The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon - 5 stars

[Ellen]

When Daniel Sempere is 10-years-old, his father, an antiquarian bookseller, takes Daniel to the "Cemetery of Forgotten Books", a secret library in Barcelona that houses thousands of tomes are kept from extinction. Daniel is told he may choose one book, one that will be his to protect forever. "The Shadow of the Wind" by Julian Carax is the book Daniel picks and his choice will color the rest of his life. An obscure author, Carax seizes hold of Daniel's imagination and young Sempere is determined to find out all he can about the elusive writer. Once Daniel learns that a shadowy figure has been buying or stealing and then burning all of the books written by Carax, Daniel is even more intrigued. His search will bring him in contact with myriad characters who all have a piece of the Carax puzzle but his quest will ultimately threaten Daniel's life and the lives of all those he loves.

I honestly did not think I would enjoy this book as much as I did. The length was daunting to me, nearly 500 pages (this lazy reader likes them around 300) and the setting was a new one, Spain after WWII. I was completely drawn into the mystery of Julian Carax and it was worth all 500 pages. Recommended!

[Rachel N.]

I love this book too. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[Barbara M]

Glad you liked it, I did too. I agree with you, the setting was quite unique - I loved that.

[Ladyslott]

Loved this book.

[Susie]

I really enjoyed it too. :-)

[Amy]

This one remains in my top ten for a lifetime!

[Booknblues]

I'm the odd one out in this. It is one of my dnf. I always mean to finish, but I lost interest while reading it years ago. The idea seemed enchanting but became less and less so as I went on.

[Regina Lindsey]

Same reaction here. I read this when it first came out. The kids were gone, Tracy was on shift, and it was a horrible thunderstorm out. I was scared out of my wits! LOL

[Denizen]

Loved this book! I thought the characters were delightful.

[annapi]

This has been on my TBR for a long time...

[JoLene]

I was just recommending this book today!! I actually read Marina for the tag because I liked this one so much.

[Amy]

And how was Marina? I immediately put it on my TBR.

[JoLene]

Amy wrote: "And how was Marina? I immediately put it on my TBR."

It was pretty good --- not as great as Shadows.....a bit more gruesome, but same great atmosphere.

[Amy]

Have you or anyone else read the Forgotten Cemetary series, like in order? I have sort of wanted to. Which one is first?

[JoLene]

They are listed in series order in GR. They are in the same world, but I would say that Angel's Game is only loosely related to Shadow of the Wind. I think you want to read Prisoner of Heaven after Angel's Game....because there are more of the same characters.

[Denizen]

JoLene wrote: "They are listed in series order in GR. They are in the same world, but I would say that Angel's Game is only loosely related to Shadow of the Wind. I think you want to read Prisoner of Heaven after..."

I'm with JoLene on the order but I would add skip Angel's Game. I found it uninteresting.

[Tessa (FutureAuthor23)]

I read this years ago and loved it.

[Book Concierge]

I've read the first two - The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game ... I rated both of them 5 stars.

[Olivermagnus]

I really liked this when I read it but have never read any of the sequels for some reason.

[KateNZ]

Fascinating concept. Definitely looks like one for the TBR.