Just exactly what are you talking about Willis?
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Just exactly what are you talking about Willis?
Visit me at http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/bee rglasscollector/
Member since:30.06.2006
Reviews:50
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"The Shadow of the Wind" was bought for me by a friend for which I am now very grateful as it's not the sort of book I ever would have thought of buying for myself, both from the point of view of the story line that the cover blurb promises but also because it is written by a Spanish writer of whom I'd never heard of before. Daniel Sempere is a curious 10 year old boy living in Barcelona, who is taken by his father one day to the "Cemetery of Forgotten Books", a mysterious labyrinth full to the rafter of obscure and little known books. Daniel is allowed to select one book and take it home with him; quite by random he chooses a book titled "The Shadow of the Wind" by Julian Carax. Daniel reads the book and is so enchanted by what he has read he decides to discover more about the mysterious author.
As Daniel grows up and continues his investigation things take a sinister turn as he is pursued by a strange man who is determined to relief Daniel of his prized book. Daniel joins forces with the former beggar Fermin, a man of unlimited resources and together they begin to find and talk to people who used to know Julian Carax and find out what has happened to him.
It really is a melodrama of the most excellent standards. The authors use of mirroring Daniel's own story with his own problems with that of what he and Fermin find out about Carax is most intriguing and makes for a really fascinating read that really does keep you captured.
The characters the author writes about also are particularly entertaining, Fermin is the best of an excellent bunch and his antics and dialogue will have you laughing out loud as well as drying the tears of sympathy.
The other thing I really enjoyed about the book is that is has one of the best endings I have read for a long long time. Not so much the way the story actually finishes but from the point of view that the author really goes to town to give the reader a whole and complete closure to the book with no threads left dangling.
The story is a little predictable in some areas, as I say it is a melodrama, for example when Daniel falls in love with his best friend's sister you know the two young men will come to blows over her at some point, but the adventure in getting there is well well worth it.
An excellent book that I cannot recommend highly enough.
Facts: For ages this was one of Richard & Judy's recommended reads (don't know whether that's good or bad!) so you could pick it up on various buy one get one free type deals. It's currently on Amazon for £3.99 which is a bargain I think.
It's just over 500 pages long and the type print is pretty small so it will still take the dedicated reader a good half dozen concentrated reading sessions.
The ISBN Number is 0753820250
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I agree with you about the ending, and also Fermin is a very endearing man. Nice review, I enjoyed reading your point of view.
wolfatgoogle 26.07.2006 08:51
Good review. I loved this book, I really must see if the author has written anything else. The writing style is amazing, even if nothing ever happened I would keep on reading happily.
ally2kc 25.07.2006 11:38
You have described a fascinating story that I am eager to read myself now. Thanks!
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
Jul 25th, 2006
very helpful by (100%):
