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Carlos Ruiz Zafon

The Prisoner of Heaven: The Cemetery of Forgotten Books 3 Hardcover – 21 Jun. 2012

by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Author)

1,571 ratings

Book 3 of 3 in the Cemetery of Forgotten Series

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The third in the cycle of novels that began with THE SHADOW OF THE WIND and THE ANGEL'S GAME. THE PRISONER OF HEAVEN returns to the world of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books and the Sempere & Sons bookshop.

It begins just before Christmas in Barcelona in 1957, one year after Daniel and Bea from THE SHADOW OF THE WIND have married. They now have a son, Julian, and are living with Daniel's father at Sempere & Sons. Fermin still works with them and is busy preparing for his wedding to Bernarda in the New Year. However something appears to be bothering him.

Daniel is alone in the shop one morning when a mysterious figure with a pronounced limp enters. He spots one of their most precious volumes that is kept locked in a glass cabinet, a beautiful and unique illustrated edition of THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO. Despite the fact that the stranger seems to care little for books, he wants to buy this expensive edition. Then, to Daniel's surprise, the man inscribes the book with the words 'To Fermin Romero de Torres, who came back from the dead and who holds the key to the future'. This visit leads back to a story of imprisonment, betrayal and the return of a deadly rival.

Print length

288 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Publication date

21 Jun. 2012
Dimensions

15.8 x 2.7 x 24.2 cm
ISBN-10

0297868098
ISBN-13

978-0297868095
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Product details

Publisher : Weidenfeld & Nicolson; 1st edition (21 Jun. 2012)
Language : English
Hardcover : 288 pages
ISBN-10 : 0297868098
ISBN-13 : 978-0297868095
Dimensions : 15.8 x 2.7 x 24.2 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 439,794 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 40,238 in Literary Fiction (Books)
- 49,720 in Contemporary Fiction (Books)

Customer reviews:
1,571 ratings

Product description

Review

Zafon combines sincere engagement with genre tradition, with clever touches of the literary post-modern....This is explicitly, and joyously, a book about books, about what can be learned from them , and what is lost when they are lost. (Steven Poole THE GUARDIAN)

The Prisoner of Heaven is the third part of the story and, like the first, is narrated by Daniel Sempere. But it too contains stories within stories, and the real narrative here belings to the irrpressible Fermin Romero de Torress...Zafon's characters and dialogue are as lively and full-blooded as ever. (Stephanie Merritt THE OBSERVER)

Written with his characteristic exuberance, this wonderfully atmospheric, historical mystery is an adventure story of the highest class - fast paced and stylishly written. (GOOD BOOK GUIDE)

Book Description

You've read THE SHADOW OF THE WIND - now read what happens next . . .

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marjorie narey

Enchanting

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 August 2015

Verified Purchase

The third in this wonderful series of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books - Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s mesmerising saga of the mostly turbulent lives of Daniel Sempere, Fermin Romero de Torres, David Martin and Isabella (along with many others.) These are the characters that we have come to know and love from the first two books, and who leap from the pages of the book like real life friends.

This is primarily Fermin’s story, most of it relating his time in prison where he befriended fellow prisoner David Martin (The Angel’s Game.) Of course the enchanting city of Barcelona is equally brought to life (although not as much in this book as in the first two). It is a measure of the author’s skill when he makes you want to visit the city and walk the streets that his characters walked in his stories.

This book is shorter than the first two and weaves together the otherwise independent stories from The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel’s Game - both of which I absolutely loved. It also introduces us to a new mystery and sets the scene for the fourth and final book in the series which Carlos Ruiz Zafon promises to be “a grand operatic finale.”

The prologue says you can read each story as a stand alone tale. That maybe true of the first two books, but I would advise you to first read the previous two stories to fully appreciate this one.

And so who is still alive? What is real and what is not real? And will Zafon pull together the enormous and complicated thread of this mega mystery and reach a satisfactory conclusion? I hope so. I’m looking forward to it but at the same time I’ll be sad when it is all finished….. I’ll just have to re-read the entire series all over again. Actually I could do this until doomsday…...

5 people found this helpful

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XJS Jag Girl

The mystery of Fermin's early years are revealed

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 April 2019

Verified Purchase

I'd happened upon the 1st book in the 'Shadow of the wind' series by chance at a charity event & loved the book. Picked up the follow up too but size put me off packing it for a week in Spain. Bought this instead to take. Managed about 2/3rds during the week. All the original characters are there but you're learning about Fermin's back story which is harrowing. A good read not quite up there with SotW, but glad I got it.

