The Shadow of the Wind (Cemetery of Forgotten Books)

It's easy to see why this novel is a worldwide bestseller and beloved modern classic. It has that timeless, high quality writing and high-stakes, epic storyline that is often found in the best of novels. The story is mostly set in Spain in the civil war and postwar era. Ten year old Daniel, a bookseller's son, chooses one book from the Cemetery of Lost Books. The book is a novel, 'Shadow of the Wind', which he loves and can't understand why it is is so obscure. But soon after coming into possession of it, Daniel comes to realise there is more to the book that it appears. Someone is determined to destroy all copies of the author's work, for unknown reasons, and it's not clear how far they'd go to achieve their goal. Despite, or perhaps because, of these dangers, Daniel determines to find out more about the book's enigmatic author, Julian Carax. Where is Carax, if he's even alive, and why is someone so desperate to wipe out his books forever? Daniel is a likeable character - the classic slightly bumbling protagonist that it's hard not to sympathise with. I also liked many of the supporting characters, in particular the loyal, characterful shop assistant Fermin . The plot is interesting and compelling, with a clever story-within-a-story structure as events unfold in the present whilst the past is also gradually revealeed. I'd been under the impression it was a fantasy or at least magical realist novel, probably from the title and cover, but it's a purely non-supernatural story. It's an atmospheric one though. It would be a great choice to read when visiting Barcelona as the city is almost a character in its own right and there's even a tour at the back telling readers how to visit the locations featured in the book. I'd recommend this novel to a wide range of readers as there's something for everyone - good characters, good plot, an element of mystery, a good amount of romance, a strong evocation of place and time, and all presented through excellent writing (and translation).

This is one those books that gets passed around via word of mouth recommendations. I picked it up just due to the wide variety of friends who, with widely varying tastes, all raved about how great this book was. So I came to it with high expectations, but almost as much as I expected it to be good, I was also expecting to be disappointed, thinking that nothing could match the hype. The story kicks off in a cracking way. We are introduced to our main protagonist and the first person narrator of the story, Daniel, who is taken by his father to a mysterious place known as the Cemetery of Forgotten Books where he picks up a copy of a hitherto unknown work called The Shadow of the Wind by Julian Carax. Fascinated by the story, he takes the story to a book merchant, who offers Daniel a huge sum of money for the book. But Daniel is more interested in the story and of the story of the author behind it. As the story develops, a murky figure lurks in the shadows of the streets of Franco's Barcelona, seemingly intent on destroying all the works of Carax. So as Daniel gets a little older, he sets off in search of the full story of Julian Carax, trying to discover who he was and what fate befell him. As Daniel talks to a number of people who had dealings with Carax, his family or his friends, much of the main narrative is told in flashback format, and as Carax's story is revealed, it shows a worrying parallel with the events happening in Daniel's life. Pursuing the memory of an obscure, it seems, is not a safe hobby. As events draw themselves to a conclusion, the lives of Daniel and Julian seem to be spiralling towards each other into an inevitable conclusion. After a captivating opening, in which Zafon makes it apparent that this book is a love letter to the novel. He peppers the reader with references and nods to various other works of literature for which Zafon has a clear affection. After this, though, the book does fall into a bit of a lull. The essential plot device he uses is for two friends to go and talk to someone who sheds a little more light on the mystery before something bad happens to one or both of the two friends. This pattern is repeated multiple times and does lead to a little frustration on the part of the reader. The resolution of the mystery (which is actually fairly predictable from about page 40) is also a little disappointing, as it comes from a deus ex machina. The climax which comes after is also a little predictable. That said, this is still a fun book to read, with some great aphorisms dotting the landscape and some wonderfully poetic descriptions of the landscape of Barcelona during and just after the Spanish Civil War.

