"Pan's Labyrinth: The Labyrinth of the Faun" by Guillermo del Toro and Cornelia Funke

I grabbed this book from the shelf in my local library and it turned out to be a huge surprise. This is one of the best books I've read so far this year. It reads as a spooky fairy tale, and is a faithful adaption of the film Pan's Labyrinth. There are definitely parts in this book that are quite dark and macabre. At the same time, it is filled with magic and love.

The setting of the story is the fascist Spain in the 1940s. Our main character is a little girl named Ofelia whose father is dead and mother recently remarried and is about to give birth to a new baby. Ofelia stumbles upon an ancient labyrinth in the forest surrounding the mill where her mother's new husband (Captain Vidal) lives. There, she meets a Faun who tells her that she is a long-lost princess of the Underground Kingdom where her parents and loved ones have been waiting for her for a very long time.

The story is written from multiple perspectives. It also includes legends/stories from the past that allow the reader to see how the various characters and physical items are connected to the main heroes of the story. It also alludes to the invisible ways our past and our emotions shape us. Overall, the story is multilayered and complex. I definitely want to go back and re-read it just so I can trace all the connections. It quite unexpectedly gave me the vibes of reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez: same dreamlike and surreal atmosphere layered over real historic events. 5 out of 5 stars. Loved it.

My favorite quote from the book:
Mortals don't understand life is not a book you close only after you read the last page. There is no last page in the Book of Life, for the last one is always the first page of another story.