The Labyrinth of the Spirits
The Labyrinth of the Spirits is the final instalment of a cycle known as "The Cemetery of Forgotten Books". Its predecessors include The Shadow of the Wind (2004), The Angel’s Game (2009) and The Prisoner of Heaven (2013). This equates to 2232 pages, and that means I have spent quite a few hours over the years in the esteemed company of the author Carlos Ruiz Zaf รณ n, who sadly left us much too early this year, aged 55. The popularity of the series must buoy fans of literature in that the subject of the novels is literature itself, though the context is the dark period of the Spanish Civil War and its aftermath in Franco’s Spain. The melding of Letters and History produces a unique blend of genres, including mystery, crime, romance, thriller (and various subgenres, such as literary thriller and political thriller). In this, there is something for everyone – though this last instalment is over 800 pages – so one for those who like their books big, like a big Shiraz.