The only reason that I am giving this book a star is because I happen to be a Zafon's fan. But seriously now, Calcutta 1930? no disrespect at all. I hated the Chowbar society members, all of them and I was more sympethtic to Jawahel -villain- but Zafon my man this thing sounded like a movie from Bollywood! I mean a necklace that is split in two, twins, names written backwards. I was waiting for the time when they all sang and the book went musical!

I understand that it is meant for teenagers and that you wrote it back in the 1990s. But some things are better left in the past, there is no reason to bring it back again when you have written the angels game, and shadow of the wind!


nevertheless any book that is written by Zafon has to have quotes that are epic like, and the ones that have appealed to me are:


there was a time was when i too was young and did all the things young people are expected to do: marry, have children, get into dept,become disappointed and give up the dreams and principles you have always sworn to uphold. In a word, I became old.

tactics are the collection of small steps you take to reach a position; strategy, the steps you take when there's nowhere left to go.

in the book of life it is perhaps best not to turn back pages.

there are two things in life you cannot choose,The first your enemies; the second your family sometimes the difference between them is hard to see. but in the end, time will show you that the cards you have been dealt could always have been worst. life, dear son, is like that first game of chess. by the time you begin to understand how the pieces move, you've already lost.

I hate it when people say these younger books by Ruiz Zafon aren't as good as The Shadow of the Wind. Of course they're not! But I can totally see where Shadow came from. It's fascinating to see how this wonderful author matured as he wrote his books. He kept getting better and better until genius struck him with Shadow. My only complain about Midnight Palace is that it's set in India, which is as exotic a setting as you can get. But I like Ruiz Zafon's Spanish and French characters. I don't know, I kept forgetting this book was set in India because the characters sounded too Spaniard. Still, I loved it.

Aunque es mi primer acercamiento a Carlos Ruiz, no me decepcionó. Con la muerte de este autor el pasado 19 de junio, me dio curiosidad conocer sus obras y este libro fue el indicado.

Es una lectura entretenida que se muestra tal cual es, un libro juvenil con giros de trama dignos de una película de Disney. Aunque en los tramos iniciales es predecible, no deja de tener sorpresas. El final es perfecto

La historia demuestra cómo el pasado familiar nos marca y nos deja experiencias con las que tendremos que vivir para siempre.

Un aspecto que me gusta es la narración y cómo esta se diferencia por tramos para cambiar la voz del narrador.

Los personajes: Son pocos y no me puede identificar con ellos, quizá por ese mismo aspecto de muchachos de 16 años. No tienen un carisma que los identifique a cada uno, salvo al final cuando se queda definido qué fue de sus vidas. Eso fue una forma de terminar de atar todos los cabos sueltos.

La historia: Predecible por tramos. Pero que sea predecible no quiere decir que no sea original. La idea de la máquina de fuego y la forma en que los personajes revelan el misterios tiene todo para ser una buena historia. Su final es satisfactorio y redondo.

Mi calificación: 3.5/5 No fue un mal libro y estuvo bastante entretenido.

En el futuro espero poder encontrar más historias de este autor, su forma de narrar es muy sencilla y envuelve al lector con sus palabras. Me gustaría ver una película que adapte este.

My disappointment in this book can be described in three words:

Insufficiently explained superpowers.

Este livro foi escrito ainda o autor era um jovem escritor...assim este livro está longe das suas outras obras. Gostei mais do "O Principe da neblina". Mas é sempre um prazer ler Carlos Ruiz Zafón!

"Palatul de la Miazănoapte" ne trimite în anul 1916, în Calcutta. Locotenentul Peake încearcă cu disperare să salveze doi gemeni nou născuți din calea unui pericol aprins. Singura salvare pentru micuți este să fie despărțiți, unul rămânând cu bunica maternă, celălalt fiind trimis la un orfelinat local. Însă, șaisprezece ani mai târziu, amenințarea reînvie precum o flacără ce a mocnit sub grinzi.
Carlos Ruiz Zafon m-a impresionat din nou cu scriitura sa îmbibată în metafore care mai de care mai îmbietoare, însă parcă firul narativ nu a avut aceeași fluiditate cu care eram eu obișnuită. Mai multe am scris într-un articol publicat pe blog.
https://ciobanuldeazi.home.blog/2023/...

