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Reviews tagging 'War'

L'Ombra Del Vent by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

90 reviews

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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: No

I wasn't in the mood to read this book, but I'm really glad that I pushed through and finished it. I really loved all of the characters and following them around Barcelona. But it was heartbreaking at the same time.
When you discover the truth about Julián and Penelope, I really thought that I would hate this book. I just don't like themes like that in my reading, but even that wasn't enough for me to dislike this book.
I think on the characters and I can't help but have a bittersweet feeling. I think this is definitely worth a read and I'm so glad that this is one that I can reminisce on. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Where to start indeed. The first few chapters made me believe this story was going on a different path, particularly the mystery behind the character from the book that started to stalk the MC. The story is actually about the mysterious author of said book and we slowly get introduced to the friends and family that had known him. I loved how the characters intertwine and found everyone other than the MC likeable. However, I have my reservations regarding the misogynistic language used by the author in this book, because in so many instances it made me want to DNF. Absolutely horrid how they speak to and about women here. I continued reading because the plot is genuinely good and the prose is beautiful (like I tried to dislike it believe me.) If you like mystery and gothic romance I'd say this is the book for you as it covers both themes but check the content warnings. 
The last 100 pages are filled with a whirlwind of twists and turns. First 'page turner' book I've read in a while. Would've rated higher but Daniel annoyed me so much.

**I might end up reading the second book in the series later on 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
emotional funny mysterious 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

4.5 rounded up. I really loved this! The writing is just fantastic. The dialogue is so unique and witty and I really enjoyed Daniel’s narrative voice. I felt it gets a biitt bogged down in the plot towards the end of the book and loses some of that sparkle of the writing, but still all in all this is a fun, yet serious mystery that pays homage to the role literature plays in the lives of readers who truly connect with a story. Would love to one day be able to read this in Spanish to compare the translation because the writing is just so unique.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Loveable characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Loveable characters: No

Atrocious. “The Shadow of the Wind“ is nothing but a series of horrible events. The plot seems like a competition between the characters: “Whose misfortune is the worst?”

There is barely a content warning to be found that does not apply to this book. The story is full of graphic portrayals of all kinds of violence and abuse. None of the characters are likeable. In the case of “The Shadow of the Wind“, this is a blessing, since everything that happens to the characters is bad. 

The sexism and misogyny is blatant throughout the book. It would have been one thing to portray these as part of the era in  which the book is set, but “The Shadow of the Wind” contains multiple characters whose only role is to enact and spew sexist, misogynist poison. This is taken so far that several characters introduce themselves through bigoted statements, as if this philosophy was the most important and first thing you need to know about them. This book does not pass the Bechdel test. The book is barely worthy of the phrase “portrayal of women”, since there are only portrayals of objects of desire, self-sacrificial lovers and devout mothers. 

Before you read this book, please take a look at the content warnings to see how vile it is. I’m shocked and disappointed to see that the average rating is above 4 stars. The content of the book deserves zero stars, however, the well-constructed mystery and beautiful writing elevate it to one or two stars.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous emotional funny inspiring mysterious medium-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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings