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4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
inspiring
mysterious
sad
fast-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
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
I enjoyed this immensely! The writing style was beautiful and really helped draw me into the mystery that was playing out. I guessed quite a few of the plot twists/reveals but the pacing was so well done that I still felt shocked when I got to them. And since I always have a soft spot for stories about stories, and stories about loving books, this was bound to go over a treat with me.
The characters were great fun, especially Fermín, but I liked how much love the story had for each and every one of them. There was a lot of sadness and regret and wistful nostalgia in this book, but there was also a lot of tenderness, especially regarding characters that Daniel lost touch with or characters that had suffered a lot. And you could feel the love that the characters had for each other, Daniel and his dad, Isaac and Nuria, Nuria and Miquel and Julián etc. etc. etc. I thought that this was especially strong for Beatriz as well, you could feel Daniel’s love for her pouring off the pages which I thought was just lovely, especially given the similarities to Julián and Penélope and their much sadder ending.
I really really loved that the ending matched the beginning but in a way it didn’t. Because Julián’s mother is alive when Daniel’s wasn’t, and Daniel’s sorrow and his father’s sorrow came from fundamentally different places. Such a fantastic way to end this book. The context of the Spanish Civil War is super important to the book and I felt like that event cast a really long shadow over the events of the story and the way characters acted/reacted to things.
Overall a fantastic read and I’ll definitely have to check out the others in the series in the future!!
The characters were great fun, especially Fermín, but I liked how much love the story had for each and every one of them. There was a lot of sadness and regret and wistful nostalgia in this book, but there was also a lot of tenderness, especially regarding characters that Daniel lost touch with or characters that had suffered a lot. And you could feel the love that the characters had for each other, Daniel and his dad, Isaac and Nuria, Nuria and Miquel and Julián etc. etc. etc. I thought that this was especially strong for Beatriz as well, you could feel Daniel’s love for her pouring off the pages which I thought was just lovely, especially given the similarities to Julián and Penélope and their much sadder ending.
I really really loved that the ending matched the beginning but in a way it didn’t. Because Julián’s mother is alive when Daniel’s wasn’t, and Daniel’s sorrow and his father’s sorrow came from fundamentally different places. Such a fantastic way to end this book. The context of the Spanish Civil War is super important to the book and I felt like that event cast a really long shadow over the events of the story and the way characters acted/reacted to things.
Overall a fantastic read and I’ll definitely have to check out the others in the series in the future!!
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This novel tried to do a lot of things, and for me none of them ended up working. Maybe it has to do with the translation, but the jumbled combination of themes and directions made the plot overly complicated and bumbling. Zafón wanted to have a romance, a mystery, a thriller, a war commentary, and a soap opera all in one, and instead wrote nothing effectually.
Worst of all, I know exactly what two authors this novel was trying to emulate: Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Jorge Luis Borges. Two authors of immense, generational talent that created or otherwise defined whole subgenres of fiction: that of 'magical realism' for Marquez, and 'speculative fiction' by Borges. Two authors I hold in extremely high esteem, and seeing their work so superficially distilled into a half assed melodrama and off-key supernatural pulp novel makes my blood boil. Speculative fiction in the style of Borges requires a clever, deep cutting wit and mind for puzzles and rhetoric that Zafón cannot or did not access, and magical realism when done well evokes a dream-like fugue state of hidden magic. Shadow of the Wind was entirely surface level with the intrigue of a Netflix dating show. This is not to say that modern authors cannot attempt to write within these two subgenres, but seeing it done so poorly leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Zafón didn't do much by way of adding anything to either method of fiction, just tried to overlay a facade of both to a disjointed plot that couldn't figure out where it wanted to go even at the Act Two mark.
Worst of all, I know exactly what two authors this novel was trying to emulate: Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Jorge Luis Borges. Two authors of immense, generational talent that created or otherwise defined whole subgenres of fiction: that of 'magical realism' for Marquez, and 'speculative fiction' by Borges. Two authors I hold in extremely high esteem, and seeing their work so superficially distilled into a half assed melodrama and off-key supernatural pulp novel makes my blood boil. Speculative fiction in the style of Borges requires a clever, deep cutting wit and mind for puzzles and rhetoric that Zafón cannot or did not access, and magical realism when done well evokes a dream-like fugue state of hidden magic. Shadow of the Wind was entirely surface level with the intrigue of a Netflix dating show. This is not to say that modern authors cannot attempt to write within these two subgenres, but seeing it done so poorly leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Zafón didn't do much by way of adding anything to either method of fiction, just tried to overlay a facade of both to a disjointed plot that couldn't figure out where it wanted to go even at the Act Two mark.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book reads like a movie, and I'm not sure I appreciated that style. Little character development, and Daniel, the protagonist, is just a vessel for the audience. That being said, after about 75 pages in, the story started to pick up and I was more engaged for a couple hundred pages. And then it lost me again at the end. It wasn't a bad book, I didn't hate it, but I didn't end up liking it all that much either.
But if you're looking for a page turner with a fairly decent mystery and some twists and turns, this might be your book.
But if you're looking for a page turner with a fairly decent mystery and some twists and turns, this might be your book.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
I don't think it would pass the Bechdel Test (one female character had some complexity, but most of the others were pretty flat/put on a pedestal by the male characters as objects to obtain or protect).
But OTHERWISE a satisfying, layered mystery and great spooky/gothic fall read.
But OTHERWISE a satisfying, layered mystery and great spooky/gothic fall read.
I read this for my "Translated" book for Summer book bingo. Some of the prose was beautiful, but ultimately the story fell flat for me, I got bored and had to force myself to finish. I won't be continuing the series. That said, every scene with Fermin was enjoyable - what a wonderful character.
I hadn't read this for years and I think it just got better. I ended it in tears and that's something that books rarely ever do for me anymore.