It has taken me at least a week to read it (unusual for me, I'm a quick reader) and I must say I'm not entirely sure what to make of it. The Shadow of the Wind is one of those books which I think is a slightly acquired taste, and you need to be in the right mood to read it. Perhaps a second read is the key.
The story opens with the ten year old boy, Daniel, being shown a great secret by his father. A library of lost books, where the tradition is for new visitors, who only visit on invitation from another, to take a book. They then have a duty to keep it safe and prevent it being lost in the sands of time. Ten year old Daniel takes a book, Shadow of the WInd written by a man named Julian Carax. Little does Daniel know, his selection leads him down a path where there is no turning back. His curiousity gets the better of him and he sets about researching Carax, to try and discover why the man's book never sold more than a hundred copies. The story winds through the lives of a number of different characters as Daniel follows the life of Julian Carax. The man's life is seaped in mystery, and it soon becomes obvious Daniel has stumbled into a more dangerous world than he anticipated. He encounters a man with a burned face who, legend has it, goes around searching for Carax's books and burns them. He gets involved with a corrupt policeman, falls in love only to have his heart broken and suffers at the hands of those around him. All in search of Julian Carax.
The beauty of this novel is that you very soon get entangled in the two seperate lives of Daniel and Julian. It soon becomes obvious to the reader, long before it does to Daniel, that they are deeply connected. Whether it is an intentional device (or I just wasn't concentrating) I began to get confused over which story was which. I had to think hard to understand who followed which path, Julian or Daniel. Even if this was not intentional (possibly not), it worked for me because it highlighted the deep connection the two boys had. The novel is a little long, so you do have to devote quite a bit of time to it, though I would say it's relatively easy to read. Perhaps due to my completely English background, I found with the Spanish names, it was hard to remember who was who! Though that's certainly not the fault of the novel, I just need to get a bit more cultured.
There are some excellent surprises, where it threw me completely, and I didn't see coming. The best way to describe the novel is how it floats along absently and then bang, suddenly changes direction. The story is satisfying in some respects, and the ending leaves no loose ends, so you don't feel too concerned or lost when it finishes. Julian Carax is such a mystery you come to understand why Daniel so desperately wants to find out about him, and when you see how thier lives are similar, you appreciate the connection.
The story is also a tale of growing up, as we learn about Daniel (and Julian's) childhood and thier adolescence. We learn about thier first feelings of love and affection and thier first experiences with sex. The tale is a love story in two parts, of the love between Julian and Daniel despite not meeting, and of thier love of the two women in thier lives Penelope and Bea. There are many relationships which grow, Daniel and his father, and Daniel and his friend Fermin. Perhaps the dividing factor is that Julian is denied a proper father figure, and perhaps that is where thier lives differ. Explaining why thier lives diverge.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
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
Sep 29th, 2006
very helpful by (88%):
helpful by (13%):
