The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, translated by Lucia Graves
When I purchased this book, I was expecting to fall in love with it. I was hoping it would be the best book I would read all year. I thought it would enthrall me. I was disappointed.
The story is fascinating. Daniel’s father takes him to the Cemetery of Lost Books, where he discovers The Shadow of the Wind by Julián Carax. Daniel loves the book, but when he begins to search for other books by Carax, he discovers that someone is systematically burning every copy of every book Carax has written. Daniel is drawn into the mystery surrounding the author’s life, a story of murder, lost love and madness. In the meantime, Daniel himself falls in love, his own story in a way echoing Carax’.
I told her until that moment I had not understood that this was a story about lonely people, about absence and loss, and that that was why I had taken refuge in it until it became confused with my own life, like someone who has escaped into the pages of a novel because those whom he needs to love seem nothing more than ghosts inhabiting the mind of a stranger. (pg. 179)
The writing is beautiful. Zafón has a lavish way of describing things, thoughts, feeling and actions. The setting, Barcelona 1945-1966, is wonderfully wrought, both the physical buildings and streets, but also the atmosphere.
We set off toward La Barceloneta. Before we knew it, we were walking along the breakwater until the whole city, shining with silence, spread out at our feet like the greatest mirage in the universe, emerging from the pool of the harbor waters. We sat on the edge of the jetty to gaze at the sight.
“This city is a sorceress, you know, Daniel? It gets under your skin and steals your soul without you knowing it.” (pg. 480)
The characters all have their strengths and weaknesses, their loves and wants, their problems and their joys. Even the secondary characters are fully drawn.
So why was I disappointed? I think it has more to do with my expectations than the book itself. I wanted to become so wrapped up in the story that I could read for hours without noticing. I wanted to care about these characters so much that I had to peek ahead to see what would happen. I didn’t. I never felt that impulse to read and read, who cares if dinner gets done. I never had to glance at the last chapter to see if Daniel gets the happy ending that Carax didn’t. I think it was a case of the hype surrounding the book overwhelming the book itself. I know most people loved it, though, so maybe it was just the mood I was in this month.
Sorry this one disappointed you. Sometimes I do think it’s the hype surrounding a book that gets you and then you read it and it just didn’t do the same for you. Hope your next read is better-one of those that makes you forget to make dinner. I love those as well.
Most of the reviews I’ve read of this have been glowing. Maybe it was over-hyped for you.
Sorry to hear that it was disappointing to you. I read some reviews at other blogs and they’re all full of praises for it. That’s OK, though, because what’s good for others may be different for you.
It’s been a few year since I read this but I remember really loving it.
My favorite quote: Bea says the art of reading is slowly dying, that it’a an intimate ritual, that a book is a mirror that offers us only what we already carry inside us, that when we read, we do it with our all our heart and mind, and great readers are becoming more scarce by the day.
I do think that if I read this book now it would have been overhyped for me too. I loved it but I hadn’t expected anything from it but a nice gothic read, since it was before blogging. And I was disappointed in The Angel’s Game, possibly because I then had expectations.
hmmm. now I’m not so sure if I should read this one or not. It’s on my wishlist though. I don’t mind lovely writing like that but it sort of annoys me after a while. I’ll think about it. Good review though.
My husband thinks its crazy when I sneak a peak at the last few pages and then continue reading the book 🙂 I don’t do it often, but sometimes you just need to knoweverything is going to be okay!
I have this on my wish list.
I recently bought this from my local library’s sale closet. I’m looking forward to reading it, but I’ll keep your review in mind. Hopefully I’ll have better luck.
It always makes me so sad when that happens. I have this on my pile – hopefully I’ll have better luck than you did!
i read this recently and really enjoyed it.. so much so that I sent for his second book Angels Game.. I do like his writing style and I am character driven and he flushes his characters out well
I read this last year, and like you, I was disappointed. I felt that it ought to have been really atmospheric and scary, but it didn’t quite deliver. I did think it was sure to be a winner – a book about books, after all – but it was a bit of an effort to finish. I thought he wrote very well about Barcelona, though.