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The Shadow of the Wind

By Carlos Ruiz Zafón

(389)

| Paperback | 9780753820254

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Book Description

The international literary sensation-a runaway bestseller in Spain, rights sold in more than 20 countries-about a boy's quest through the secrets and shadows of postwar Barcelona for a mysterious author whose book has proved as dangerous to own as it is impossible to forget.

Barcelona, 1945-just after the war, a great world city lies in shadow, nursing its wounds, and a boy named Daniel awakes on his eleventh birthday to find that he can no longer remember his mother's face. To console his only child, Daniel's widowed father, an antiquarian book dealer, initiates him into the secret of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a library tended by Barcelona's guild of rare-book dealers as a repository for books forgotten by the world, waiting for someone who will care about them again. Daniel's father coaxes him to choose a volume from the spiraling labyrinth of shelves, one that, it is said, will have a special meaning for him. And Daniel so loves the novel he selects, The Shadow of the Wind by one Julian Carax, that he sets out to find the rest of Carax's work. To his shock, he discovers that someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book this author has written. In fact, he may have the last one in existence. Before Daniel knows it his seemingly innocent quest has opened a door into one of Barcelona's darkest secrets, an epic story of murder, magic, madness and doomed love. And before long he realizes that if he doesn't find out the truth about Julian Carax, he and those closest to him will suffer horribly.

As with all astounding novels, The Shadow of the Wind sends the mind groping for comparisons-The Crimson Petal and the White? The novels of Arturo Pérez-Reverte? Of Victor Hugo? Love in the Time of Cholera?-but in the end, as with all astounding novels, no comparison can suffice. As one leading Spanish reviewer wrote, "The originality of Ruiz Zafón's voice is bombproof and displays a diabolical talent. The Shadow of the Wind announces a phenomenon in Spanish literature." An uncannily absorbing historical mystery, a heart-piercing romance, and a moving homage to the mystical power of books, The Shadow of the Wind is a triumph of the storyteller's art.

29 Reviews

2 people find this helpful

obvious, trite, foreseeable. i could tell who the phantom was from the start, but had to endure until page 510 for the plot to untangle. will i ever learn? it's from richard and judy book club, home of the worst books of my life.

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Elsastella said on Jul 31, 2009 | 2 feedbacks

2 people find this helpful

Much more than a thriller it appears to be.

Some compares it as a potboiler like the DaVinci Code, which is terribly unfair. I am not much tempted to know the ending - or, to be precise, the cause of all the strange incidents - rather than that, I just want to read the boy's heart. They say the story is invented but the sentiment must be true ... (continue)

Some compares it as a potboiler like the DaVinci Code, which is terribly unfair. I am not much tempted to know the ending - or, to be precise, the cause of all the strange incidents - rather than that, I just want to read the boy's heart. They say the story is invented but the sentiment must be true. I couldn't drop the book since Daniel, our hero, forgot his mother's face all in a sudden; how he encounters a beauty and spends several years just to adorn her; how he enters the lives of others to discover fate under the guise of coincidence. Sometimes the book makes me tremble and weep - the bittersweetness in life is just too powerful.
(a very impressive) official site:
http://www.lasombradelviento.net/
(click 'los escenarios' on the bar)

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fruit said on Apr 14, 2007 | Add your feedback

1 person find this helpful

A very original story

Fascinating and gripping. The first half is a bit slow but the second half is a roller-coaster! I really enjoyed this book: it's very atmospheric as it immerses the reader in a decadent and troubled Barcelona during the civil war. The characters are very credible and engaging, in particular the prot ... (continue)

Fascinating and gripping. The first half is a bit slow but the second half is a roller-coaster! I really enjoyed this book: it's very atmospheric as it immerses the reader in a decadent and troubled Barcelona during the civil war. The characters are very credible and engaging, in particular the protagonist, Daniel, and the elusive Julian Carax, author of The Shadow of the Wind.
Highly recommended.

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Matteo Berlucchi said on Mar 20, 2012 about the eBook edition | Add your feedback

Best novel in a long time

Finishing this book left me with a warm feeling of contentment... That makes a change from the duds I've read in the past few months.
Daniel Sempere and his intense investigation into the novels and life of Julián Carax was simply a wonderful novel. It was a story of adventure, young love, growin ... (continue)

Finishing this book left me with a warm feeling of contentment... That makes a change from the duds I've read in the past few months.
Daniel Sempere and his intense investigation into the novels and life of Julián Carax was simply a wonderful novel. It was a story of adventure, young love, growing up, and of a fast-paced hunt for the truth. I became completely absorbed in the search for Carax and the unveiling of his complex past.
The setting of 1940s Barcelona added some charm to the book. It made a difference to the settings I usually read in books, i.e. the USA or London. I loved all the characters, even the slimy Fumero. Carlos Ruiz Zafón certainly knows how to write compelling characters. Fermín Romero de Torres was a particularly delightful character, tramp-cum-bookshop aficionado, and provided much amusement throughout the novel. Daniel Sempere was a completely believable character, from the age of ten to about 18 in the final events of the story, and I never once questioned his motives or dialogue.
I really have nothing bad to say about this novel. It was exciting, heart-warming, and compelling.

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Jemma said on Mar 28, 2012 about the eBook edition | Add your feedback

Heart-warming

Finishing this book left me with a warm feeling of contentment... That makes a change from the duds I've read in the past few months.
Daniel Sempere and his intense investigation into the novels and life of Julián Carax was simply a wonderful novel. It was a story of adventure, young love, growin ... (continue)

Finishing this book left me with a warm feeling of contentment... That makes a change from the duds I've read in the past few months.
Daniel Sempere and his intense investigation into the novels and life of Julián Carax was simply a wonderful novel. It was a story of adventure, young love, growing up, and of a fast-paced hunt for the truth. I became completely absorbed in the search for Carax and the unveiling of his complex past.
The setting of 1940s Barcelona added some charm to the book. It made a difference to the settings I usually read in books, i.e. the USA or London. I loved all the characters, even the slimy Fumero. Carlos Ruiz Zafón certainly knows how to write compelling characters. Fermín Romero de Torres was a particularly delightful character, tramp-cum-bookshop aficionado, and provided much amusement throughout the novel. Daniel Sempere was a completely believable character, from the age of ten to about 18 in the final events of the story, and I never once questioned his motives or dialogue.
I really have nothing bad to say about this novel. It was exciting, heart-warming, and compelling.

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Jemma said on Feb 24, 2012 | Add your feedback

1 person find this helpful

A memorable plot, fantastic characters, excellent dialogues and a poetic setting make this one of the best books I've ever read.
All this decorated by a sublime and harmonious writing style.
You'll feel part of the story from the beginning and you will be unable to put the book down. And you'll fee ... (continue)

A memorable plot, fantastic characters, excellent dialogues and a poetic setting make this one of the best books I've ever read.
All this decorated by a sublime and harmonious writing style.
You'll feel part of the story from the beginning and you will be unable to put the book down. And you'll feel so attached to the characters that you will sadden or rejoice with them.
A supreme book.

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RickyV said on Jan 29, 2011 | Add your feedback