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A review by jeremychiasson
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
4.0
"The Shadow of the Wind" was far from a perfect read, but the perfume-scented beauty of the story intoxicated me and dulled my critical faculties.
My Brain: Mixing metaphors? But it is forbidden, Mr. Zafon!
Zafon: (places a finger on my lips, and whispers in a Spanish accent) Hush now, silly brain. Go to sleep and forget about the quality of the writing. My metaphors are a lot like diamonds in the rough--one in the hand is worth two in the bush.
And then I would smile like a dope, forget what I was so upset about, and keep reading.
While his technical ability as a writer might not make this a classic, Carlos Ruiz Zafon's passion and flair for storytelling does. You savour the prose, even though half of it is flowery bullshit. You love the characters, even though deep down you question their originality. And you read the story with rapture, despite the melodrama.
This book is damn good at what it does, and what it does is seduce you. "The Shadow of the Wind" is the literary equivalent of a passionate fling. So don't look at this book in the unforgiving light of morning, steal glances at it, from across a smoky bar. Immerse yourself in the mystery of Gothic Spain. Give in to your urges, my bookish friends, and read it!
My Brain: Mixing metaphors? But it is forbidden, Mr. Zafon!
Zafon: (places a finger on my lips, and whispers in a Spanish accent) Hush now, silly brain. Go to sleep and forget about the quality of the writing. My metaphors are a lot like diamonds in the rough--one in the hand is worth two in the bush.
And then I would smile like a dope, forget what I was so upset about, and keep reading.
While his technical ability as a writer might not make this a classic, Carlos Ruiz Zafon's passion and flair for storytelling does. You savour the prose, even though half of it is flowery bullshit. You love the characters, even though deep down you question their originality. And you read the story with rapture, despite the melodrama.
This book is damn good at what it does, and what it does is seduce you. "The Shadow of the Wind" is the literary equivalent of a passionate fling. So don't look at this book in the unforgiving light of morning, steal glances at it, from across a smoky bar. Immerse yourself in the mystery of Gothic Spain. Give in to your urges, my bookish friends, and read it!