Zafon, Carlos Ruiz: Shadow of the Wind

[Kara Ortiez]

"Every book, every volume 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 page, its spirit grows and strengthens." ~ Carlos Ruiz Zafon

This is a great mystery set in post-war Barcelona. The characters are rich and unforgettable. Hard to put down, the literary references in it could easily provide you with a year's worth of reading...

[grace86]

I read it over a year ago and thought it was a wonderful novel! I loved the fact that it was a book about books...what about you?

[Kara Ortiez]

Reading it now and finding it hard to put down. I went to Barcelona in 2004 and I am familiar with many of the places mentioned in the book. I especially like Fermin, but all the characters seem to leap off the page.

[JuLe]

I am reading it now and enjoying every second of it!!! Though I can't really decide what makes it so great. The characters? the mystery?

[Kara Ortiez]

I just finished reading it and enjoyed it thoroughly. I loved the twists and turns, though I did figure out who that charred man was early on, the story kept me hooked. I found the Daniel/Julian parallel intriguing. Also intertesting to see which books the author listed throughout, perhaps a raodmap of his tastes that lead to his own love of books. I think I know how I'm going to spend the summer, at times it's nice to read beyond the best seller's list ;) Here's a list of most of the novels mentioned throughout Shadows :

The Aeneid by Virgil
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
The Complete Stories by Franz Kafka
Theological-Political Treatise: by Benedictus de Spinoza
Pepita Jimenez, A Happy Boy, Skipper Worse by Bjornstjerne Bjornson, Alexander L. Kielland Juan Valera
The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
Nana by Émile Zola
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse by Vicente Blasco Ibanez
Sandokan: The Pirates of Malaysia by Emilio Salgari
The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne
The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
La Dame aux Camelias by Alexandre Dumas
Candide by Voltaire

I think it's time I picked up Hugo's Les Miserables, I've never read any of his works even though he's inspired several of my favourite writers, including Verne and Dumas.

[Elinor Dashwood]

I have Shadow of The Wind on my big pile of books that I havent read yet. I might read that next, although im ashamed to say i was put off by the list of books that are mentioned as it contains Tess and that book still haunts me today, yuk! Thats all I have to say on that book!

[grace86]

Kara I am glad you finished it! It was an awesome read and I am happy you enjoyed it.

It was easy to figure out who the charred man was, but you know, I don't think that made the novel any more predictable or any less surprising.

I didn't think that Zafon referenced so many other novels in this one. That's great that you came up with a list.

[Kara Ortiez]

Yes, it was easy to figure out who the charred man was, but you're right, it didn't detract from the story. I enjoyed Fermin's bits of wisdom (my favourite character) and I love the cemetary of lost books.

Elinor, don't be put off by the list of books, they're never discussed in any great detail... most are mentioned in passing, the father and son characters sell old books. I was happy to see Verne, Salgari, Dumas and Stevenson mentioned, some of my favourite childhood books. I've never read any Hugo, I'm going to try to make time to read Les Mis this summer

Tess was pulled from the 'Cemetary of Books' and the line is something like: "You're actually brave enough to try Hardy in the original English?"

I can pretty much guarantee you'll enjoy it, it speeds along from the first page ;)

Currently reading:
Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi