Book Review: The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetary of Forgotten Books #1) by Carlos Ruiz Zafón


The Shadow of the Wind
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Summary:   Barcelona, 1945: A city slowly heals in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, and Daniel, an antiquarian book dealer’s son who mourns the loss of his mother, finds solace in a mysterious book entitled The Shadow of the Wind, by one Julián Carax. But when he sets out to find the author’s other works, he makes a shocking discovery: someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book Carax has written. In fact, Daniel may have the last of Carax’s books in existence. Soon Daniel’s seemingly innocent quest opens a door into one of Barcelona’s darkest secrets--an epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love.




I don't know how I missed reading this one when it originally came out. Apparently my husband or I heard something because upon inspecting my bookshelves, I found the paperback. I very rarely run across books that are like love letters to book lovers & voracious readers but I quite enjoy them. This may be one of the best of those I've ever had the pleasure of reading. I kept putting it down because I wanted to think about what I'd read & didn't want it to end. I dreamt about this story as I slept. I laughed out loud to certain passages, yelled at characters when they did things I knew were ill-fated & followed my husband around to read him excerpts. Halfway through, I went & ordered the prequel to this book The Angel's Game & have every intention of reading the sequel to this one. Suffice it to say, this book inhabited me on some deeper level than those I rip through on a regular basis.

The characters are wonderfully crafted & I will miss them. Often I was as surprised as Daniel by the turn of events & the mystery of Julian Carax couldn't unravel fast enough for me. I would have found it tedious if not for the fact that I was so enjoying the slow reveal & travelling with the characters as we went along. I won't give away any important plot points because it's something you have to experience for yourself but know this, it is worth the read.



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