner of Heaven takes us back to the years after the Spanish Civil War, where we learn how Fermin came to be that wretch Daniel found.

Daniel Sempere is all grown up now, married, and the father of a little boy. One day a creepy stranger enters Sempere and Sons bookshop and leaves a cryptic note for Fermin. Daniel is both curious and worried for Fermin's safety, so Fermin begins to tell him the story of his years as a prisoner in Montjuic Castle.

If you loved Fermin and his salacious one-liners, you're in for a treat. You'll also love the way Zafon ties in characters and events from both TSOTW and The Angel's Game. We revisit Beatriz, Bernarda, Daniel Martin, and the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. We even get to learn a little more about Daniel Sempere's mother, Isabella, who died when Daniel was small.

I loved the sweet and subtle way the book ends. Loved it. It's a perfect completion of the circle begun with the opening of The Shadow of the Wind.

As ever, I'm grateful to translator Lucia Graves for making these stories available to us in English.

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LibraryThing member Eyejaybee

An interesting and enjoyable novel but it lacked the force and impact of "The Shadow of the Wind"
Once again the action is set in Barcelona though it is now the late 1950s. Daniel Sempere has been married to the lovely Beatriz for a couple of years and they have a baby son Julian, named for the

elusive novelist Julian Carax whose story dominated "The Shadow of the Wind". Business at the Sempere bookshop has been slow when a strange man, with a painful limp and two fingers missing from his right hand. He buys an expensive edition of "The Count of Monte Cristo", though it becomes evident that this is merely a pretext for him to leave a message for Daniel's close friend and ally Fermin. This prompts Fermin to tell Daniel some of the blacker episodes of his own earlier life, and a new labyrinthine plot begins...

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Awards

Dublin Literary Award (Longlist — 2014)

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The Prisoner of Heaven

by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

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