Name: The Shadow of the Wind
Rating: 4.292192429022082 (634 reviews)
ISBN: 9780143126393

Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Representing the letter “Z” in a series of 26 collectible editions, a new design of a classic novel follows the son of an antiquarian book dealer who stumbles upon a dark secret while trying to discover why all copies of a mysterious author's books are being systematically destroyed.

The Shadow of the Wind

The international bestseller and modern classic - over 20 million copies sold worldwide 'Shadow is the real deal, a novel full of cheesy splendour and creaking trapdoors, a novel where even the subplots have subplots. One gorgeous read' STEPHEN KING 'An instant classic' DAILY TELEGRAPH The Shadow of the Wind is a stunning literary thriller in which the discovery of a forgotten book leads to a hunt for an elusive author who may or may not still be alive... Hidden in the heart of the old city of Barcelona is the 'Cemetery of Lost Books', a labyrinthine library of obscure and forgotten titles that have long gone out of print. To this library, a man brings his 10-year-old son Daniel one cold morning in 1945. Daniel is allowed to choose one book from the shelves and pulls out 'The Shadow of the Wind' by Julian Carax. But as he grows up, several people seem inordinately interested in his find. Then, one night, as he is wandering the old streets once more, Daniel is approached by a figure who reminds him of a character from the book, a character who turns out to be the devil. This man is tracking down every last copy of Carax's work in order to burn them. What begins as a case of literary curiosity turns into a race to find out the truth behind the life and death of Julian Carax and to save those he left behind... A SUNDAY TIMES bestseller and Richard & Judy book club choice.

The Cemetery of Forgotten Books 1

Clara

Amna A.

Such a beautiful book with an abundance of memorable characters and unpredictable subplots. Enjoyed every memory and emotion it yielded.

Luke Harkness

Simply phenomenal

This is, without a doubt, up there with one of the best books I've read. It's not the usual genre I go with but the blurb highly intrigued me and I simply could not stop reading (and listening) to this book.

It is is written in such a way that it is almost poetic. It has also taught me a lot about the city of bafcona both geographically and historically and makes me want to return to the feature-rich city.

The story itself keeps you hooked with every word. With the way you love certain characters and dislike others, you're vying for the future of all the characters that are being written about at the time.

If you're looking for a book with a bit of mystery, intrigue, character, romance and that is wonderfully written, do not miss this book!

➺ 4/5 🌟

potential spoilers ahead, be warned... 

'There are worse prison than words'

the second half is actually the best part of this book, in my opinion. especially when all the mysteries surrounding the unknown writer julian carax and his past are starting to unfold, and all the unexpected plot twists are starting to unravel. i didn't expect to cry, but i did. there are certainly parts that were so upsetting and so devastating, it made me so emotional. 

maybe i'm a sucker for a sincere, unconditional friendship but my favorite characters from this book might be fermin and miquel, the most sincere best friends of daniel and julian. i was not very into daniel's romance but seeing it having a parallel with julian's, i can live with that. this book also has one of my most hated characters i've ever known. i was anxious at first because i thought he wouldn't get the ending he deserves. but what happened to him was a bit satisfying. 

this might have a 'happy ending' for most of the characters, especially daniel, but knowing the truth that happened in the past, i can't bring myself to feel happy when i think about julian, who's living somewhere in paris, all alone but accompanied by a single pen gifted by daniel. it's sad and i finished this book with a heavy heart

there are quite a few trigger warnings here so read at your own discretion, but this book is wonderful.

La sombra del viento

 🩰

He tenido todo el rato la certeza de que estaba escrito por un hombre. No es nada bueno eso, pero está bien escrito.

hileahrious

** spoiler alert **
           Al final es una historia interesante, pero es un trabajo llegar al final por la forma de escribir de zafon, que es muy pesada. Luego tiene un final bastante obvio y aburrido la verdad, nada nuevo - todos viven felices etc etc. No lo recomendaría.

