Oscar, a lonely boy at a boarding school in Barcelona, meets reclusive Marina and her father, and his world turns on its head. When Marina drags him to a cemetery where she watches a woman in black place a flower on an unknown grave, they are pulled into something much bigger.Throughout their adventures, Marina and Oscar's friendship grows, even as they are faced with dark and complex world. 
 Yes, the gothic tale part of the novel can feel overblown and unbelievable at times. But, it's a gothic novel. They can be overblown. There's a reason Northanger Abbey makes fun of them. They heighten the passions and grotesqueness of life. What makes Marina even more beautiful is how it juxtaposes this heightened, surreal world of shadows with all too real, everyday horrors. 
 Also, Zafon's prose is stellar. It's got a lyric quality to it that works its own magic, pulling me in as a reader. With Marina, Zafon accomplishes this amidst a fast-moving plot that encompasses all of 326 pages. This also surely speaks to Graves accomplishments as a translator.