The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon is the first of four novels in a series called The Cemetery of Forgotten Books. The
book was originally written in Spanish and was translated by Lucia
Graves. The book was originally published in 2001 and the translation
appeared three years later. At some time before the creation of our blog
in 2009, I read two of those books, and I remember being enthralled
with the plots as well as the rich language. I think I must have read
the second book first (The Angel’s Game) which is actually a prequel and then The Shadow of the Wind,
but that was long enough ago that I’m not sure. The books are really
for bibliophiles who fall in love with their books as does the
protagonist, Daniel Sempere. In the first book, Daniel is admitted by
his father (a book shop owner) to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books in the
heart of Barcelona, but it is a secret library that only a few know
about. It is the charge of each patron of the library to choose one book
which he will keep secret and hold dear to his soul. Daniel’s book was
written by Julian Carax, but nearly all of his books have been destroyed
and Daniel strikes out on a quest to discover who would do such a thing
to the author he has come to love.
I
must say that I thoroughly enjoyed this read although I slowed down
from my usual reading pace just to revel in the richness of the words.
There was a great cast of characters who I quickly learned to care
about. However, the story did grow rather convoluted and long, so I was
ready for it to end by the time the author brought the reader to that
point. A murder mystery is wrapped into the story, and it’s a love
story. Finally, it is a great travel book about Barcelona. I am tempted
to return to visit the second book, but at the moment, my reading queue
is much too long.
West Coast Don
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