This is a difficult book to rate, as I get the feeling that I would be giving the original Spanish version five stars, if my language skills were up to it. It's a multi-layered story, a little over-wrought in places, but very evocative of Barcelona, a city I always enjoy visiting. 

There are some unique characters in this book, and it's easy to identify with the main protagonist. If you do decide to read it, be aware (trigger warning) for a particularly brutal death in childbirth.

Doug Belshaw

This is a difficult book to rate, as I get the feeling that I would be giving the original Spanish version five stars, if my language skills were up to it. It's a multi-layered story, a little over-wrought in places, but very evocative of Barcelona, a city I always enjoy visiting. 

There are some unique characters in this book, and it's easy to identify with the main protagonist. If you do decide to read it, be aware (trigger warning) for a particularly brutal death in childbirth.

I loved it. It was very beautiful, imaginative and mysterious in Gothic style

Shidehdeishidi

Bilge Ince

The dead never go to their own funeral.

I don’t know how to express my feeling about this story, I tried to write many times yet didn’t like it and deleted it. It’s a great story, great characters, not just a hero or heroine. 
An old Barcelona story extends even before the world war. It’s a story of death as much as life. Also a story about how can a 15-year-old boy reflects a man buried alive. And a story of love as much as sorrow.
When the book ended, I wanted to cry. Loved it with all my heart.

 It’s funny how we judge others and don’t realize the extent of our own disdain until the ones we love are no longer there, until they are taken from us.

Colleen

This book first caught my eye because of the series title "The Cemetery of Forgotten Books" which instantly sparked my imagination. 

I often avoid novels written in first person or books that span decades of time, not because I have anything against these writing methods, but because most authors fail miserably at pulling them off. They spend so much time trying to get into the main character's head that they forget to add a plot. For multi-decade books, they span so much time that you either skip years incoherently or they are filled with insignificant details. But The Shadow of the Wind avoids these pitfalls. It reminded me how any style can be great if it is well written. 

The Gothic style is timeless, dark and serious without being overbearing or depressing. The writing is poetic without being ostentatious. The descriptions are beautiful but brief like a well structured foundation that allows your own imagination to fill in the details. With meticulous yet concise descriptions, Zafon sets the stark scene of post World War II Europe which mixes with the flair of Spanish culture and the beauty of Barcelona. The linguistics are unapologetically smart; although some big words and literary references are sprinkled throughout the text, I never felt like they were placed there to show off. Given that a subtle theme of The Shadow of the Wind is the abandonment of books, I felt that this syntax was meant to push the reader to expand their own knowledge.

The story grabbed me from the first pages. I found myself not only engaged in Daniel's journey but also wishing that Julian Carax was real so that I too could read his books. So many parts of this book were moving; I found myself rereading passages just to absorb them more. Like this beautiful quote:

“I couldn’t help thinking that if I, by pure chance, had found a whole universe in a single unknown book, buried in that endless necropolis, tens of thousands more would remain unexplored, forgotten forever. I felt myself surrounded by millions of abandoned pages, by worlds and souls without an owner sinking in an ocean of darkness, while the world that throbbed outside the library seemed to be losing its memory, day after day, unknowingly, feeling all the wiser the more it forgot.” 

The plot moved along quickly and had enough twists to keep you interested. There were a couple moments when I was slightly bothered. One was an instance when Daniel waits a year or two to follow up on clues he is given. The others were the instances when Father Fernando Ramos and Nuria Monfort tell their parts of the story. The style of those monologues differs from the rest of the books, and there were certain details that I didn't feel they would have known. But overall, I was so engrossed in the story that these were barely blips of annoyance and did not detract from my enjoyment of the book.

I don't want to put any spoilers in this review. But I will say that underneath the main story I felt there was a moral that books - and the love of books - are being forgotten. So I will end with this quote:

"Every book, every volume you see here, as a soul. The soul of the person who wrote and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it. Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens."

And that is why I read! Both for beautiful words like that and to strengthen my soul and the souls of all the books out there.

The Shadow of the Wind

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