"Erwachsenwerden ist einfach der Prozess der Entdeckung, dass alles, woran man in jungen Jahren geglaubt haben, falsch ist und dass sich alles, woran man nicht glauben wollten, als wahr herausstellt."

Ben wächst im Kalkutta der 30er Jahre zusammen mit seinen Freunden in einem Waisenhaus auf. Als er 16 wird, offenbart sich ihm seine Vergangenheit.

In diesem Jugendroman zeigt sich bereits die Erzählkunst von Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Ich liebe dieses Mystische, Düstere, Geheimnisvolle. Das Buch erinnert mich an eines meiner Lieblingsbücher, an "Der Schatten des Windes". Ich mochte die Freundschaft der Jugendlichen und die spannende Geschichte, erzählt in Zafons unannachahmlichem Sprache. Das Buch hat nicht ganz so viel Tiefe, dafür ist es ein Jugendroman, aber es hat mich wunderbar unterhalten und mich auch gegruselt.

Στο δεύτερο μέρος της Τριλογίας της Ομίχλης (που απ' όσο γνωρίζω δεν έχει μεταφραστεί ακόμα στα ελληνικά) μεταφερόμαστε στην Καλκούτα στα μισά του περασμένου αιώνα.
Γραφή ατμοσφαιρική, καλοδουλεμένη, μελωδική κι όσοι περίμεναν να δουν την εξέλιξη του συγγραφέα μετά τον αξιοπρεπέστατο Πρίγκηπα της Ομίχλης, δε θα απογοητευτούν.
Εγώ, δυστυχώς, ένα θα πω: Αχ, Carlos, πόσο θα μου λείψεις...

3.5/5 αλλά ουσιαστικά 4* γιατί είμαστε άνθρωποι με αδυναμίες.

حكاية من أجواء زافون الساحرة و الغامضة و لكن هذه المرة في كالكوتا بالهند .

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.

Sinceramente aunque el libro de por si es muy bueno y está muy bien hecho creo que ha sido el que menos me ha gustado de toda la trilogía de la niebla porque me ha resultado bastante raro que no estuviera ambientado en España y como hablaba de paisajes que yo no conozco me ha sido un poco confuso ubicarlo todoaunque gracias a el maravilloso don que tiene este autor para describir paisajes tengo una idea bastante nítida en la cabeza de lo que acabo de leerme.
Este libro trata sobre todo sobre el pasado la historia comienza con un hombre escapando de un asesino llevando en sus brazos a los bebés y continúa narrando cómo estás dos bebés hermanos se separan para encontrarse en una situación que nadie habria imaginado.
Ben: a pesar de ser el protagonista creo que es el personaje del que menos forma tengo, me explico: es una persona tan reservada, como nos explica en el libro el autor, que es muy complicado deducir qué tipo de persona es y a pesar de ser un protagonista siento como si acabará de empezar a leer el libro y no le conociera.
Sheere: qué puedo decir de ella, los que os hayáis leído el libro me entenderéis, simplemente espero que se reúna al fin con sus padres.
Jawahal: sin ninguna duda, mi personaje favorito. Creo que, al lado de Andreas Corelli es mi villano favorito de todo este mundo de luces y sombras de Carlos Ruiz Zafón.
Abuela de Sheere: (perdón por no poner su nombre pero es muy complicado): la abuela es un personaje del que entiendo cómo se comporta porque lo único que quiere proteger es el único familiar que le queda aunque creo que es demasiado sobreprotectora con su nieta, si sabes que lo que va a pasar es inevitable, no tortures a tu pobre nieta con tanto viaje.
Y finalmente los miembros del Chowbar Society: solo puedo decir que ojalá tenga,algún día, un grupo de amigos tan leal como ese.

Un truño como una casa.

3 stars!

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY EVERYONE!! (I’m lonely)

This was better than the first one at least! It has some type of found family and I’m all for it with that trope, it’s literally my favorite one in the entire world <3 don’t seem to catch what kind of correlation this has with the first book lmao? But I’m glad I still read it tho.

Very fast paced and short, and decent enough :)

As in all books by Zafon, I loved this one. It had its little quirky um-where'd-that-come-from? moments, but I loved it nonetheless.

The synopsis at Waterstones.com reads as follows:

n  1916, Calcutta. A man pauses for breath outside the ruins of Jheeter's Gate station knowing he has only hours to live. Pursued by assassins, he must ensure the safety of two newborn twins, before disappearing into the night to meet his fate. 1932. Ben and his friends are due to leave the orphanage which has been their home for sixteen years. Tonight will be the final meeting of their secret club, in the old ruin they christened The Midnight Palace. Then Ben discovers he has a sister - and together they learn the tragic story of their past, as a shadowy figures lures them to a terrifying showdown in the ruins of Jheeter's Gate station.n

Note: I am not sure if this is a spoiler, though I don't think it really is, but I'm giving you a fair warning anyway, as it has a lot to do with the foundation of the story.
The first part of this book was a bit shaky, I will have to admit. How many times have we heard of the story of a newborn child (or children, or baby/ies) whose parents were murdered in cold blood by an evil person/being, but which child, by some fortunate twist of fate, is rescued by a benevolent character (who may or may not end up dying anyway), and who leaves such child somewhere (at the doorstep of another benevolent character, maybe?) where the child grows up, shielded from the past and clueless that, upon reaching a certain age, he/she and the evil murderer of his/her parents will resurface? I'm thinking Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book and, of course, the most obvious example, J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter. Almost always, a token - something - will be left in the possession of such child that will help in the discovery of his past. Well. Go figure.
Okay, it's safe to continue reading the rest of the review now.

The little "showdown" and "game" towards the end, too, was a bit tacky. If you've been dealing with an apparently invincible enemy, with demonic powers and super-strengths, the "game" would not be something that you'd expect.

Notwithstanding the somewhat predictable foundation of the plot and the tacky little parts scattered in the storyline, I enjoyed this book immensely. I've read all of Zafon's previous works, and always, the part which I look forward to - the best thing about his novels, for me - is the suspense. The mystery. The eerie atmosphere that prevails throughout the story. The creepiness of the narrative that makes the hair at the back of my neck stand up on end. Yes, I'm a scaredy-cat, but still.

Segundo libro de La Trilogía de la Niebla: ¡Check!✔

En términos generales, el libro me gustó, pero siento que le faltó ese algo para decir que lo amé completamente.

Sin perder su esencia característica

مستوى الكتاب أقل من المتوقع حيث عقد الكاتب القصة بلا داعي

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.

Me ha gustado mucho.

Creo que, a pesar de odiar las comparaciones, me quedo con este antes que con el de "El príncipe de la Niebla" (a falta de leerme el tercero). Y no es que el primero no me gustara, al contrario. Si no que, entre estas páginas y su ambientación en Calcuta, he encontrado una historia cautivadora sobre encontrar a la familia y enfrentarse a tus propios demonios, contando siempre con la ayuda de tus amigos. He acabado con un nudo en la garganta. Y, aunque la historia de "El príncipe" también me sobrecogió y me encandiló (y me acojonó), hay algo en ese ferrocarril de Calcuta que me ha cautivado. Sí que es cierto, por otra parte, que aunque me da la sensación de que la historia y los personajes están mejor explicados, sigue faltandome más explicación. Sé que deja cosas a la imaginación del lector y que estos libros son más juveniles que su otra saga, pero me gustan las explicaciones detalladas. Qué se le va a hacer!