The Shadow of the Wind

by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (otherwise under Carlos Ruiz Zafón)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Conversations
10,247	374	98	(4.13)	444

Work details

Book details

Title	The Shadow of the Wind
Author	Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Rating
Tags	1-b, 2-own-parents, 3-read, 4-bookmooch, A-2008-09, authors, books about books, dec, fiction, lt-inspired, mystery, R-2008-12, read 2008, spain
Collections	Your library, Books I have read, Books I can lend you
Your review	Summary: Daniel, the son of a used-book seller, is ten when he discovers a mysterious book called The Shadow of the Wind, by the author Julián Carax. Immediately enthralled by the story it tells, Daniel sets out to discover more about the author, and to find more of his books. However, Carax's history is shrouded in secrecy, and his books are impossible to find - for years, someone has been buying or stealing every copy of Carax's books in existence... and burning them. Daniel eventually comes face to face with this man, who is calling himself Laín Coubert - the name taken by the Devil in The Shadow of the Wind. Daniel, however, will not be dissuaded from finding out about Carax's life, and he slowly begins to uncover a epic tale of love, loss, lies, and the deepest secrets the Barcelona streets can hold. Review: When this book was recommended to me, I came to check it out, and it seemed as though it would be a good fit to my interests, and when the ratings and reviews made it seem like most people loved it in the way that you love really extraordinary books. When I got my hands on a copy of the book, however, one of the blurbs on the back described it as "Gabriel García Márquez meets Umberto Eco." "Uh-oh", I thought to myself... "everyone seems to love this book, but everyone seems to love Gabriel García Márquez, too, and both of his books that you've read have left you somewhat ambivalent. And let's not even get started on what you thought of Name of the Rose..." Happily I enjoyed The Shadow of the Wind more than I did either of the authors to which it was compared. While I can see why those comparisons were drawn, The Shadow of the Wind actually reminded me more than anything of The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield - a dark, twisting, Gothic novel, filled with swirling mists, buried secrets, and the smell of old books. The writing in this book is beautiful, very evocative and full of linguistic twists and turns that must have been a pain to translate. But while I objectively realize it's quite a good book, and I did enjoy it, it didn't quite draw me in the way I wanted it too. It was a little too dense to fit my mood at the moment; a little too full of rambling bits that ultimately went nowhere, paragraphs of evocative descriptive detail that seemed to serve no purpose but to be evocative, and a mystery that remained mysterious until the end, but whose creepiness petered out into melodrama about halfway through. For a different reader (or me in a different mood), I can easily see how this book would have been wonderful, but as is, I just never got involved in it. 3.5 out of 5 stars. Recommendation: If you liked The Thirteenth Tale - or Gothic-feeling mysteries in general - and are feeling up to a somewhat dense read, I'd definitely give this one a shot.
Other authors 1
Publication	Penguin (Non-Classics) (2005), Paperback, 487 pages
Publication date	2005
ISBN	0143034901 / 9780143034902
LC classification 1	PQ6668.U49 S6613
Dewey	863.64
Subjects	Antiquarian booksellers › Barcelona › Fiction Antiquarian booksellers › Spain › Barcelona › Fiction Barcelona (Spain) › Fiction Books › Barcelona › Fiction Books › Spain › Barcelona › Fiction Mothers and sons › Barcelona › Fiction Mothers and sons › Spain › Barcelona › Fiction Mystery fiction Novelists, Spanish › Fiction Out-of-print books › Barcelona › Fiction Out-of-print books › Spain › Barcelona › Fiction Rare books › Barcelona › Fiction Rare books › Spain › Barcelona › Fiction Suspense fiction Widowers › Barcelona › Fiction Widowers › Spain › Barcelona › Fiction Young men › Barcelona › Fiction Young men › Spain › Barcelona › Fiction
Primary language	(blank)
Secondary language	(blank)
Original language
Date acquired	2008-09-20
Date started	2008-12-15
Date finished	2008-12-21
Summary 1	The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (2005)
Comments
BCID	XXX-
Number of copies	1
Citation	MLA, APA, Chicago/Turabian, Wikipedia citation
Data source	amazon.com