shellkay's review
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
mattia_bssl's review against another edition
5.0
Non so cosa mi abbia fatto più male: il fatto di aver letto le ultime 150/200 pagine col NODO ALLA GOLA o l’aver finito un libro che avrei voluto non finisse mai.
p.s.: Nuria Monfort, io ti ricorderò per sempre
p.s.: Nuria Monfort, io ti ricorderò per sempre
ctiner7's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely amazing! I LOVED this book! I will be buying it in the future, to add to my collection. I'd never heard of the author or the book before, and a few weeks ago, I saw a reference to the book, and thought, "hey, I'll give it a shot!". I've read books that have been translated in the past, and they are often hard to read, and sometimes boring. This book was definitely an exception. Both the author and the translator did a wonderful job, and I've already began suggesting this book to friends and family. WARNING: if you pick up this book, it will be quite difficult to put down. I couldn't pull myself away from it, and frustrated my family more than once as I was "in the zone" throughout the entire thing. A wonderful read, and one I will read over and over again.
neonrabbit's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
s4llym4nder's review against another edition
4.0
Beautifully crafted narrative. I hope I will be able to read it in the original Spanish some day! Zafón's sweeping, almost gothic descriptions of Barcelona had me hooked from the first few lines, but his characters and plot twists kept me turning the pages. The Shadow of the Wind is a lovely blend of romance, mystery, and suspense with humor and rapturous anecdotes sprinkled in between.
andrew_russell's review against another edition
5.0
The Shadow of The Wind by Carlos Ruis Zafon tells us of Daniel Sempere and his journey to unravel the mystery surrounding the book he plucks from The Cemetery of Forgotten Books. It is chosen by Daniel at the beckoning of his father, a bookseller who marks the passing of his sons twelfth birthday by offering him the choice of any book in the library. It's a book which shares the title of Ruiz Zafon's novel and once it is chosen, the game is afoot.
It quickly becomes apparent that someone is pursuing Daniel, trying to procure The Shadow of The Wind from him, in order that they can burn it. Daniel wants to know why and so turns investigator, trying to separate the threads which led to the novel being written, to determine the background and fate of it's author Julian Carax, and to identify the mysterious and shady figure who is pursuing him and their motives for doing so.
Quickly it becomes apparent that Ruiz Zafon's strength is in storytelling. That's a very vague way of saying that those aspects which are most often offered as sources of appeal in a novel (character, setting, plot) are layered masterfully by the author. There is humour in the character of Fermín Romero de Torres, a struggling vagrant whom Daniel befriends and who is subsequently employed in his fathers bookshop and there is darkness in the person of Francisco Javier De Fumero, a corrupt and violent police officer, who will stop at nothing to destroy those who stand in his path. These are the most starkly written characters but Ruiz Zafon also uses more subtle writing techniques to weave together the stories of a large cast of other individuals and in doing so, creates plots within plots within plots, reminiscent of a group of nested Russian Matryoshka dolls. Just when you think you have got to grips with a linear plot, the author opens the door to another subplot and thus the intrigue of his work grows as you continue reading.
Whilst you read this, there is arguably another character that features heavily in it's pages. The city itself; Barcelona. Ruiz Zafon doesn't just describe the city - he chooses and uses his words masterfully to imbue it with a powerful sense of place and time.
It was a magnificent day; the skies were electric blue and a crystal breeze carried the cool scent of autumn and the sea. I will always prefer Barcelona in October. It is when the spirit of the city seems to stroll most proudly through the streets, and you feel all the wiser after drinking water from the fountain of Canaletas - which, for once, does not taste of chlorine. I was walking along briskly, dodging bootblacks, pen pushers returning from their midmorning coffee, lottery vendors, and a whole ballet of street sweepers who seemed intent on polishing the streets, using their brooms like paintbrushes, unhurriedly and with a pointillists strokes. Barcelona was already beginning to fill up with cars in those days, and when I reached the traffic lights at the crossing with Cafe Balmes, I noticed a parade of office clerks in grey raincoats staring hungrily at a bloodred Studebaker sedan as they would ogle a music-hall siren in a negligee. I went on up Balmes towards Gran Via, negotiating traffic lights, cars and even motorcycles with sidecars. In a shop window, I saw a Philips poster announcing the arrival of a new messiah, the TV set. Some predicted that this peculiar contraption was going to change our lives forever and turn us all into creatures of the future, like the Americans.
