false 1232 0143034901 9780143034902 17529 3741 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1247930410m/1232.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1232.The_Shadow_of_the_Wind 815 Carlos Ruiz Zafón 23706 5495 3 12 true Sat Jan 26 23:10:02 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 26 23:38:35 -0800 2008
My main complaint is the portrayal of females, especially the supposed 'main characters'. They seem to be the same femme fatale in different bodies, flaunting different eye colours - an object of masculine desire and ultimate sacrifice. Beyond that, they serve only as catalysts. Kill off the sweetheart, so the man has a purpose. Kill off the mother, so the son has a quest.

The romances are also stilted and highly suspicious. How is it that a man can love a woman to the point of madness, wait for her seventeen years after only an 'emotion-loaded' glance and a quickie? An idea which does no justice to either sex. Parts of this book read like portions cut from those lurid romances with swooning raven-haired beauties and muscular dukes. Others are so insightful and REAL, that you wonder if there aren't two authors. The descriptions of 'that' book - the first to ever mean something - in particular, and the effect it can have on an 'untouched' heart...should be enough for "Shadow of the Wind" to leave an impression. ]]>