The City Of Mist

Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Harper Perennial Publication Date:

November 23, 2021

General Fiction (Adult) | Mystery Thrillers

Summary:

What is the one gift a talented author can give to his dedicated readers… his writing of course.  The City of Mist is a collection of short stories intended to be published following Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s death.  Sadly, they are now set for publication on November 23, 2021, because those legions of appreciative readers lost Carlos Ruiz Zafon in June of 2020.

I’m taking with me its memory, for I am bound by the beauty of its streets and indebted to its dark soul, to which I vow I will return to offer my own soul and seek the embrace of its sweetest oblivion.”

The City of Mist

Once again, we are in Zafon’s beloved Barcelona, where all the stories take place. However, if you have read any of Zafon’s Cemetery of Forgotten Books series you know it is not simply that he loves Barcelona but utilizes the setting as a key character and you feel the authors almost obsessive all-consuming love for the city. When reading these short stories, you are instantly reminded, as if you could forget, that passion is always the center of his stories either towards another person, creation or protection of books, or Barcelona. 

Characters:

As I mentioned above, the largest and most consistent character, the common thread through these stories is Barcelona and passions.  When I read these stories, I envisioned everything in sepias and shades of grey.  The stories are dark and offer very little light, except the beauty of his turn of phrases.  Being a collection of short stories, you spend very little time with the characters, but you feel their anguish, anxiety, and brief moments of hope.  We do get to meet along the way famous Spaniards, and you get the sense that Zafon wanted to acknowledge these influential people that came before him.  The cumulative darkness of the stories give depth to your brief encounters with the characters.

Overall Impression:

As a lover of The Shadow of the Wind, which I reviewed back in 2016, upon reading the opening sentence I was right back in Zafon’s Barcelona.  I mentioned in a recent video, that Zafon was an author that I was “thirsty” for, but I had no idea how parched I have been.  Every story read was complete and stood on its own, despite how short they were.  The endings made me stop, reflect, and catch my breath before moving to the next.  They are perfect to consume one story a day, maybe right before bed.

The stories caused me to have strong reactions and want to know more.  I say that they were complete but then contradict myself by saying I wanted to know more, which is it? The fact is any of the stories felt like they could have been book proposals for a much longer novel, or the basis for another series.  The running themes of “deals with the devil”, creation and protection of books, and moving through the beleaguered history of Barcelona was so familiar.  You feel Zafon’s sadness for a city he so adores.  The greatest sadness is that in Carlos Ruiz Zafon giving us such a wonderful final gift, he has also reminded us of the stories he still had to tell.