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The Shadow of the Wind
By Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Gothic is the best word to describe this book even though the story begins in Barcelona, Spain, in 1945.
Its a real trick to keep track of all the characters that step in and out of the past, but the journey is exciting, scary and interesting in a macabre way.
We are introduced to Daniel, who falls in love with a book with the title of The Shadow of the Wind . Daniel is the son of a book store dealer, who specializes in antique and hard to find volumes. This special book was written by Julian Carax , and Daniel begins a hunt to find other books by this mysterious author. He discovers that someone is hunting down Carax's books and burning them, or destroying every one they can find!
Politics in Spain after WWII is in a frenzy as well, which also complicates Daniel's hunt for Carax's books.
An interesting assortment of women appear, and a spooky old mansion, the Aldaya Mansion takes center stage.
The Cemetery of Forgotten Books was my favorite place in this novel - a huge old place with a gate keeper named Isaac. It is a vast labyrinth of books - a maze in fact - and it is the one place in this book I really wanted to visit in person (but I fear it only exists in this novel)!
This is a truly literary mystery, with love and deception at the center of it all. Beautifully written, wonderful characters and a story filled with smoke and mirrors lead the reader on quite a ride.
Carlos Ruiz Zafón's first copyright in Spain was in 2001, but the translated, hard cover edition didn't make it to the USA until 2004. It can now be found in a nice trade paper edition in 2007.
Published: Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
375 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10014
Copyright: © 2001 by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Reviewed: 03/15/08 - 249
Copyright: © 2008 by Joan G. Smith
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