The Shadow Of The Wind

I have read a book that I really wish I could emulate as an author, and that book is called The Shadow of the Wind. This book has it all: mystery, murder, plausible love story (real love, not the paperbacks with Fabio on the cover), and above all, a love for literature. In fact, it reads like an ode to literature. The characters are great, but it is the setting or the authors use of setting that really took me by surprise. I felt like I had lived in Barcelona when I was finished reading this and I find it tough to know what to write here without giving anything away for someone who will read it.



Carlos Ruiz Zafon is the Spanish author and I believe that this is his first novel. As a first novel, this is a powerhouse. His setting is the Spanish city of Barcelona and it is a city that he seems to know well. Every alley, every window, every small shop comes alive with his descriptions which are detailed without being overbearing. The characters are terrific. Without giving anything away, the twists and turns in this novel are really mind bending. Some are more Gothic than I thought the book was heading, but it made it a lot more exciting.

What You May Like:

This book is very much for people that love to read. It contains parts of every type of genre without losing you. It really holds a great narrative thread and that can be attributed to the author having his main character be, well, what else: a budding writer himself. I thought the main character, Daniel, was easy to relate to and follow.

The Cemetery of Lost Books. The name says it all. The action that one takes when in the Cemetery is to choose a book (or does the book choose you?) and be responsible for it all your life. The main conflict of the story is that Daniel, upon his first visit to the Cemetery, chooses The Shadow of the Wind after which he discovers that someone is buying up all of the author's books and destroying them. To the casual reader, this may not sound like much of a conflict, but trust me, this conflict snowballs into a plethora of problems for our young hero.

It is quite a fast read. You will not be able to put it down. Even the love story that happens through the pages will capture you and I tend to shy away from the romance side of literature.

Why You May Not Like It:

If you don't like it, you may not get why books are so important to me and countless other avid readers. It is the sense of mystery when you pick up a book and peer into a world that someone has dreamed up. It's getting into the head of another character that has some of the same thoughts, or even dreams, and saying to yourself, I thought only I felt that way. I could see where sometimes, for some readers, this book could come off as sentimental hodgepodge, but I implore you to stick with it. The ending is worth it.

I am going to wrap up in saying that this author will be around for years to come. At least, that is one of my great personal hopes. For me, he rekindled the romance of literature for me again. I can only wish at writing something as provocative, as graceful, and dark, and beautiful.