By allowing us to understand the place in which Daniel and the other characters inhabit, he makes it more real. Simple to say but difficult to execute well. While doing this, Ruiz Zafon makes his novel incredibly accessible. There are no 'gimmicks' on show here, no 'experimental' writing. While those that push the envelope of what we perceive as novel-writing can often be interesting and occasionally successful, Ruiz Zafon instead uses straight-ahead prose. Admittedly, it perhaps lacks some of the smooth, buttery metaphor and simile that can make the words pop off the page. But it does remind you of some of the more accessible nineteenth century classics' - Dickens springs to mind, without the comedic caricatured individuals that are often sprinkled throughout that Victorian novelist's works. The accessibility of this work makes it clear why it has had such mass appeal - it could easily be recommended to a wide audience of potential readers.
I last read this book back in 2012 and it blew me away at the time. Its rich characterisations, beautifully created atmosphere and deftly crafted story captivated me completely and I didn't need to give a second thought to rating it a five star read. It's still worthy of every one of those stars and in fact, is somewhere towards the top end of my favourite books. Since 2012 my reading has widened considerably and yet, it still holds its own against everything else I've read and holds it own extremely well. Go and read it.
It quickly becomes apparent that someone is pursuing Daniel, trying to procure The Shadow of The Wind from him, in order that they can burn it. Daniel wants to know why and so turns investigator, trying to separate the threads which led to the novel being written, to determine the background and fate of it's author Julian Carax, and to identify the mysterious and shady figure who is pursuing him and their motives for doing so.
Quickly it becomes apparent that Ruiz Zafon's strength is in storytelling. That's a very vague way of saying that those aspects which are most often offered as sources of appeal in a novel (character, setting, plot) are layered masterfully by the author. There is humour in the character of Fermín Romero de Torres, a struggling vagrant whom Daniel befriends and who is subsequently employed in his fathers bookshop and there is darkness in the person of Francisco Javier De Fumero, a corrupt and violent police officer, who will stop at nothing to destroy those who stand in his path. These are the most starkly written characters but Ruiz Zafon also uses more subtle writing techniques to weave together the stories of a large cast of other individuals and in doing so, creates plots within plots within plots, reminiscent of a group of nested Russian Matryoshka dolls. Just when you think you have got to grips with a linear plot, the author opens the door to another subplot and thus the intrigue of his work grows as you continue reading.
Whilst you read this, there is arguably another character that features heavily in it's pages. The city itself; Barcelona. Ruiz Zafon doesn't just describe the city - he chooses and uses his words masterfully to imbue it with a powerful sense of place and time.
It was a magnificent day; the skies were electric blue and a crystal breeze carried the cool scent of autumn and the sea. I will always prefer Barcelona in October. It is when the spirit of the city seems to stroll most proudly through the streets, and you feel all the wiser after drinking water from the fountain of Canaletas - which, for once, does not taste of chlorine. I was walking along briskly, dodging bootblacks, pen pushers returning from their midmorning coffee, lottery vendors, and a whole ballet of street sweepers who seemed intent on polishing the streets, using their brooms like paintbrushes, unhurriedly and with a pointillists strokes. Barcelona was already beginning to fill up with cars in those days, and when I reached the traffic lights at the crossing with Cafe Balmes, I noticed a parade of office clerks in grey raincoats staring hungrily at a bloodred Studebaker sedan as they would ogle a music-hall siren in a negligee. I went on up Balmes towards Gran Via, negotiating traffic lights, cars and even motorcycles with sidecars. In a shop window, I saw a Philips poster announcing the arrival of a new messiah, the TV set. Some predicted that this peculiar contraption was going to change our lives forever and turn us all into creatures of the future, like the Americans.
By allowing us to understand the place in which Daniel and the other characters inhabit, he makes it more real. Simple to say but difficult to execute well. While doing this, Ruiz Zafon makes his novel incredibly accessible. There are no 'gimmicks' on show here, no 'experimental' writing. While those that push the envelope of what we perceive as novel-writing can often be interesting and occasionally successful, Ruiz Zafon instead uses straight-ahead prose. Admittedly, it perhaps lacks some of the smooth, buttery metaphor and simile that can make the words pop off the page. But it does remind you of some of the more accessible nineteenth century classics' - Dickens springs to mind, without the comedic caricatured individuals that are often sprinkled throughout that Victorian novelist's works. The accessibility of this work makes it clear why it has had such mass appeal - it could easily be recommended to a wide audience of potential readers.
I last read this book back in 2012 and it blew me away at the time. Its rich characterisations, beautifully created atmosphere and deftly crafted story captivated me completely and I didn't need to give a second thought to rating it a five star read. It's still worthy of every one of those stars and in fact, is somewhere towards the top end of my favourite books. Since 2012 my reading has widened considerably and yet, it still holds its own against everything else I've read and holds it own extremely well. Go and read it.
nayomi_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
5.0
papergirl's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0