Marina

A page turner from beginning to end. A journey of highs and lows mixed with Joy and sadness a book worthy of reading more than once this is my third still gives me chills

"Marina" is a novel Carlos Ruiz Zafón wrote before the classic The Shadow Of The Wind (which I enjoyed immenseley and which is the reason I started to follow CRZ and his works). It's a magical, gothic tale for young adults, yet CRZ never fails to add his trademark jokes to the narrative and populate the story with curious characters (I enjoyed the brief encounters with JF!). "Marina", originally published in 1999, is one of the four books specifically written for the young adult audience, which does not mean that it cannot be enjoyed by everybody. In fact, quite the opposite. The novella is very visual and at times truly disturbing. Not once while reading it I thought that it would make a great horror film. Even now my nose crinkles when I recall great descriptions of stink of the rotting bodies in the Barcelona sewers - uncomfortable, graphic and truly sensuous! I never hesitated in recommending The Prince Of Mist to youngsters (even to under 10s), but "Marina" takes you on a truly scary ride, which can be too perturbing for the younger audience. But well done CRZ for creating such a horrifying world of a wannabe Spanish Victor Frankenstein, full of mad hopes to cheat death. The storyline of "Marina" is a web of so many tangles and lies and truths interconnecting with each other, it is hard to guess who is the hero and who is the villain. Of course there is a tragic love story. And not even one, in this book. I thought I was able to guess who is who a few chapters before the truth was revealed by the author. And I guessed wrong. There were more twists in "Marina" than I expected. CRZ's narration is simple and straightforward (and it's nothing in comparison to the "Shadow of the Wind" trilogy), and yet he creates such complicated world of Barcelona's sewers and abandoned gothic buildings. There is more to the book if you just look into the magic and the characters a bit deeper and think of the message "Marina' delivers. A message about friendship and the choices we make in life - good and bad. And last but not least - don't read at night, you might find it difficult to fall asleep after!

RLZ knows how to weave a story better than most. Although this is one of his 'teen' writing, as a 50 year old I loved it. It's just an absolute crying shame there will be no more books from him.

Carlos Ruiz Zafon describes this as a completion of his gothic style novels for young adults and he certainly finishes his 4-book series with a very gripping read. The story quickly catches the imagination and from then on it is very difficult to put this book down. I particularly like his style of shorter length, punchy chapters, with each one telling a neat section of the story before quickly moving the reader onto the next part.

I usually love Carlos's books. I love his writing style and the way his books take you on a journey of mistery and discovery. Marina however I found it more suitable for a young audience.

Miss CRZ immensely. I used to google his name and filter for most recent in google news in hope for his new books! This is a great book and similar level of the iconic shadow of the winds.

A good read

As always, Carlos Ruis Zafon writes another book that starts very tantalisingly to draw the reader in to the story line and then somewhere along the way you have become hooked and can not put it down until you have finished it. Beautifully written, lovey characters that you feel that you would like to have has your friends even the vixens were a onetime good people but at some point in their life thing happen to change them and still you feel sorry for them too. I haven't read one book of CRF that I haven't enjoyed and I don't think I ever will, so if you ever want a good book to read try one of Carlos Ruis Zafon ' books, you won't be let down, my friends weren't. By Andrew A Hesling B.Sc

The book was well preserved, and the story is one of the best of the modern times.

Love this author and this book

As a Stephen King fan I'm used to scarey books but I have to say I read Marina with the lights on. It's both sweet and innocent and horrifying at the same time. The characters are compelling and sympathetic. The plot might seem unlikely and yet it rings true in so many ways. I've read other books by the author and enjoyed them as well.

What a beautiful edition! Can’t wait to read it.

Love anything by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, an amazing writer who uses all facets of language to convey his enthralling stories.