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Carlos Ruiz Zafón

The Shadow of the Wind. Carlos Ruiz Zaf[n Paperback – October 1, 2005

by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Author)

7,618 ratings

Book 1 of 4: The Cemetery of Forgotten

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The Shadow of the Wind (Spanish: La sombra del viento) is a 2001 novel by Spanish writer Carlos Ruiz Zafón, and a worldwide bestseller. The book was translated into English in 2004 by Lucia Graves. It sold over a million copies in the UK. it had already achieved success mainland Europe, topping the Spanish bestseller lists for weeks. It was published in the United States by Penguin Books and in Great Britain by Weidenfeld & Nicolson and by Orion Books. It is believed to have sold 15 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling books of all time. The novel, set in post–war Barcelona, concerns a young boy, Daniel Sempere. Just after the war, Daniel's father takes him to a secret Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a huge library of old, forgotten titles lovingly preserved by a select few initiates. According to tradition, everyone initiated to this secret place is allowed to take one book from it and must protect it for life. Daniel selects a book called The Shadow of the Wind by Julián Carax. That night he takes the book home and reads it, completely engrossed. Daniel attempts to look for other books by this unknown author but can find none. All he comes across are stories of a strange man – calling himself Laín Coubert, after a character in the book who happens to be the Devil – who has been seeking out Carax's books for decades, buying them all and burning them. The novel is actually a story within a story. The boy, Daniel Sempere, in his quest to discover Julian's other works, becomes involved in tracing the entire history of Carax. His friend Fermin Romero de Torres, who was imprisoned and tortured in Montjuic Castle for having been involved in an espionage against the Anarchists during the war – himself being a government intelligence agent – helps Daniel..., but their probing into the murky past of a number of people who have either been dead or forgotten unleashes the dark forces of the murderous Inspector Fumero. (Wikipedia)

Print length

510 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Phoenix
Publication date

October 1, 2005
Dimensions

5.35 x 1.38 x 7.87 inches
ISBN-10

9780753820254
ISBN-13

978-0753820254
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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0753820250
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Phoenix; First Translated Edition PHoenix, London (October 1, 2005)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 510 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780753820254
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0753820254
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.35 x 1.38 x 7.87 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,418,405 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #30,800 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction

Customer Reviews:
7,618 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		71%
4 star		19%
3 star		6%
2 star		2%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Seana G

Slow, sexist, and DNF. No spoilers here.

Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2019

Verified Purchase

I gave this read a little over 100 pages, and stopped to consult some reviews. Negative reviews (the very few of them) reflected my perspective, and as such I didn't see the issues I was having with the book changing, so I called it.
In spite of the flowery adjective-filled writing, substance is lacking. The plot is slow, it's hard to feel engaged with the characters, and the mystery is... boring. I searched the reviews for "page-turner" prior to purchase. We must have been reading different books because this, my friends, is NOT a page-turner. It is actually the kind of book you pick up the next day, start to read, and realize you have forgotten where the character is now, who he is having a conversation with, etc.
This is all subjective of course. What inspired me to actually leave a negative review was the depiction of women in the story. Female characters are either presented as large busted maternal old maids, or alternatively described in terms of their "waist of a mannequin" "classically proportioned calves" or "china doll's complexion". By the end of my valiant 100 pages, every time a new female appeared, my eyes were already half-rolled in preparation.

95 people found this helpful

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Jamie Davis

I write about this book because I loved it, and I want to remember it

Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2016

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I write about this book because I loved it, and I want to remember it. In writing, I am forced to reflect upon how much pleasure I derived from reading the book.

It is a gothic tale set in 1945, Barcelona. Daniel, the bookseller’s son, is introduced to The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, and makes his selection of one book from the labyrinth to take home and care for. In doing so, he finds himself involved in a real-life mystery. You see, the book he selected was written by a man named Julian Carax, and very well may be the last book in existence by Carax. Someone has been finding the Carax works and destroying them.

I love that it is a book about a book! I love the story, but I also love the writing itself, and how Zafon has a style that makes me want to keep reading. The man is a beautiful writer. The “Angel of the Mist” story that begins on page 233 is a haunting touch, as is Maria Jacinta’s detailing of her encounters with Zacarias (begin on page 260), and the storyline of Daniel and Fermin visiting her in the asylum.

