The Shadow Of The Wind

The Shadow Of The Wind
by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

First published in Great Britain in 2004.

This book is brilliant.  It is one of those books that you don't want to finish because you are enjoying reading it so much, but it's a complete page turner at the same time.  My friend Ella told me to read it when I told her I was reading The Book Thief at the time.  The copy I bought includes a 'Shadow of the Wind tour of Barcelona', which is a great little extra and has made me want to go there again and follow the story.

In brief, and without giving anything away, the story is that of Daniel, who lives in Barcelona with his bookshop-owner father.  When he is ten, his father takes him to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books.  There, Daniel is told to choose one book that he must look after for the rest of his life.  He chooses 'The Shadow of the Wind' by Julian Carax and soon learns that this is the last of Carax's books still in existence - the others have been burnt and destroyed by a strange man.  From then on finds himself trying to find out the truth about Carax's life and death.  Along the way he meets many people who are all strangely interested in, and connected to, the book he chose.  From tracking down Carax's old friends and finding out secrets, to running from the law, this story is a serious page-turner.

Barcelona is a character as well as the setting, and the descriptive language is so detailed that you feel you are walking the streets with Daniel.  The language in the book is at times so magical; an example - 'in my schoolboy reveries, we were always two fugitives riding on the spine of a book, eager to escape into worlds of fiction and secondhand dreams'.  I love the image that brings to my mind, and to me this is how a book should make the reader feel.

Character wise, Daniel starts off briefly as a ten year old, grows into a teenager and then into a man.  He is very well developed; we feel his emotions change particularly in his love life, from lust and intimidation to desperation.  He reflects the reader's confusion at times, and our want to discover the hidden secrets of Carax's life.

Daniel's father is a wise old man, who tries to be the best father he can.  He seems to be replaced by Fermin as Daniel grows up and keeps secrets from him, which was sad to read.
Fermin was my favourite character in this story.  He got a great introduction and progressed from an old homeless man to a passionate and practical friend.  Fermin is a guide to both Daniel and the reader.

The other characters, including Nuria, Bea, Clara, Fumero and Miquel are all linked in ways that are slowly uncovered.  Just when you think you have them all understood the plot twists in a way you never saw coming.

The Shadow Of The Wind is a thriller, a mystery, a love story and a literary adventure.  Now go and read it.