Meet the author

Meet Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Carlos Ruiz Zafon is the bestselling Spanish author of The Shadow of the Wind, a page-turning exploration of obsession in literature and love, and the places that obsession can lead. He has written two books for adults and four books for teenagers.

The Prince of Mist was his first published novel and is the haunting story of a ghostly ship and an age-old curse. It has now become the first of his young adult novels to be translated into Englis. Good Reading talked to Carlos about The Prince of Mist, his inspiration and the transition between writing for teenagers and writing for adults.

GR: Can readers expect The Prince of Mist to be different from your other novels?

CRZ: It is different in many ways, especially because it is a book written for younger readers, but at the same time I think it has many of the elements that readers familiar with my later work (The Shadow of the Wind, The Angel’s Game) would expect to find. This is the first novel I published at the beginning of my career as a writer, almost 20 years ago, and I think it contains the seed for many of the aspects I would develop later on, but it is far less complex in all levels than some of the later books.

GR: Your previous novels have been described as fantasy, adventure, literary romance and gothic horror. How would you describe The Prince of Mist?

CRZ: Describing a novel is like trying to describe a perfume, or a piece of music. It reminds me of that saying about ‘dancing about architecture’. I’m not a fan of labels. I think they mostly fail to do what they try to do. But not to evade your question, I would describe it as a coming of age story, a fable for readers of all ages. At any rate, the best descriptions are always made by the readers.

GR: Your first four novels were written for young adults, as is your latest, The Prince of Mist. Why did you write The Shadow of the Wind as adult fiction?

CRZ: I never really intended to become a writer for young adults. It was more of a coincidence than anything else. I became one because I was, and I am, a working writer and my first novel achieved considerable success on that field. Since I was making a living writing books, I was quite concerned about jumping from a train that was moving and continued exploring a genre that I never fully felt was my own. At some point I realised I had always been writing what other people wanted me to write and I decided to take a big risk and, for once in my life, do what I really wanted to do. This is when I started working on The Shadow of the Wind.

GR: What is your inspiration for writing these gothic mystery novels?

CRZ: I suppose my inspiration is just life, the experiences I have and what I see in the world. The ‘gothic’ is just stage machinery, a set of literary devices that allow me to explore certain ideas and elements in the stories.

GR: The Prince of Mist is the first of your young-adult novels to be published in English. Why do you think this is so? What do you think contributes to its world-wide appeal?

CRZ: The reason the book took so long to translate is simply a legal one. Once this matter was solved, I opted to hold them for a while because I didn’t want publishers to feel the temptation to capitalise on the success of The Shadow of the Wind and come out with these books as if they were some kind of sequel. I asked all publishers to wait at least a year after The Angel’s Game had been published and then to market this books clearly as young-adult fiction. I didn’t want the readers to be deceived. I’m very fond of these books, they’re a big part of my life, and I would like to share them with my readers but I also want to make sure they’re received in the right context.

GR: A lot of your novels are set during wartime. Do you have an interest in history or does this setting play a special role in your novels?

CRZ: I have an enormous interest in history, and I think this is reflected in my work, not necessarily in terms of the books trying to become manuals of textbooks, something I don’t think works in dramatic terms, but in the way the issues of memory, time and historical responsibility are explored.

GR: What novels did you enjoy reading when you were a teenager?

CRZ: All sorts of books, really. I would read the classic 19th century novelists, noir fiction, sci-fi… anything I could get my hands on.

GR: Do you ever intend on writing to suit genres outside of fantasy and mystery gothic? What can readers expect next from you?

CRZ: Sure, why not. I don’t really see myself as a fantasy or mystery writer in particular. I see myself just as a writer. I use these elements and many others in order to tell stories and explore the character’s world. I use all sort of stylistic devices and techniques in the service of the stories and I am not specifically committed to a genre in particular. What readers can expect from me? Hopefully decent books worth their time and interest. And a few surprises. At least that is my ambition.