Il Palazzo Della Mezzanotte (1998) - Plot & Excerpts
December 5 2014It’s 1916 and Lieutenant Peak is running from assassins with 2 babies in his hands. Shortly after midnight, he ran through the bushes of Calcutta, hoping to escape the pursuers who want to kill him and the 2 twins. His plan was to get the babies to their grandmother’s house, Aryami, since both their parents are dead. Peak later stopped to take his breath, but the assassins were just behind him, so he decided to go hide in an old abandoned warehouse. From there, Peak could see if whether or not the assassins were coming closer. “The lieutenant stood motionless against the wall, watching his pursuers as they stopped to search for his trail”(Zafon 11). When Peak saw one of the three pursuers pointing towards his direction, he understood that he needed to find a better place to hide.It began raining and Peak ran faster and faster trying to get to Aryam’s house before his pursuers found him. When he finally arrived, he knocked several times before the door actually opened. Aryami welcomed him and was devastated to hear that her daughter was killed. After Aryami took the twins in bed, Peak explained to her what happened and warned her that the pursuers might be coming looking for the babies. Peak had to leave again to “join” his pursuers, leaving less chance for them to find the twins. “I must go. If I stay here they’ll find me. They won’t give up. Peak insisted” (Zafon 14). After Peak left and went back to where his pursuers were, he took his gun with only 2 bullets left and tried to fight him. When the chef of the “band” captured him, he asked Peak where the babies were, but Peak told him they were dead. As a result the assassin killed him. Aryami decided to give the children up as she thought it would be better for their protection. She decided to separate them and both send them to a different orphanage. Before she did anything, she first put a pendant on each of the babies’ necks that fitted into one another to make a single piece. The next day, Thomas Carter, the director of St Patrick’s orphanage, found at the door a basket containing a baby with a letter addressing to him. Thomas was very astonished to see this since it was unusual for someone to do such a thing. “The surprise was two-fold Firstly, nobody bothered to abandon a baby in Calcutta on the doorstep of an orphanage, for they were plenty of alleyways, rubbish dumps and wells all over the city where it could be done more easily. Secondly, nobody wrote letters of introduction like the one he received, signed and leaving no doubt to its author” (Zafon 24). After Thomas read the letter who explained why the baby needed to stay away from his sister, he understood and took the child to be his.The theme that can be applied to this story is family. It is so because this family is completely torn apart. First of all, two baby twins are left without parents and only their grandma as their family. The baby boy goes to an orphanage and doesn’t even know her. Second of all, the two siblings don’t even know each other. The worst of all of this is that an unknown man chasing them who wants to kill them. “The child I am obliged to hand over to you has lost both his parents. The murderer swore he would kill them and then wipe out their descendants” (Zafon 26). Those are the reasons why this family is devastated. December 12 2014In the book, “The Midnight Palace”, several characters are introduced in the novel. While Ben was in the orphanage, he created a “secret” society with some friends called the Chowbar Society. There were 6 participants in the society. Isobel had the dream of becoming an actress and so far was the only girl in the group. Roshan was the fastest runner of the group and Siraj possessed an encyclopedic memory. Michael was a tall and quiet boy who drew drawings all day long. Seth was a strong, serious boy who smiled about 6 times a year. Last, but not least, Ben, the funny guy who had different moods along the day. “There was a different Ben every day. His mood changed every half-hour and he’d go from long stretches of silence, a sad expression on his face, to periods of hyperactivity that ended up exhausting us all”(Zafon 42). To conclude, these are the main characters of the novel each of which have their own special personality. In the orphanage there were very few places where the orphans could go to be alone. One of those places was called the Midnight Palace. They would usually go there secretly in the middle of the night. There, they would share their knowledge and tell ghost tales about the city Calcutta. Siraj, a member of he Chowbar Society invented rumors about he Midnight Palace having supernatural powers and being hunted to keep it a secret hideaway. One story talked about an old man floating through the house