I am always looking for something good to read in Spanish, my second language. I found out about this author through my daughter in the UAE, who had read one of his books in a book club discussion group. I was rather chagrined to find out that the author is famous all over the world, yet I had never heard of him, even though I am an avid reader, averaging about two books a week.
I find his writings a little "dark", but there are redeeming factors. This author's style pulled me into the story with his vivid, sensory-rich descriptions and plots.
This is a short story with a legend about the fall of Constantinople and plague-ridden Barcelona in the 15th century. It sets the stage for the the labyrinth library in the "Cementario de los Libros Olvidados" series.
The legend of a greedy person being turned into a dragon reminded me of Eustace in "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader."
I found certain sentences confusing, sometimes because of cultural knowledge I lacked. For instance, the author's reference to the connection between books, dragons and roses and the date April 23. Checking out the Kindle English version "Rose of Fire", I found a note that explains that on St. George's day, the custom in Catalonia is to give gifts of roses and books. And, of course, the connection with dragons is the fight of St. George and a dragon. This story in Spanish also includes an excerpt from "El Prisionero del Cielo".that mentioned NO-DO. I puzzled over that, and checked the English version, which said, "propaganda programs". Then I googled NO-DO and found it stood for Noticiero y Documentales, propaganda programs of Franco.
One thing I noticed in comparing the Spanish and English translations, was that the Spanish version only has two chapters excerpted from El Prisionero del Cielo, whereas the English version has four chapters. I suggest that Kindle add chapter three and chapter four to the Spanish version.
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