The Prisoner of Heaven

Finished August 17
Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, read by Peter Kenny

We are transported back to Barcelona, moving between 1957 and 1939/40, this novel continues the story begun in the novel The Shadow of the Wind (read before I began blogging), and also brings characters from the novel The Angels Game (haven't read yet). Once again, as in The Shadow of the Wind, we have the main character Daniel Sempere telling us the story. Daniel is married to Bea now and has a young son. His friend Fermin Romero de Torres also plays a large role here, telling us of the events from the 1939/40 period, when Daniel was a small child and Fermin suffered a period of imprisonment. Fermin's difficult, almost fantastic, story includes that of a fellow prisoner, the writer David Martin, a friend of Daniel's mother Isabella. We learn part of Isabella's story here as well.
The past is brought forward by a strange visitor to the bookstore, who has Daniel conveying a message to Fermin, who opens up about his past and the connection to Daniel's family. This is a story of Spain under Franco, a story of friendship, jealousy and trust. Daniel's story moves forward, leaving us looking towards more story at the end, and yet developing his character and his relationship with his wife. We see how the past never truly lets go, influencing our lives and our relationships. I look forward to Daniel's further adventures in future novels.