Nothing is more powerful than a promise.
Carlos Ruiz Zafon is one of my all-time favorite authors, and
The Prince of Mist is his first published novel. Zafon has said that, "It was the book that allowed me to become a professional writer and to start my career as a novelist, and I’ve always been fond of it."
The synopsis, as found at
Amazon:
It's war time, and the Carver family decides to leave the capital where they live and move to a small coastal village where they've recently bought a home. But from the minute they cross the threshold, strange things begin to happen. In that mysterious house still lurks the spirit of Jacob, the previous owners' son, who died by drowning.
With the help of their new friend Roland, Max and Alicia Carver begin to explore the strange circumstances of that death and discover the existence of a mysterious being called the Prince of Mist -- a diabolical character who has returned from the shadows to collect on a debt from the past. Soon the three friends find themselves caught up in an adventure of sunken ships and an enchanted stone garden -- an adventure that will change their lives forever.
Unlike Zafon's
Shadow of the Wind and
The Angel's Game, The Prince of Mist was written for teens/young adults and so is far less sophisticated -- but no less enjoyable -- a read.
Zafon's prose, as always, is elegant -- even if leveled down for his younger audience -- and he wastes no time diving straight into the story, drawing you right in and carrying you along at whirlwind speed straight through to the end.
I read the book in two sittings, and would have finished it in one had time permitted. It's engaging, a compelling story with likable teen characters, an intriguing mystery, a spooky (and rather terrifying) villain, a motley crew of circus performers/stone statues, and the harnessing of magic for evil purposes.
The story launches straight into the Carver family move, one that young Max instinctively knows will change his life forever. From the outset, time takes on new meanings and characteristics -- appearing under different sets of circumstances to run backwards, stand still and bifurcate into different tracks. A cat with a knowing countenance and a pushy demeanor catches the eye of Max's younger sister, Irina, and rides home with the family to their new house. Alicia, the eldest, is distant, detached and clearly unhappy.
Max meets a local boy, Roland, and the two become fast friends who are swept up, along with Alicia, into an adventure precipitated by an accident (caused by the cat) that sends Irina to the hospital.
The trio puts together clues involving a walled-in garden of enchanted statues; a sunken ship named the
Orpheus; a collection of old home-made films left on the Carver's new property; the story of a diabolical magician named Dr. Cain and his connection to Roland's grandfather (a lighthouse keeper who watches over the
Orpheus); and the true fate of Jacob Fleischman, the boy who drowned in the ocean and whose parents previously owned the Carvers' new home.
A profound respect grows between Max and Alicia, Alicia and Roland become more than friends, Roland's grandfather does his best to protect his grandson and the evil Dr. Cain changes all their lives forever.
Although I felt a little as though there were a few loose ends that I would like to have seen tied up (for example, how Alicia deals with what Dr. Cain does to Roland, and whether or not magic continues to play a role in Max's life after the events with Dr. Cain and the
Orpheus), I think ultimately that the ambiguity worked well. It definitely provoked my curiosity and kept me thinking about the possibilities long after I'd read the final words. The only answers, of course, are those I've come up with on my own -- and those sorts of answers tend to be the best, after all.