2 people found this helpful

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Erin Britton

Prisoner of Heaven

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 October 2013

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The Prisoner of Heaven is actually the third book in Carlos Ruiz Zafon's Cemetery of Forgotten Books cycle but, fortunately since I haven't read the previous two books, a note at the beginning confirms that each individual instalment in the series can be read in any order. The lack of knowledge of Ruiz Zafon's previous works certainly didn't spoil the story at all and, while there were references clearly pointing to the happenings of other books, the narrative flowed smoothly and all of the characters were established in a full and engaging manner.

The action in The Prisoner of Heaven begins in December 1957 in the Sempere & Sons Bookshop in Barcelona. Even though it's the Christmas season, business is bad (the book trade in 1957 being unfortunately rather similar to the book trade in 2012) and so Sempere Senior sets out to buy window decorations to woo the punters in, leaving his son Daniel alone to mind the shop. Daniel is not alone for long though as a sickly, hobbling old man enters the shop and, after firing some vague questions at Daniel, buys an illustrated edition of The Count of Monte Cristo, the most expensive volume in stock. The old man is clearly not a bibliophile and his lack of interest in the book is confirmed when he inscribes the volume: "For Fermin Romero de Torres, who came back from the dead and who holds the key to the future."

Fermin is in fact an employee at the bookshop and, although he is a good friend of Daniel's, he is a man with a mysterious past. After trailing the old man to see what else he can learn, Daniel presents Fermin with the book and begins to learn more about his friend's origins, experiences during the war, and about his connection to the Sempere family. It is not just the past that provides intrigue for the two men though, as both Daniel and Fermin are faced with contemporary romantic shenanigans and questions of identity and honesty.

The Prisoner of Heaven is a truly captivating book. It couldn't be described as action-packed but the story is so compelling that the book positively whizzes by. It's a story that you might well find yourself reading in a single sitting. There is a mystery at the heart of the story but it is not one that the reader must untangle since Fermin is in possession of nearly all of the puzzle pieces and is, eventually, happy to share them with Daniel. Rather, the reader quickly becomes so invested in the characters that every secret and past mystery about them is in demand and the whole host of intrigue weaves together to indicate far larger things afoot. As I mentioned before, The Prisoner of Heaven is the third book in the cycle and, while you don't have to have read the others previously, you'll certainly want to read them afterwards so you can discover in detail things that are hinted at and uncover the motivations and destinies of various characters.

Carlos Ruiz Zafon has a lovely writing style [and Lucia Graves must be praised for the excellent translation], very straightforward and naturalistic but able to convey a great deal of subtle emotion. His character building is excellent too, with Fermin being a particular favourite. I'd read Ruiz Zafon's other books just to learn more about Fermin but it would also be good to have more insight into Sempere Senior and in Bea, Daniel's wife. Both of these two do play a role in The Prisoner of Heaven but it seems like they have more going on, in the past if not in the present, than is discussed. Ruiz Zafon's good with the baddies too; the mind boggles at what Inspector Fumero gets up to in the previous books. The world of Sempere & Sons is one that could be visited again and again.

7 people found this helpful

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Wondereyes

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 September 2014

Verified Purchase

The Prisoner of Heaven would have got 5 stars from me but it is not quite up to the standard of Zafon's previous two books set in Barcelona. It seems hurried, lacking the detail that was present in both The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game; it read more like the author was writing to a publisher's deadline than an author writing for the sheer pleasure of a story that up until now has been absorbing and quite unique. Nevertheless it is still an engrossing story focussing on Fermin's life prior to him meeting Daniel. However, unlike the previous two books this one does not stand alone and I would advise any reader new to Zafon to read the other two books first because these create the context and the characters found in The Prisoner of Heaven. This is a great book, but too short, more and interlude between stories. I hope the next one is a more substantial work from Zafon.

2 people found this helpful

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S. A. Mackenzie

Another exceptional book from an outstanding storyteller!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 March 2015

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A really good read from an incredible author. If you've never read a novel by Zafon, I recomment you start with 'Shadow of the wind' it sets the scene for the three book concerning the 'Cemetery of forgotten books'. Each of the three is a stand alone novel, but all have recurring threads which draw you back to 'shared' characters' . I have read all of his other books (including the ones for young adults) and they are all beautifully written, well crafted stories that will grip the reader and mean you'll read well past your bedtime.

2 people found this helpful

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