Interview with Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Susan Mansfield interviews Carlos Ruiz Zafón.

It's raining the day I meet Carlos Ruiz Zafon, so we begin with a discussion about rain. London rain, according to Zafon, is "annoying, not spectacular".
"I spend a lot of time in LA, and when it rains there you get the entire rainfall for the year in two days, raindrops the size of mangoes. And in Barcelona, the Mediterranean storms come up from the sea, thunder and lightning, it's like the end of the world."
Readers of Zafon's novels, The Shadow Of The Wind and The Angel's Game, will recognise those rainstorms. They will also recognise the natural flair for drama. In Zafon's world it's not enough for rain to be rain, it has to be a spooky, mist-swirling drizzle, or an apocalyptic downpour.

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