Krista Reviews: Marina by Carlos Ruis Zafon
In May 1980, fifteen-year-old Oscar Drai suddenly vanishes from his boarding school in the old quarter of Barcelona. For seven days and nights no one knows his whereabouts. . . .
His story begins in the heart of old Barcelona, when he meets Marina and her father Germán Blau, a portrait painter. Marina takes Oscar to a cemetery to watch a macabre ritual that occurs on the fourth Sunday of each month. At 10 a.m. precisely a coach pulled by black horses appears. From it descends a woman dressed in black, her face shrouded, wearing gloves, holding a single rose. She walks over to a gravestone that bears no name, only the mysterious emblem of a black butterfly with open wings.
When Oscar and Marina decide to follow her they begin a journey that will take them to the heights of a forgotten, post-war Barcelona, a world of aristocrats and actresses, inventors and tycoons; and a dark secret that lies waiting in the mysterious labyrinth beneath the city streets.
Hardcover, 299 pages
Published September 26th 2013 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson (first published 1999)
ISBN 0297856472 (ISBN13: 9780297856474)
I have not read all Carlos Ruiz Zafón books, but I have yet to be disappointed. His writing is so beautiful and atmospheric; it’s easy to slip away into another world. In Marina he brings a dark ghost story full of history and horror. I loved this story so much that I recommend it to everybody.
Marina lives alone with her father and we find out more about her as the story further investigates the mystery of the mourning woman. Marina is the kind of girl who would rather keep her mind busy on other things than herself. Oscar is drawn to her and begins to spend a lot of his time away from school and getting to know what he can of Marina and her father.
The mystery of the mourning woman reveals the past and the dark history of a man driven by power. With a pinch of Frankenstein, the story takes a dark turn and Oscar barely survives the investigation. The writing style creates an ominous feeling throughout the story and a powerful ending.
If you have read any of his previous books you will know exactly what his writing style brings to a story. It’s masterful the way he can construct the atmosphere and characters into his worlds. I love the way I can completely disappear into his stories and have to remind myself to come up for air.
I highly recommend this story, it’s dark, beautiful and well crafted. This is a story I can see myself re-reading over and over again.
