Orion Publishing Group has announced that they have acquired the exclusive rights to publish the english language versions of Zafon’s upcoming novel The Angel’s Game, a prequel to the mega-successful The Shadow of the Wind. It will be released in June of 2009.
Synopsis (stolen ever so graciously from amazon.co.uk):
The Angel’s Game opens in Barcelona in the 1920s and is a prequel to The Shadow of the Wind. David Martin is a young man working in a newspaper office. But late one night the editor of the paper has a crisis – they have just had to drop six pages from the weekend edition and he has a matter of hours to fill them. With most of the staff already home, he turns to David and asks if he can write a short story. If it is good, he will publish more. The resulting story is a huge success and is David’s first step on the path to a career as an author. As David’s books gain a certain recognition, he receives a mysterious letter from a French editor called Andreas Corelli who wants to help him achieve his ambitions. But the character is not all that he seems and soon David has entered a pact that will lead him question everything he values. He is also befriended by the bookseller Sempere (the grandfather of Daniel from Shadow) who introduces him to the strange world of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. The Angel’s Game is a tale of lost souls and literary intrigue; a book steeped in the world of writing, with references to Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Great Expectations.It is about the demons a writer faces; but also a page-turning mystery and a love story set against the creaking mansions and mysterious alleyways at the dark heart of Barcelona.
From Orion’s web site:
Orion will now publish Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s new adult novel, The Angel’s Game, in June 2009 PLUS his previous four young adult novels.
Carlos Ruiz Zafon was born in Barcelona and is the award-winning author of five books. After Don Quixote, The Shadow of the Wind is the most successful Spanish novel ever, and has sold ten million copies worldwide. It has been translated into over forty languages, received numerous international awards and has been on the bestseller lists of several countries for more than four years.
Zafon is only getting more and more popular, and this seems like a great coup for Orion Publishing Group. I think it’s about time to get around to reading that copy of The Shadow of the Wind that’s been sitting on my shelf for two years!
You definitely should read The Shadow of the Wind! :) Awesome novel. Can’t wait for the prequel, and the YA novels :D
Yeah, that’s what I keep hearing. Ever since Shawn Speakman recommended it to me three or so years ago it’s been on my radar and I’ve always just pushed it away for something else.
I think part of me is afraid that it can’t possibly be as good as everyone says it is, on top of wondering if some things haven’t been lost in the translation from Spanish.
Either way, as soon as I’m done with The Ten Thousand, I’ll give it a serious look.
I had the same worries as you and didn’t get hold of it until I was walking in town and my old English teacher, on holiday, spotted me, ran up, shook my hand, foisted a copy onto me, and ran off again! :O
I took that as an omen of sorts, and started reading immediately. I also think it’s one of the best translations I’ve ever read — there is no way of telling it wasn’t written by and English author — and a fantastic one, to boot.