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BRIEF SYNOPSIS
MY THOUGHTS
Being a languages student who read both the Spanish version and its English counterpart simultaneously, I wanted to start off first of all by talking about its level of difficulty. I must say, one of the things that really stands out about this text is how beautifully it is written; it is as if you're not just following Daniel's journey as he comes to discover the truth about this favourite author, but also a journey of Barcelona - one which, at times, seems to be crumbling at the seams and very different to the tourist hotspot we see today. That being said, it is these very descriptions that, at times, did make it a challenging read in the original version (for reference, I am currently a Year 13 A-Level student who should be around the B1-B2 mark) - perhaps not helped by the complex nature of both the plot and the structure, a "book within a book" with multiple narratives. Although Lucia Graves' English translation is very smooth and maintains the flow of the language seen in the original edition, it is only natural that some details or connotations are "lost in translation". In fact, if that is a topic that interests you, there's plenty of examples in this book - and it's really all rather fascinating. For me, one which was particularly striking was "Desgranaban los primeros días del verano de 1945", translated as "It was the early summer of 1945." Upon reading this line in the original version, the verb 'desgranar' appeared to be unfamiliar and so I looked it up - only to find that it meant 'to thresh'. Needless to say, given the tedious connotations the verb has of separating a seed from a harvested plant, all metaphorical significance has been lost here. Though I suppose you do have to beg the question as to how important such details are - arguably, not very much.
Rambles about translation aside, I think it would be a good point in time to get into one of my critiques of the novel. The opening, in my eyes, was genius (you can read it here) but beyond that point, the plot began to lose traction until about a third of the way in. I must admit, there even came a point where I heavily considered whether it would be worth ploughing through 400 more pages of Spanish unless things began to pick up - although, thankfully, it didn't take much longer for this to happen, and when things did pick up, they well and truly picked up. I must admit, the ending left me with tears in my eyes and there's nothing I enjoyed more than seeing all of the puzzle pieces finally come together, as tragic as they may be.
While we're on the subject of puzzle pieces, I think it's only right to talk about the structure and the many subplots of this book. Some have critiqued the multiple-person narrative - but I, for one, absolutely loved it. I can understand arguments for Daniel's narrative being problematic because of the way he, at times, seems to be too advanced for his age - but what we have to keep in mind is that that territory comes with an adult reliving and telling an event from their past. For me, the multiple-person narrative also greatly added to the tragedy of it all because you can truly gage the effects of Daniel's quest for everybody involved, and not just the boy. Similarly, I must admit that I first found the way in which the book itself is structured into several chronicles to be a bit confusing - though looking back, it bodes brilliantly with the notion of Daniel trying to navigate his way through an almost-impossible labyrinth. What I also enjoyed is the fact that this book encompasses so many genres - including mystery, tragedy, romance and history. Contrary to what others have said, I believe these elements have been gelled together expertly and that they truly come to complement one another in the storyline. Truth be told, I was expecting a little more history, or more overt history if you will, but I think we can still gage a lot about the time period from the interactions of the characters. What caught my eye in particular is the way in which 40s and 50s sexism in Francoist Spain was portrayed. As a matter of not giving spoilers away, I'll leave my example to a little off-side comment: "Mi padre opina que las ciencias no son para el sexo débil" ("My father thinks science is not for the weaker sex").
Of course, there were moments that proved to be a little too good to be true or rather cliché - but that's only to be expected of a book which encompasses genres such as mystery, and these moments are needed for the very essence of the novel to work. For instance, the book would have turned out very differently if ten-year old Daniel did a little more than question his father asking him to get dressed at five in the morning - yes, having a little moan or tantrum would have been more realistic, but realism wouldn't have made this book half of what it is. The same can be said for Bea and Daniel's budding romance, which at first seemed like a rather odd and unlikely match. Speaking of realism, I must say that I highly enjoyed the elements of magic realism in the work, namely embodied in the figure of Laín Coubert and the backdrop of Barcelona that is always present, but never imposes on, the plot. While we're also somewhat on the topic, I must say that Zafón's characterisation is excellent in this book. Perhaps it's because I don't read as much as I would like to, but I definitely struggle to visualise things in my head - yet this novel proved to be no challenge in the field and I found myself connecting with the characters in a matter of no time, particularly Daniel (although perhaps I'm a sucker for a Bildungsroman).
Again, despite its several flaws, this book was an excellent read and no matter whether you opt for the Spanish or the English version, I would highly recommend it!