„Aveam să învățăm că Dracul a creat tinerețea ca să facem greșeli și că Dumnezeu a dat maturitatea și bătrânețea ca să putem plăti pentru ele.„

I like Zafon. And this book started well, It went like this: 4 stars, then it decreased to 3, at times it was 1 star, so the final judgement is 2.5.

It is written well, easy to read, and it has interesting underlying topic (duality in a man: good vs evil), but as it approaches its end it gets too entangled and it makes the reader to lose interest in what is going on or what will happen to the characters. Supernatural is okay, but it needs to be done with taste and good structure, and I feel like Zafon lost control over the story, it just kept getting more and more absurd.

It's a pity, because it has potential.

No zawiodłam się. Mam wiele zarzutów do tej książki, bohaterowie było nijacy, przewidziałam największy plot twist i przede wszystkim nie znalazłam tutaj tego wszystkiego co Zafóna, w jego powieściach, charakteryzuje. Ale sam pomysł na fabułę był świetny i na końcu oczywiście były płaczki.

Muy buen libro tambien!!! aunque me gustó mas El Príncipe. Este se desarrolla en Calcuta y la intriga y la fantasia son geniales. Definitivamente Zafón se está convirtiendo en uno de mis escritores favoritos

You may also read my review here: The Midnight Palace

2 stars
16 year old twins, Ben and Sheere, are reunited after being separated at birth by a terrible set of circumstances that took the life of their mother. Raised in an orphanage in Calcutta, Ben has relied on the support of his close knit group of friends and the kindness of the Headmaster. It’s been a good life for Ben at the orphanage, but upon the children’s 16th birthday in 1932, they are considered adults, and are set free to make their own way. Sheere has been raised by their grandmother and has been moved from city to city, all of her life, in order to avoid a lurking terror that threatens the twins’ very lives. The friends will have to make a stand against this evil, or have no hope for the future.

I’ll be honest with you. There were portions of this book that bored me to tears. I did a lot of skimming. That said, there were parts that were interesting, especially concerning Indian history, and I enjoyed the relationships between the friends. However, there was a lot of “storytelling” by a few characters, and as a general rule, I don’t like this kind of writing. I realize how it can be necessary in certain situations, but most of the time, at least to me, it seems like filler. Also keep in mind this is a Spanish to English translation, and I realize how tough it is to retain nuance and other subtleties in a translation. I can’t say this book was bad, because it wasn’t, but it most certainly wasn’t my cup of tea. I know that Carlos Ruiz Zafon is an extremely popular writer, but I don’t know if I’ll be seeking out more of his work. The finale of The Midnight Palace just wasn’t worth the effort for me.

3.3 para ser exactos.
La historia es buena; sin embargo, Zafón pudo ahorrarse muchas páginas.

Ja… nawet nie wiem, jak skomentować to, co robią ze mną książki Zafóna. Na początku myślałam, że ta historia będzie moją najmniej lubianą, ale pomyliłam się. Atmosfera upalnej Kalkuty, tajemnice, zbrodnie i odrobina magii w szaleństwie - to wszystko było wspaniałym tłem dla opowieści o rodzinie, nie takiej z krwi i kości, lecz tej odnalezionej w grupie przyjaciół. Stowarzyszenie Chowbar Society było tylko zalążkiem naprawdę głębokiej miłości między tymi dzieciakami, która skradła moje serce. Książka oczywiście zawierała mnóstwo pięknych cytatów, opisów, a na koniec zostawiła mnie zupełnie pustą (ale usatysfakcjonowaną). Żałuję jedynie, że ta historia nie była dłuższa.
PS Ciekawi mnie tłumaczenie, bo bardzo często padało słowo „fantasmagoryczne”. Interesujący wybór.