Some people complain about old age but I don't....not when you consider the alternative.
Some people complain about old age but I don't....not when you consider the alternative.
Member since:09.01.2003
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“The Shadow of The Wind” is Catalan author Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s fourth novel but it has been his breakthrough novel in the United Kingdom. Reading the novel it is easy to understand why. It has all the makings of a “cult” novel whilst being accessible and easy to read for the average reader as well.
The story centres around the life of a young boy who loses his mother at an early age. His father being a bookseller it is the love of books which becomes Daniel’s driving passion – although the love of women is a pretty close second.
The young Daniel is taken to his father to a mysterious repository of books “the cemetery of forgotten books” and this is what gets the narrative moving. According to Daniel’s dad the idea is that everyone should remember one book, sort of sponsor it, because when a book is forgotten it dies. Same with people really! It is a good device although frankly it does tend to be forgotten as the novel progresses.
Of course our young
hero can’t just pick up any old rubbish. He picks a novel called “The Shadow of the Wind” by an unknown Catalan author, Julian Carax, and is soon made aware it is very valuable. However he is true to his word and refuses various tempting offers to sell the book.
Daniel grows up. In the early scenes he is a 10 year old boy, not very convincing in my view I must add, who falls in love with a beautiful blind girl whose dad, another book dealer, wants the Carax book; then after a gap of several years we reencounter him as a teenager.
It is now that the mystery behind the book begins to unfold. Carax may be dead, or he may not, he may have been killed in a duel on his wedding day or might be in hiding in Paris. Whatever his whereabouts someone, a mysterious man with flaming eyes using the name given by Carax to a character who is really the devil (Lain Coubert), is looking for all his books and burning them wherever he finds them. Apparently he wants all trace of Carax and his works to disappear from the face of the earth. The fact few copies of his books were actually sold just deepens the mystery.
Thanks to Daniel his father gives a job to an erudite tramp. Fermin Romero de Torres is an attractive devil-may-care type who livens up the novel with his quips and his light-hearted attitude to life. He is however terrified of Fumero, who has a tentacle in every pie. A police inspector known to be a sadist and to have backed different political organisations as was convenient, he is a figure of fear to Daniel as well – he may have actually killed Daniel’s mother.
Zafon cleverly interweaves all his characters into the main narrative – Daniel’s best friend Tomas has a sister who Daniel fancies – the keeper of the cemetery is the father to a woman, Nuria Monfort, who was known to Carax…. The interrelationship between the characters is too complex for a review and would, in any case, detract from its reading. Suffice to say that few characters in the novel do not have a bearing on its main narrative strand. It is also fair to say that all the minor character form a kind of chorus which gives life to Daniel’s neighbourhood and to the Barcelona of the period.
As the plot reaches its climax Daniel is forced into all sorts of uncomfortable decisions and into becoming much more of a man of action than he would wish. The denouement itself is worthy of any good thriller. The shadow of the past, more than that of the wind, falls over all the characters in this novel as they attempt to redeem themselves or justify themselves for their actions or the actions of those whom they care for.
First and foremost it is an entertaining novel and a damn good read. The love for books is clearly not limited to the characters but shared by Zafon.
The picture of a postwar, but mainly post Civil War Spain, is convincing, Fear of the authorities mingling with resentment - especially strong in the Catalan and Basque provinces; a gradual pickup in the economy but shabbiness and deprivation still very much to the fore.
I should add that Barcelona itself is a character in the novel. The protagonists are all influenced by it and it described at times as a sentient being. The descriptions of the city are wonderful and the architectural fantasies of Gaudi in particular match perfectly the gothic turn which the novel takes at times.
Is this a great novel? I would hesitate to call it such. But what it is, is a great yarn, well told by a very competent storyteller which will not disappoint readers of literary thrillers or even those who enjoy romantic family sagas.
Available from Phoenix fiction. I bought the airport edition at £9.99; I imagine the paperback is cheaper.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
I enjoyed your review gave interesting facts about the characters, the style and the setting. Gives enough information to get you interested but not enough to spoil the the story. Why am I particulary interested well....................I bought this book today as an impulse buy and it looks like I am going to enjoy it. Thanks Kathyrn
star333 28.03.2005 18:44
Another great review, sounds interesting x
battiest 24.03.2005 15:01
This sounds like another book I'd enjoy: I shall look out for it!
Advantages: fantastic plot that's put together, many characters seemingly unimportant, very dramatic Disadvantages: At first, the language might be hard to read and becomes a chore, perhaps a bit long.
Advantages: A truly exceptional book; impossible to put down Disadvantages: Sleepless nights sitting up delving further into the mystery of Julian Carax
Advantages: Gripping plot, interesting period of history (to me) Disadvantages: Poor characterisation, repetitive writing, assumes in depth knowledge of period
Mar 21st, 2005
very helpful by (100%):
