The Shadow of the Wind: The Cemetery of Forgotten Books 1

I absolutely loved this first book. The story is beautifully written, full of mystery, memorable characters, and an atmosphere that pulls you in from the very beginning. I enjoyed it so much that I immediately bought the other three books in the series. If you’re looking for a novel that’s hard to put down, this is it.

Amazing book, absolutely loved it!

Some books grab your attention by its title, some enthrall you by its story, a few by the beauty of the language, yet others by the setting, then others by the characters and certain others by the narration or plot. When all these come together in a book, you lose your heart to it,totally. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say I haven't read something like this in a long time. Young Daniel wakes up one morning screaming for his long lost mother, and his father , who runs a bookshop that specializes in 'rare collectors' editions and secondhand books', takes him to a run down palatial building. As the large wooden door is opened and Daniel is ushered in to 'A labyrinth of passage-ways and crammed bookshelves rose from base to pinnacle like a beehive, woven with tunnels, steps, platforms and bridges that presaged an immense library of seemingly impossible geometry.' His father welcomes him to the place.... "Welcome to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, Daniel......This is a place of mystery, Daniel, a sanctuary. Every book, every volume that you see here, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it. Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens. This place was already ancient when my father brought me here for the first time, many years ago. Perhaps as old as the city itself. Nobody knows for certain how long it has existed, or who created it. I will tell you what my father told me, though. When a library disappears, or a bookshop closes down, when a book is consigned to oblivion, those of us who know this place, its guardians, make sure that it gets here. In this place, books no longer remembered by anyone, books that are lost in time, live forever, waiting for the day when they will reach a new reader's hands. In the shop we buy and sell them, but in truth books have no owner. Every book that you see here has been somebody's best friend. Now they only have us, Daniel. Do you think you'll be able to keep such a secret?" I was hooked. A wine-coloured leather bound book choses Daniel, one that he had never heard of before . He hadn't heard of the author, either. 'The Shadow of the Wind' by Juilan Carax. The ten year old's life is never the same again. Daniel is so captivated by the book that he wants to get hold of other books by the author. Not many had heard of the author and the strangest fact is that someone else also seems to be searching for Carax's books only to destroy them. As Daniel grows up and as he tries to learn more about Julian, his life seems to mirror that of the elusive author. The multitude of characters that have gone through Julian's life seem to be connected to Daniel as well, in one way or the other. The impish Fermin, Miquel and Jorge who were once Julian's best friends, Fumero who is manically unscrupulous, Isaac the guardian of forgotten books and his ill fated daughter Nuria, the ethereal Penelope who is Julian's only true love - each one of them has their own story that is inevitably bound in some way or other to Julian and each one is so strongly etched , they remain with you long after you have finished reading the book. This a story within a story , imperceptibly ties to each other. Julian's life, is set mostly in the background of the Spanish civil war .in the author's own words, "As it unfolded, the structure of the story began to remind me of one of those Russian dolls that contain innumerable diminishing replicas of themselves deep inside. Step by step the narrative split into a thousand stories, as if it had entered a gallery of mirrors, its identity fragmented into endless reflections." If stories have colors, this one would be a dak brown, with shades of light in between. There are many plots and so many characters and each is linked to the other like the weaves of a lovely and complicated tapestry. Almost throughout the book, you feel as though you are walking down the dark and gloomy streets of a war torn Barcelona with buildings around you that seem to house ghots and vampires, the imagery is that vivid. There is intrigue, revenge, murder, cruelty, mystery and passion. Then there is also love, compassion, passion and hope. It would not be out of place to say that it is almost Shakespearean in plot and characterization. The book is also a treasure house for quotation lovers. Here are a few.. "There are yokels out there who think that if they touch a woman's behind and she doesn't complain, they've hooked her. Amateurs. The female heart is a labryinth of subtleties, too challenging for the uncouth mind of the male racketeer. If you really want to possess a woman, you must think like her, and the first thing to do is to win over her soul. The rest, that sweet, soft wrapping that steals away your senses and your virtue, is a bonus.” “Television, my dear Daniel, is the Antichrist, and I can assure you that after only three or four generations, people will no longer even know how to fart on their own. Humans will return to living in caves, to medieval savagery, and to the general state of imbecility that slugs overcame back in the Pleistocene era. Our world will not die as a result of the bomb, as the papers say - it will die of laughter, of banality, of making a joke of everything, and a lousy joke at that.” “The words with which a child's heart is poisoned, whether through malice or through ignorance, remain branded in his memory, and sooner or later they burn his soul.” The icing on the cake is that its all set in the background of books, old bookshops, ancient libraries and most of all people who adore the written word. Verdict: A must read for anyone who loves well laid out plots, strong characters and captivating narration , in short for anyone who loves a well written tale. For me, this is a 'to be read again' one.

