The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #1)

by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

*This review is from 2011, when I gave the book five stars. The re-read wasn’t as enjoyable*

Barcelona, 1945; Spain is still dealing with the aftermaths of the Spanish Civil War. An antiquarian book dealer’s son, Daniel, who is mourning the recent loss of his mother, finds comfort in a book called The Shadow of the Wind by Julián Carax. When he decides to hunt down more books by this mysterious author, he is shocked to find someone is on a mission to destroy every copy of Carax’s books. It is possible that Daniel may in fact have the very last copy of a Julián Carax book.

I think I‘m in love…with The Shadow of the Wind. This book has everything you really want in a story; it’s epic, mysterious, and full of adventure, as well as being haunting and beautifully written. The story is set in post–Spanish Civil War Barcelona, and follows the story of a teenage boy, who adopts a book, from the secret library known as the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. The boy becomes obsessed with this book and tries to track down the obscure author of this book.

This is an epic story of murder, madness, doomed love and secrets; while this book may seem over the top, Carlos Ruiz Zafón shows extraordinary control over the plot and language. The atmosphere in the book is beautifully created; it makes me want to go back to Barcelona. But while there is this beauty in the scenery, there is this underlining gothic feel to the whole book that just works really well for a reader like me.

Though the synopsis doesn’t really give you an exciting representation of this book, I can say this book is addictive and a joy to read. I think I became obsessed with this book. It’s like a cult following, where not just the protagonist that is obsessed but the reader becomes obsessed too. I want to adopt a book now.

This book just has something in it for everyone; it’s a rare find to find a book that can cater to such a wide range of people and I think The Shadow of the Wind did just that. If you enjoy this book check out the rest of the series, I thought the prequel; The Angel’s Game was wonderful and really need to get onto The Prisoner of Heaven in the future. It’s been a long time since I’ve read this book (this is an old review) but when the series completes, I plan to read them all again.