Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Beautifully written, haunting and rich. It felt like there was a little bit of everything well woven into the plot, including a love of story within the story. The setting of dark, war-torn Barcelona was so well done. I really enjoyed how everything came together in the end and I loved Fermin!
When I heard of The Shadow of the Wind being described as a union of Garcia Marquez, Umberto Eco, and Borges, I knew I had to at least give it a shot.
The novel tells the story of Daniel, a bookseller's son who becomes enamored with the writings of Julian Carax, an obscure, tragic Spanish novelist. Soon, Daniel becomes obsessed with learning all he can about Carax, and their lives become intertwined in unexpected and delightful ways.
I won't bother describing the plot. If you enjoy an interrelated cast of characters across generations like Garcia Marquez, a sense of worship towards books and literature like Borges, and the intellectual delight of Eco, then perhaps this book is for you.
I do know that I found it delightful and am more than happy I took a step outside my typical fantasy/sf reading to read it.
The novel tells the story of Daniel, a bookseller's son who becomes enamored with the writings of Julian Carax, an obscure, tragic Spanish novelist. Soon, Daniel becomes obsessed with learning all he can about Carax, and their lives become intertwined in unexpected and delightful ways.
I won't bother describing the plot. If you enjoy an interrelated cast of characters across generations like Garcia Marquez, a sense of worship towards books and literature like Borges, and the intellectual delight of Eco, then perhaps this book is for you.
I do know that I found it delightful and am more than happy I took a step outside my typical fantasy/sf reading to read it.
slow-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A readable book with enough intrigue and humor to keep me interested to the end. I wouldn't call it "Gabriel Garcia Marquez meets Jorge Luis Borges meets Umberto Eco" (the story's a little flat and contrived), but I enjoyed it for what it was. Somewhere between 3 and 4 stars.
How on earth had I not heard from this book before? Well, maybe because I don't usually read these kind of books and stay safely on my fantasy alley and I wouldn't have stumbled on this if my dad hadn't recommended this.
This book couldn't enjoy me through the whole book, but whenever it lost me, it slapped me on the face with new interesting points. Once you think you have it all figured out, nope, you don't. Great characters, great atmosphere and intensity to the max. I'm so glad I gave this book a chance and read it all the way to the end.
This book couldn't enjoy me through the whole book, but whenever it lost me, it slapped me on the face with new interesting points. Once you think you have it all figured out, nope, you don't. Great characters, great atmosphere and intensity to the max. I'm so glad I gave this book a chance and read it all the way to the end.
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wow! This book was not what I remembered at all. The writing was beautiful but there is so much misogyny in this book. I was originally going to downgrade my rating from 5 to 2 stars but I can't look past the misogyny and how poorly the female characters were represented and how horribly MALE a character Daniel is. There a classics written by men with better, kinder female representations than this book had. Just WOW! This was a nice reminder to stick to my policy of reading fiction by men only if they are dead and russian.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes