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The Prisoner of Heaven

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The Prisoner of Heaven

By: Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Narrated by: Peter Kenny
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About this listen



Barcelona, 1957. It is Christmas, and Daniel Sempere and his wife, Bea, have much to celebrate. They have a beautiful new baby son, and their close friend Fermín Romero de Torres is about to be wed. But their joy is eclipsed when a a mysterious figure with a porcelain hand enters the Sempere bookshop, threatening to divulge a terrible secret that has been buried for two decades.

His appearance plunges Fermín and Daniel into a dangerous adventure that will take them back to the 1940s - the early days of Franco's dictatorship and the very heart of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books.

The Prisoner of Heaven is a rich, labyrinthine tale of love, literature, passion, and revenge set in a dark, gothic Barcelona, in which the heroes of The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game must contend with a nemesis that threatens to destroy them.

Read by Peter Kenny

©2011 Shadow Factory L.L (P)2012 Orion Publishing Group
Fiction Historical Literary Fiction Magical Realism United States Fantasy

Critic Reviews

'This is is explicitly, and joyously, a book about books, about what can be learned from them and what is lost when they are lost' GUARDIAN

'Full of stylish writing, Gothic atmosphere and love letters to 19th-century novels' WASHINGTON POST

What listeners say about The Prisoner of Heaven

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An enthralling tale

Once again we are treated to a rich tale and deep believable characters. A joy.

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The Best from Zafon

Would you consider the audio edition of The Prisoner of Heaven to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the print version so I can't answer this question directly other than to comment that the audio edition was/is very engaging and well put together. I think the story would hold up equally in either format. The Narrator was very good and I thought his technique was very well honed.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Prisoner of Heaven?

I love the way that Zafon creates a story that can stand alone but ties into the other two books in this 'series'. Being the third book, each time reference is made to any of the characters in the first two, a tingle creeps up my spine, reminding me of those storeys also.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

No one particular scene, but I really enjoyed when Daniel took his friend to the the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, and received the package with the note (I'm trying not to use names to avoid giving bits away)!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, but in the end I split it over 4 'sittings'.

Any additional comments?

I'm now off to see what else Zafon has written and am thinking about re listening to each in the series. The Prisoner of Heaven is by far my most favorite, I wonder though if this is because it was the third and the main characters were already set for me? Would it have been as good if I read this book first? I think so, but possibly with a different slant.Well done Zafon, you have a life long fan in me.As an Australian, I am planning on taking my first trip to Spain at the moment, and I must admit, a big part of it will be tracing the footsteps of some of the places in Zafon's books, when visiting Barcelona.

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Always pulls you in

When I met Daniel Sempere in The Shadow of the Wind I instantly fell in love with the world he lives in, followed close behind was the love and obsession for Juilan Carax. Fortunately, Carlos Ruiz Zafon wrote follow up books that drew me in again from start to finish. The way he writes has an insane way of making you believe you are inside his mind. In The Prisoner of Heaven we get to learn about who Fermin was before he met Daniel and what lead him to live on the streets. Exceptional book and will be reading again.

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.