The Shadow of the Wind

"Memories are worse than bullets" from page 427 of "The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon captures the coloring of this story - imbued with the memories of the key players. The tale is elegantly written (though a bit too long), beautifully translated (with a few glaring blunders), and totally mesmerizing. It was hard to put down and easy to pick up again. As to the funniest translation mistake, see Page 343, "...that the dice had been cast," a whopping misunderstanding of the phrase "the die has been cast."The setting is 1940s and 1950s Barcelona (with side trips to Paris). The author has captured the feel of post civil-war, post world war II Spain perfectly. And, as a bonus, there is a tour map with pictures and guiding narrative at the end of the book for those who want to trace the steps of the book's characters as they lived in this story.Some of the over-intellectualizing critics here (see the very few negative reviews) kind of miss the point. This is a great story, written by a very talented story-teller, filled with wonderfully developed and interesting characters. Is it literature? Is War and Peace literature? Is Madame Bovary? Is anything written by ANY modern author literature? We all know Dan Brown does not write literature - he writes outlines for screen plays, for instance. I actually don't care. I loved this story and the way it was written.There are innumerable lines to underline and ponder. "Telling the truth should be kept as a last resort, Daniel, even more so to a nun," spoken on Page 253 by my favorite character in the book, the hilarious Fermin Romero de Torres. Or, "The most efficient way of rendering the poor harmless is to teach them to imitate the rich," page 198. And, "...what destiny does not do is home visits. You have to go for it," page 225.Most of the negative reviews omit to say that this book is hilarious, time and time again. It is also sad, filled with pathos and violent in places. One sees both the good and terrible side of men and women.The story bogs down somewhat during the long narrative by Nuria Monfort, where we learn important details of the various mysteries and intrigues central to the unraveling of the story. At times here and elsewhere in the book the writing suffers from what I would call TMI (too much information), when less would be better. The story is complicated as are the players, but all to the better. The reader has to "work" a little bit to catch on to the threads of the story, but in the last analysis the mystery is not so hard to solve. Any astute reader can be well ahead of the story teller here, but that does not ruin anything.I do not really know what a gothic novel is, but apparently this is a modern version of "romance mixed with horror." The romance part vastly overshadows the horror part in this story. But the horror is quite graphic and sufficient. The evil character is indeed evil. It's hard to decide who the central character is" Daniel or Julian, as their lives and personalities become intertwined.My major criticism focuses on my confusion about the "voice" of the story. Who really is the narrator? Ostensibly it is Daniel, but...............there are many pages where other voices take center stage. At times I had to read 3 or 4 pages of these other "voices" before I was sure about exactly who was "talking." Carlos Ruiz Zafon does not have as big a problem as Arturo Perez-Reverte about "voice of the story," but Zafon confused me at times.There really is no denouement. Like all good, real stories, all of the players and themes simply merge together at the end, and the epilogues finish off any further questions a reader might have. I found the ending very satisfying."The Shadow of the Wind" is an enormously pleasurable read. If there were "in between" categories, I would give it a 4.6, but I'll round up the rating to a 5. And happy to do so.

I’m usually fairly skeptical about books that have been given hype to the umpteenth degree, as is the case with The Shadow of the Wind. However, I feel Zafon’s The Shadow of the Wind lives up to its recognition, and deserves the many praises. Not only does the author have command of an intricately woven plot and storytelling, but he does so with a Gothic mood and atmosphere that hooks you into Daniel Sempere’s world. In many ways, The Shadow of the Wind pays homage to classic authors such as Dickens and Poe with the various elements: dark secrets, mysterious characters, puzzling circumstances, love, coming of age, hope, tragedy, and one seriously diabolical villain.As far as the plot, Daniel Sempere, a young boy, is first introduced to the world of books when his father takes him to the mysterious Cemetery of Forgotten Books. Choosing a novel entitled The Shadow of the Wind by Julian Carax, Daniel sets into motion fate and destiny. Upon learning that someone is going great lengths to destroy every copy of this author’s works, Daniel goes on a quest to search for this mysterious author and understand his life. Along the way, Daniel experiences love, and learns more about himself as a person and the puzzle of Carax. There’s something foreboding—and intriguing—about the possession of this book and it opens to the door to many mysteries of the past and present: forbidden love, unforeseen danger.For the most part, Zafon’s novel has a compelling, mysterious, enchanting quality, one that engages and interests the reader from the start. I also enjoyed some of the minor characters too, especially Nuria Monfort, who is a complex character who adds much depth to the story, especially as Daniel unravels several mysteries.Not all is perfect with the novel, however, and the book loses some of its mystical quality at certain points. Much of this comes when Daniel’s sidekick, Fermin, comes into the story. Fermin offers some comic relief, but has a court jester-like quality to him. He is initially fun, but becomes annoying as the novel progresses, and seems to “dumb down” and lessen the intrigue factor. Another issue is with the over-the-top villainy, so overdone that I could literally envision the main antagonist twisting his mustache with his fingers all the while plotting and laughing maniacally. Some of the male characters, particularly the fathers of the children, are carbon copies of each other, almost interchangeable.This aside, though, The Shadow of the Wind is well worth the read, a book I highly recommend for those who like mystery, suspense or the Gothic tradition. It’s also a book about books, another plus in my, ahem, book. It’s a novel that pulls you in, and makes you interested in the protagonist’s fate. As other have attested, this is a book encompassing so many elements and themes that it has a wide range of appeal. There’s something for everyone in this reading experience.

For a fantastic mystery and adventure, read this book. It is a complex plot with many wonderful characters that you have a chance to get to know. If so inclined, you become the investigator trying to solve the mystery that the story presents. The characters are well-developed and in-depth and connected with a very deep and extensive web of circumstances. It was great to get to know the characters.The plot was extensive and clearly developed. The author used used the chapters to evolve the plot in a clear and enticing manner. He also did this from different character's points of views. I would get to the end of one chapter and immediately want to go to the next.The style of writing and structure of the book and chapters make this an easy book to read. The author used some "uncommon" words. It was helpful to have a dictionary to make sure of understanding. Also, there were times I used a translation service. It makes it easy on the Kindle as it is built into the system.Barcelona set the stage for this story. Details in the book helped pique my interest and desire to visit this city at some point in the future.I also took away messages from the author about life. Those messages came from observing the actions that each character took in their life and the consequences that resulted from those actions. They really had me reflecting about my life. This was a surprising and welcome result from reading the book.Cheers, R

Muy bien escrito

En muy buen estado, muy cuidado

GESCHENK KAM GUT AN!!VIELEN DANK

I am currently reading the book and love it, and the author. Big fan!Could only give it a 4 out of 5.But the book did not come in perfect shape, scrapes were found along the edges of the cover (on the bottom side), since it was not protected inside the package.Hopefully they will pack books a bit better so that they don’t scrape up in transit.

This book is amazing on so many levels. Well developed characters, amazing setting, interesting plot, fantastic writing style. This kindle version in English the fourth copy I own besides the paperbacks in Spanish, Italian, and Romanian. I've read it in all these languages and couldn't get enough of it regardless of the version. It wholeheartedly deserves much more than 5 stars.