Book Club Discussion Questions
For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, A Short History of Barcelona and our BookBrowse Review of The Angel's Game.
Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
About This Guide
The author of the international phenomenon
The Shadow of the Wind returns with
The Angel’s Game, a dazzling portrait of Barcelona in the 1920s - and a labyrinth of allies and villains, lovers and legends who take us on a wondrous literary adventure. The millions of readers who savored
The Shadow of the Wind will delight in being transported to familiar haunts - including the Cemetery of Forgotten Books and the bookshop founded by the Sempere family - while discovering a previous generation of characters. Those who are experiencing the fiction of Carlos Ruiz Zafón for the first time will find themselves mesmerized by the dangerous liaisons brewing in
The Angel’s Game. This is the story of David Martín, a young novelist who sells his soul when he accepts a small fortune in exchange for writing a work that ignites fervor and faith among gullible sinners. As the stakes escalate to murder, David becomes embroiled in a mystery whose clues lie buried in the abandoned mansion he inhabits. Though books have always been his refuge, helping him survive a troubled childhood, he soon realizes that his life as a writer is destined to cost him everything … including his beloved Cristina, the one woman who dared to warn him against forsaking his art.
Unfolding along the winding streets of Barcelona’s Old Quarter,
The Angel’s Game celebrates the magic of the printed word, and the triumph of storytelling in a world of mighty duels between truth and fiction.
The questions and discussion topics that follow are intended to enhance your reading of Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s
The Angel’s Game. We hope they will enrich your experience of this book.
Reader's Guide
- The novel begins with David’s recollection of the first time he tasted "the sweet poison of vanity" by writing for a living. How much of his career is fueled by vanity versus poverty? Why was it so difficult for him to heed Cristina’s warnings about selling out to greedy publishers?
- Like Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s previous novel, The Angel’s Game is written in the first person. What does David reveal about his view of the world as he tells us his story? How might the novel have unfolded if it had been told from Andreas Corelli’s point of view?
- Sempere influenced David’s life by giving him a copy of Great Expectations. Later returned to him by Corelli, the book still bore the bloody fingerprints of David’s father. How did David’s life resemble a Dickens novel? How was he affected by his parents’ history? How did books and booksellers save him? What is the most memorable book you received as a child?
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- How does the author develop themes of identity and belonging throughout the narrative?
- What role does the setting play in shaping the characters' decisions and relationships?
- Discuss how the ending reframes the events of the story. Were you surprised?
Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Vintage.
Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.
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