The Labyrinth of the Spirits by Carlos Ruiz Zafon translation by Lucia Graves 'Isaac sighed. “Alicia,” he said at last. “Welcome to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books.” ' I [and I suspect many other readers too] have waited a long time for this book. Conceived sometime around 1998, the project Mr Zafon is pleased to …
Category: Historical Fiction
Anaesthesia
The Way of All Flesh by Ambrose Parry Occasionally, a walk through a bookshop will throw up unexpected delights. Browsing the new and bestseller shelves in my local shop recently, I was surprised to see a book entitled The Way of All Flesh. I immediately thought of Samuel Butler, and wondered why on earth his …
Goodbye to Barcelona
Next Tuesday, September 18, sees the publication (at last) of the Lucia Graves English translation of Carlos Ruiz Zafon's El Laberinto de los Espiritus. The novel, The Labyrinth of Spirits in English, is the final part of the author's cycle of stories set in Barcelona, sometimes referred to as the Cemetery of Forgotten Books series. …
Gold Rush!
Kiandra Gold by Hugh Capel A Review It is always a pleasure to return to one's favourite authors and genres. However, a reader and a writer should always be willing to set off in new literary directions. And often finding something new is just a matter of being in the right place at the right …
The Politics of Hate
The Burning Chambers by Kate Mosse A Review As my first public post from my new address, I wanted to tackle a book by an author of whom I'm especially fond. Kate Mosse's love of the Languedoc always comes over in her fiction and I was looking forward to experiencing again the warmth of the …
Ghosts in the Midi
Sepulchre by Kate Mosse The first time I read this novel, I learned it was the second book of the author's Languedoc Trilogy. Two of its minor characters, I was informed, had appeared in the first novel, Labyrinth. As I hadn't read the latter, I put the information into storage. It didn't seem especially relevant. …
Holy Fool?
The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory A review I have always found Philippa Gregory's historical fiction enjoyable, and The Queen's Fool is no exception. Set at the Tudor court like so many of her other books, it gives us an 'up-close' of Queen Mary through the eyes of Hannah Green (or Verde), a teenage girl …