I loved this first book so much that I immediately started reading the second book in the series, and I am about 200 pages in to “The Angel’s Game,” right now! To think, I found this gorgeous read because of a visit to the Book Warehouse over the July 4 weekend, where I unwittingly purchased the third book in the series first!

177 people found this helpful

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A beautifully written novel

Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2017

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5 stars

In 1945 following Spain’s civil war a man takes his ten-year old son Daniel to a library called the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. There Daniel must pick out one book. He chooses called The Shadow of the Wind by Julian Carax.

What follows is a lyrical journey of Daniel’s life and adventures throughout his lifelong search for more information about Julian Carax. On his journey through life, Daniel meets all kinds of interesting people including an individual named Lain Coubert (who happens to be the main character in The Shadow of the Wind),who is determined to burn all of Carax’ novels. Is this person the devil? A demon of some sort? He reeks of burning and essentially has no facial features. He threatens Daniel and all that he holds dear for not turning over the Carax book. He also meets an evil fascist police inspector named Fumero who has people tortured and killed in the basement of the police station. He also threatens Daniel and his family and friends.

He travels with Fermin, who works at the bookstore with Daniel and his father, to a school at which Julian attended. There they charm and trick one of the clerics who grew up with Julian to talk about him. They learn a great deal about him. Fermin does not miss the parallels between Julian and Daniel’s lives. They also learn that Julian went to school with Fumero.

They go to visit Penelope’s (Julian’s lost love), nanny in a run down and filthy care home. She tells them the story of Penelope and Julian’s aborted love affair. Fermin again notices the similarities between Julian and Daniel’s lives. On their way home, they are set upon by Fumero and his thugs. Fermin receives a terrible beating.

But this does not stop their search for answers. Daniel comes into the possession of a lengthy letter to him that was written by a woman before she died. And with this letter, the truth comes out; the whole sordid and awful truth.

This is my first Carlos Ruiz Zafon novel, but I can promise it won’t be my last. I truly enjoyed this novel. It is very well written and plotted, and totally without any wasted words. That’s a real achievement for a novel this long. The suspense and intrigue start immediately with this book, and the level of excitement continues throughout the novel. The use of language is beautiful and Mr. Zafon really knows how to turn a phrase, as it were.

84 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Nilam Shukla

Beautiful and Entrancing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 21, 2018

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‘What’s wrong with him?’
‘I could tell you it’s his heart, but what is really killing him is loneliness. Memories are worse than bullets.’
🕯
The Shadow of the Wind written by Carlos Ruiz Zafon and translated by Lucia Graves, was an absolutely beautiful book to read and savour. I am in such awe of the flowing, vivid and rich details in this novel, and I must applaud Lucia Graves for her skill in her translation.
🕯
The Shadow of the Wind is hard to define to one specific genre; although it is classed as historical fiction I personally felt that it was more of a bildungsroman, with a crime thriller twist to it. The story follows Daniel Sempere from a young boy, as he first enters the Cemetery of Forgotten Books and chances upon a novel written by Julien Carax. He then embarks upon a journey throughout the years to uncover the truth about the author. Through this journey, we watch Daniel and those closest to him experience loneliness, forbidden love, prejudice, and lost friendships. Barcelona is shown to be a perfect gothic backdrop to this, and I loved visualising all the descriptions.
🕯
Whilst Daniel was my favourite character, it was Fermin Romero de Torres who I found the most entertaining, as his humour really cut through the more somber chapters. He was always so eccentric and crude but he surely had a heart of gold and was just loveable.
Fumero the main villain of the book, was one to really despise. He was an awful and malicious character, whom I loved to hate!
🕯
I did find that in the middle of the book the story did start to drag a bit, the pace slowed down a bit too much for my liking. However, I didn’t mind too much as I think my favourite aspect of this book was the rich writing that was full of similes and metaphors, which were incredibly perfect. I seriously could have included so many quotes in this review. There were so many descriptions about books and the readers enjoyment of them. This is definitely a book for all book lovers

45 people found this helpful

BookLover2323

Gothic masterpiece.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 1, 2017

Verified Purchase

This book has definitely earned its place as a literary classic.

Gothic, beautifully written, filled with mystery, intrigue and characters that you simply can't put down.

This is a detective story that you never know who is actually being hunted 'The Devil' or the author. A young boy who is obsessed with a book and therefore a story, a history that is unsolved and he must be the one to unravel it. Set on the streets of Barcelona against backdrop filled with corruption and dark alleys this book is one that every fan of Gothic literature must read and trust me, you'll go back for more and more.