Some books grab your attention by its title, some enthrall you by its story, a few by the beauty of the language, yet others by the setting, then others by the characters and certain others by the narration or plot. When all these come together in a book, you lose your heart to it,totally. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say I haven't read something like this in a long time. Young Daniel wakes up one morning screaming for his long lost mother, and his father , who runs a bookshop that specializes in 'rare collectors' editions and secondhand books', takes him to a run down palatial building. As the large wooden door is opened and Daniel is ushered in to 'A labyrinth of passage-ways and crammed bookshelves rose from base to pinnacle like a beehive, woven with tunnels, steps, platforms and bridges that presaged an immense library of seemingly impossible geometry.' His father welcomes him to the place.... "Welcome to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, Daniel......This is a place of mystery, Daniel, a sanctuary. Every book, every volume that you see here, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it. Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens. This place was already ancient when my father brought me here for the first time, many years ago. Perhaps as old as the city itself. Nobody knows for certain how long it has existed, or who created it. I will tell you what my father told me, though. When a library disappears, or a bookshop closes down, when a book is consigned to oblivion, those of us who know this place, its guardians, make sure that it gets here. In this place, books no longer remembered by anyone, books that are lost in time, live forever, waiting for the day when they will reach a new reader's hands. In the shop we buy and sell them, but in truth books have no owner. Every book that you see here has been somebody's best friend. Now they only have us, Daniel. Do you think you'll be able to keep such a secret?" I was hooked. A wine-coloured leather bound book choses Daniel, one that he had never heard of before . He hadn't heard of the author, either. 'The Shadow of the Wind' by Juilan Carax. The ten year old's life is never the same again. Daniel is so captivated by the book that he wants to get hold of other books by the author. Not many had heard of the author and the strangest fact is that someone else also seems to be searching for Carax's books only to destroy them. As Daniel grows up and as he tries to learn more about Julian, his life seems to mirror that of the elusive author. The multitude of characters that have gone through Julian's life seem to be connected to Daniel as well, in one way or the other. The impish Fermin, Miquel and Jorge who were once Julian's best friends, Fumero who is manically unscrupulous, Isaac the guardian of forgotten books and his ill fated daughter Nuria, the ethereal Penelope who is Julian's only true love - each one of them has their own story that is inevitably bound in some way or other to Julian and each one is so strongly etched , they remain with you long after you have finished reading the book. This a story within a story , imperceptibly ties to each other. Julian's life, is set mostly in the background of the Spanish civil war .in the author's own words, "As it unfolded, the structure of the story began to remind me of one of those Russian dolls that contain innumerable diminishing replicas of themselves deep inside. Step by step the narrative split into a thousand stories, as if it had entered a gallery of mirrors, its identity fragmented into endless reflections." If stories have colors, this one would be a dak brown, with shades of light in between. There are many plots and so many characters and each is linked to the other like the weaves of a lovely and complicated tapestry. Almost throughout the book, you feel as though you are walking down the dark and gloomy streets of a war torn Barcelona with buildings around you that seem to house ghots and vampires, the imagery is that vivid. There is intrigue, revenge, murder, cruelty, mystery and passion. Then there is also love, compassion, passion and hope. It would not be out of place to say that it is almost Shakespearean in plot and characterization. The book is also a treasure house for quotation lovers. Here are a few.. "There are yokels out there who think that if they touch a woman's behind and she doesn't complain, they've hooked her. Amateurs. The female heart is a labryinth of subtleties, too challenging for the uncouth mind of the male racketeer. If you really want to possess a woman, you must think like her, and the first thing to do is to win over her soul. The rest, that sweet, soft wrapping that steals away your senses and your virtue, is a bonus.” “Television, my dear Daniel, is the Antichrist, and I can assure you that after only three or four generations, people will no longer even know how to fart on their own. Humans will return to living in caves, to medieval savagery, and to the general state of imbecility that slugs overcame back in the Pleistocene era. Our world will not die as a result of the bomb, as the papers say - it will die of laughter, of banality, of making a joke of everything, and a lousy joke at that.” “The words with which a child's heart is poisoned, whether through malice or through ignorance, remain branded in his memory, and sooner or later they burn his soul.” The icing on the cake is that its all set in the background of books, old bookshops, ancient libraries and most of all people who adore the written word. Verdict: A must read for anyone who loves well laid out plots, strong characters and captivating narration , in short for anyone who loves a well written tale. For me, this is a 'to be read again' one.

Brand new but some imprefection as shown in my photo.

Good book, exciting story

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.

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