The Shadow of the Wind

This is possibly my new favorite book of all time. It's tragic, wonderful, terrifying and beautiful all at the same time. The writing is absolutely magnificent. I found it so hard to put down and wanted to savor every second of reading it.

I read this for the first time years ago and ever since it became my favorite. After moving to college, I seemingly lost my first copy of the novel so I repurchased it happily. I’ve read it multiple times and it gets better with every read. A slow burn that ignites your love for reading;)

Great plot, beautiful prose, fantastic characters! This is one of my favorite books. A slow burn but well worth it.

This is a well written mystery that takes place in Spain in the years following the country's civil war. A young man named Daniel becomes obsessed with a local author who disappeared during the height of the conflict. As Daniel unveils more facts about the author he comes to find that their lives parallel one another in many ways. I found the German translation to be somewhat challenging at times. The sentences can be quite long. Not a good book for beginning German students.

Este es uno de esos libros que nos hacen revivir la esperanza de que la literatura no ha muerto. Hay pocas novelas hoy en día que se dejen leer como esta. No sé qué es mejor: si el estilo del autor (cuidado, pero sencillo; hermoso, aunque sin ningún barroquismo) o la anécdota que cuenta, que nos remonta y rescata esa novela decimonónica donde la trama creaba todo un universo lleno de suspense. Una vez que se empieza, es imposible dejarlo.

The enthusiastic praise and adulation which critics have accorded the english publication of Carlo Ruiz Zafon's first novel, "The Shadow of the Wind", may trouble the reader who begins the book, worried that little might match his expectations. After all, reviewers who compare a writer's work to a combination of Umberto Eco, or Jorge Luis Borges, or Gabriel Garcia Marquez, or other literary giants, compel the reader to expect to be transported when they open the book.Not to worry.Once started, the single downside for the reader will be knowing that the experience must end. The plot is quite complex, the jacket cover's synopsis will give the reader all he needs to know. The important thing is to read it slowly and carefully.A mystery story, a fairy tale, a love story (actually several love stories), a passion for literature, a treatise on politics, a bawdy tale, with love, hate, courage, intrigue, loss of innocence, humor, cowardice, villainy, cruelty, compassion, regret, murder, incest, redemption, and more. Add to this delicious mixture characters who come alive, and whose thoughts and feelings you will feel deeply.What a great pleasure to discover; an extraordinary first work, one which towers over the endless and repetative volumes which inhabit today's "Best Seller" lists. Read it, and become hypnotized.Edward JawerWyncote, Pa.ejawer@comcast.net

Excellent read. Very realistic characters involved in an extremely misterious, almost surreal plot.A tribute to books, literature and the power of both to change lives. A love story. An ode to youth and the immortality of the soul. Passion in its purest form. Definitely worth your time. Without a doubt this book will be there for a long time.