36 people found this helpful

L. Hurst

A winner

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 8, 2018

Verified Purchase

I came across this book by chance in a charity shop and the premise of a library of forgotten books is what prompted me to read it. I'm so glad I did - it's a book unlike anything I've ever read before. The author's evocative descriptions bring the images alive in my mind and the story just absorbed me from the start. I couldn't read it fast enough. Have now also read the two sequels and am really looking forward to the last book "The Laberynth of the Spirits"!

23 people found this helpful

Samantha Jayne (ABookHaven)

Beautiful writing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 21, 2018

Verified Purchase

Within the first 6 pages of this book, I fell in love. Like this doesn’t usually happen to me, I don’t usually fall in love with a book or writer that quick, it usually takes a lot longer than it did. Within 6 pages I had fallen madly in love with this, I think it was definitely the writing, something about it, I don’t think I can explain the feeling with this book. I wanted to devour it all at once and then I also wanted to save it. I did manage to drag out the reading of this book, a little. But honestly the whole writing it was perfect, I think I can only describe it like that. As you can tell I’m totally fangirling over this, I had to take a few hours break so I could like gather thoughts, a few hours later I’m still fangirling. It was so perfect. I just wanted to make a note about Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s writing, I am in love.

The book is set in parts as well as chapters, the parts give you an idea of the date that that part of the story is set in as it does span over a few years from Daniel being a child to going into teenage adult times. It also covers the time span of Julián and his story, so it does make it clear and there are ways you know when certain things happen for example when a character tells a story you know it is a story. As I said there is little signs of changes of time and topic or plot within the story. So it makes it easier to recognise.

As the blurb said it follows Daniel as he tries to discover the story of the author who wrote The Shadow of The Wind by Julián Carax. The story was complex, but not confusing, everything was explained and worked out through the story. The plot was so amazing and it draws you in, and you just want to turn the page over and over and before you know it you have finished the book. I have loads of things I want to say about this book but I also don’t want to put spoilers in, so I may have to do a video review and fangirl the heck out of this book.

Daniel, I immediately connected with his character especially his love for that book because I think we all have that love for a certain book so I definitely got where he was coming from with that. He was such a charming character and it was very interesting watching him grow up from a child to a teen slowly starting adulthood. His interaction with different characters completely showed what kind of person he was. Like when he goes to see Cara (Who is blind) sits and reads with her and he just does nice stuff. Always seems to get punched for it like.

Julián, he is I would say the other main character in this story and he is such an enigma and he is so fascinating and I love it. I think along with Daniel I fell in love with the man from him. Like he was so amazing and there is so much I want to say because I don’t want to spoil it. (So that’s all I can say about him because spoiler)

I loved all the characters in this book and I thought that they all had a nice part in the book and I liked them all well except the certain person who did the certain thing to a certain person. (See the spoiler problem?)

I can’t really say anything else about this book I may have to do a spoiler review on youtube. Would you all like that? Would you like to hear more about my thoughts on this with spoilers? Let me know!

19 people found this helpful

Micky - bookphenomena

Tapping out after book one

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 8, 2020

Verified Purchase

What a trudge this read has been and what a read of contradictions. On the one hand this plot had so much potential and it regularly ignited my interest, but each time it did, it was followed by long chapters of dull description of something. The characters of Daniel, his father, Fermin and Julian were interesting but I can't say that I liked any of them but Daniel. I don't really get why Daniel pursued the intrigue for as long as he did, why he became obsessed by Julian Carux.

I hated how all the women were written in this book. They were all unfortunate creatures of some description, lacking in depth of character. This was in complete opposite to the depth of character most of the men had. Hmmm. Too much focus on voluptuous breasts...if this was a romance or whatever, this might have been in context, but it wasn't here.

As if the pacing wasn't difficult enough, the way that the reveals came, in a letter (all tell and no whow). In the kindle edition, this was formatted as a book within a book...Chapter 1 this drove me crazy. The twists were somewhat clever but I'd lost my give a damn about 40% prior, so it didn't have the same shine.

Lots of people love this book, I don't know why it missed the spot but in my opinion it could have been shorter with the bore edited out. I have no compunction to continue with the series and if I never hear of Lain Courbert again, it will be too soon. I am reassured that most of my book club also struggled with this one, so it's not just me.

5 people found this helpful

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