looking for souls to hunt. “The story, in short, was about an old tradesman who floated through the house wrapped in a white cloak. He had blazing red eyes and long wolfish fangs that rested over his lips, and he hungered after unsuspecting curious souls”(Zafon 48). The Midnight Palace was one of the few places where the orphans could go to tell their secrets and be alone.Its now May 1932, and the orphans are having there last days in St Patrick’s orphanage. At the age of 16 the orphans were free to grow into responsible men and women. To celebrate that, Ben and his friends are organizing a party. They wonder what will become of the palace and throw firecrackers in the air. It’s almost midnight and Ben caught sight of an elderly women and a young girl heading towards the orphanage. The old women then walked in and the young girl stayed outside. Ben, not knowing that the young girl was actually his win sister, went to talk to her as he thought she was pretty. “Her features, which he couldn’t see clearly from where he stood, seemed to be soft and her skin was pale and luminous”(Zafon 55). Ben then invited her to have a glass of ice-cold lemonade with him and his friends. She accepted.Many themes can be applied to this story, but only one is the most seen. Friendship is seen throughout the whole novel. While Ben was in the orphanage, being with his friends was the only thing that made him happy. Altogether, they even created a secret society. Of course they were rules. They had to help each other and share their knowledge. “The first was to guarantee each of its seven members the help, protection and unconditional support of the others, in any circumstances, danger or adversity. The second was to share their knowledge each of us acquired, so that we could equip ourselves for the day when we would have to face the world alone”(Zafon 49). These rules helped reinforce their friendship and help the others when in need. This is how friendship is one of the major themes in this novel.December 19Aryami explains her story, or the one of her grandkids to Carter. As she explains to him that an assassin wants to kill her daughter and her descendants, he has trouble believing her, but takes his chances. It is now 25 May 1932, 16 years after the children’s birth and so far the twin girl, Sheere, lived with her grandmother, and the twin boy Ben, lived in an orphanage. On the night of the twins 16th birthday, Aryami goes to talk to Carter to explain to him that the boy needs to leave the orphanage for his own safety. During that time, Sheere meets with Ben, without knowing that they are siblings, and go have a drink together. ”I do know, take me to that lemonade”(Zafon 59). After all, both of the twins live an abnormal life.As Sheere sat with Ben and his friends, they talked about the secret society. They talked about their last meeting, as they were each going to go their own way very soon. Sheere was sad to hear that as she wanted to become a member of the secret society, but Isobel didn’t want another girl to enter the society. Nevertheless, after a period of reflection, Isobel accepted Sheere to inter the secret society and for once, Sheere was going to make true friends. “… She had never stayed in one place long enough to make a single true friend, much less seven of them willing to listen and to invite her to be part of something” (Zafon 73).As Ben and his friends took Sheere to the Midnight Palace, she had to pay a price to participate. The price to contribute to the society was to tell a personal secret story. Sheere talked about her father. For Sheere, her father died before she was born, and was a writer. Her mother died giving birth to her and the only descriptions Sheere has of her mother come from her father’s writing. “ The only image I have of my mother, I’ve found in my father’s writing” (Zafon 75). Sheere knew little about her family, and was the main similarity between Ben and her.The theme that can be displayed to this part of the story is the hiding of the truth. This theme can be applied to the story as both of the twins don’t know anything about their past. The only things they know about their family comes from rumors. “My mother died giving birth to me” (Zafon 75). As this is not the truth, the children are plunged into a series of lies. Knihu doporučuji mladším i starším čtenářům, kteří mají rádi příběhy plné zvratů a překvapivou zápletku. Carlos R. Zafón dokáže svým spisovatelským umem spolu s temnými ulicemi Kalkaty, vaši fantazii vyburcovat na maximum. Dokonce je možné, že až uslyšíte přijíždět vlak do stanice, budete koukat, zda kolem něj nešlehají plameny a v oknech nekvílí uvězněné dětské duše.
What do You think about Il Palazzo Della Mezzanotte (1998)?
geschreven in zijn bekende stijl maar het had meer uitgewerkt mogen worden.
—Mia
