The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, A Book Review by Rebecca Moll
If you love to get lost in the shadows of a story, find yourself seeking what is around the corner with apprehensive anticipation while at the same time wishing you could step into the pages and visit the people and places that have lassoed your imagination, then The Shadow of the Wind is a must read.
A Cemetery of Forgotten Books, an old romantic mansion and a blue tram shrouded in an ever-sweeping fog of history, Barcelona rising from the ashes of WWII, a little-known author, Julian Carax, who is disappearing one book at a time, and the stranger without a face stepping right out of the very book he vows to burn, his name, Lain Coubert.
Whose heart does not bleed for a young boy who mourns the loss of his mother, falls for unrequited love, and finds a book that takes him on a journey that goes far beyond the binding of its pages, especially when he discovers someone is destroying every last copy of the author’s works? Daniel steals your heart little by little as the perilous mystery unravels much like shadows amidst the shifting winds that keep re-appearing, always just a step or two, a page or two beyond reach.
Characters step on and off the page, some more than others keeping to the corners of your thoughts in between readings. And oh, how they come to life when you least expect it! Fermin, misjudged and misunderstood, his downfall at the depths of despair, resurrected, rejuvenated, falls madly in love, his brilliant mind, cutting whit and wicked humor, laying claim right alongside Daniel where your and Bernarda’s life-blood lies. Nura, Bea, and Clara lay their own claims upon the boy, tempting his fate and stealing his all-too-ripe innocence, one bite of a time. And then, Julian, for whom Daniel seeks, a parallel of sorts, pinning for love forsaken, his bleeding heart writing the very story that defines his and Daniel’s lives.
Romantic, yet funny, classic yet nouveau, beautifully written, Carlos Ruiz Zafón will capture your thoughts and your heart, wrap them up in a time and place you will wish to stay forever. And as the rosy sepia fades, do not despair, a sequel awaits, The Angel’s Game.
Should you wish to walk in the footsteps of more than imagination, a trip to the beautiful city of Barcelona and the author’s own map at the back of the book is a pleasant surprise. Read along and lose yourself, even if for only a short while. After
all, that is the idea, isn’t it?
Between the lines, therein lies, a sweet respite, body, soul, and mind.
A Cemetery of Forgotten Books, an old romantic mansion and a blue tram shrouded in an ever-sweeping fog of history, Barcelona rising from the ashes of WWII, a little-known author, Julian Carax, who is disappearing one book at a time, and the stranger without a face stepping right out of the very book he vows to burn, his name, Lain Coubert.
Whose heart does not bleed for a young boy who mourns the loss of his mother, falls for unrequited love, and finds a book that takes him on a journey that goes far beyond the binding of its pages, especially when he discovers someone is destroying every last copy of the author’s works? Daniel steals your heart little by little as the perilous mystery unravels much like shadows amidst the shifting winds that keep re-appearing, always just a step or two, a page or two beyond reach.
Characters step on and off the page, some more than others keeping to the corners of your thoughts in between readings. And oh, how they come to life when you least expect it! Fermin, misjudged and misunderstood, his downfall at the depths of despair, resurrected, rejuvenated, falls madly in love, his brilliant mind, cutting whit and wicked humor, laying claim right alongside Daniel where your and Bernarda’s life-blood lies. Nura, Bea, and Clara lay their own claims upon the boy, tempting his fate and stealing his all-too-ripe innocence, one bite of a time. And then, Julian, for whom Daniel seeks, a parallel of sorts, pinning for love forsaken, his bleeding heart writing the very story that defines his and Daniel’s lives.
Romantic, yet funny, classic yet nouveau, beautifully written, Carlos Ruiz Zafón will capture your thoughts and your heart, wrap them up in a time and place you will wish to stay forever. And as the rosy sepia fades, do not despair, a sequel awaits, The Angel’s Game.
Should you wish to walk in the footsteps of more than imagination, a trip to the beautiful city of Barcelona and the author’s own map at the back of the book is a pleasant surprise. Read along and lose yourself, even if for only a short while. After
all, that is the idea, isn’t it?Between the lines, therein lies, a sweet respite, body, soul, and mind.
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