Brand new but some imprefection as shown in my photo.

Amazing read.

After finishing "The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon it is difficult for me to stop thinking about it. Rarely do I read a book that can be a well written literary work and a page turner at the same time. The Shadow of the Wind is one of those novels where Zafon has crafted an enchanting story while paying tribute to his hometown, Barcelona. He describes the city and its mysterious environment with such beautiful detail. Zafon's world feels magical, yet realistic told in a tale profoundly expressed through themes we suffer from everyday including heartbreaking romance, internal revenge, and dealing with the loss of a loved one. The Shadow of the Wind connects all of these themes by the power literature has on us. The novel's hero is young Daniel Sempere who suffers from not being able to remember the death of his mother. One day his father takes him to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books where he finds a book called "The Shadow of the Wind" by Julian Carax. After falling in love with the book Daniel becomes obsessed with discovering who the mysterious Julian Carax is and what happened to him. As Daniel digs deep into Carax's past he discovers one of Barcelona's most disturbing secrets and at the same time his own drifting innocence. Zafon creates a unique and moving tale with Daniel and Julian, where the young book reader begins to realize that his own life is paralleling the author he has grown to admire. Here the novel reveals a great tragedy that becomes a horror to read and Zafon handles it delicately between Daniel and Julian concerning broken friendship, forbidden love, and a malicious evil with a history that plans to join their destinies. "The Shadow of the Wind" is a real pleasure to read from its fast paced mystery to its wonderfully drawn characters including Daniel, his lovable retired secret agent sidekick Fermin Romero De Torres, his love interests, Bea Aguilar and Clara Barcelo. I enjoyed how Zafon weaved his romances into the story, developing Daniel's struggles with growing up between the two women he has affection for. He is nine years old when he falls for Clara, the gorgeous blind niece of the bookseller Gustavo whom he visits her to read to. It felt so true to life when Daniel learns how foolish his crush is when he witnesses Clara's affair with another man. His second love is when he is seventeen and has become a mature young man as he grows more intimate with Bea Aguilar who is his best friend's sister. Through the time he spends with Bea, Daniel learns what it means to fall in love in someone. In the end the novel is a moving story about love between two men, Daniel and Julian who venture through their own darkness to give each other the strong measure of peace they desire and hope to achieve. Zafon handles every sub plot well in this book including the adventure Daniel must embark on to discover Julian and himself turning the story into a well crafted epic. From the moment Daniel discovers The Shadow of the Wind in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books to the climax with Julian Carax's adversary Inspector Franciso Javier Fumero, the story is a rare wonder. I will not spoil anymore for you beyond that Inspector Fumero is one of the most evil villains you will ever read in fiction. For those of you readers who want to read a stand alone tale "The Shadow of the Wind" is a single novel that brings every character and sub story to a fulfilling end. It is a book that everyone should give chance if you love to read; a beautifully woven story of adventure, romance, friendship, family, death, and spiritual redemption. Zafon has written a wonderful story that has something for everyone while faithful to the message that literature is powerful and can affect our perception of the world whether its through our eyes or the author's. This is one of those books that can turn a person who despises reading into a devoted bibliophile. Gorgeous from start to finish and one of my favorites next to "Lonesome Dove" by Larry McMurtry and "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer.

الكتاب سليم جدا لكن وصل بدون اي تغليف غير كيس امازون الخارجي!