THE SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
This enthralling novel, inspired by the 2006 film, illustrates that fantasy is the sharpest tool to explore the terrors and miracles of the human heart
You shouldn't come in here. You could get lost. It has happened before. I'll tell you the story one day, if you want to hear it.
In fairy tales, there are men and there are wolves, there are beasts and dead parents, there are girls and forests.
Ofelia knows all this, like any young woman with a head full of stories. And she sees right away what the Capitán is, in his immaculate uniform, boots and gloves, smiling: a wolf.
But nothing can prepare her for the fevered reality of the Capitán’s eerie house, in the midst of a dense forest which conceals many things: half-remembered stories of lost babies; renegade resistance fighters hiding from the army; a labyrinth; beasts and fairies.
There is no one to keep Ofelia safe as the labyrinth beckons her into her own story, where the monstrous and the human are inextricable, where myths pulse with living blood ...
Admission: I haven’t seen Pan’s Labyrinth all the way through. I started it and didn’t finish, so that right there might be the reason I didn’t love this book. Because I really, really didn’t.
See, here’s the thing: I expected more from two such experienced authors. The book didn’t flow well, and some things felt like they were shoved down my throat. Vidal is a very bad guy. But, seriously, how many times does that need to be reiterated in almost the exact same wording? I was very disappointed by the lack of character development in general.
The little fairy tales interspersed throughout the book were different and broke up the monotony of the rest of the tale nicely. The fantasy creatures were unique and disturbing in a beautiful way. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to draw me into the book. I will probably forget that I’ve even read this one in a few months. It just wasn’t memorable.
I would suggest skipping this one.
If you’ve read this, what did you think? Did I miss something that made this book awesome?
Reading updates
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30 August, 2019:
Reviewed