The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

The recent death of this very talented author from Barcelona has prompted me to write a review of his amazing novel The Shadow of the Wind, the first of four books in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books series. It was published in Spanish in 2001 and translated into English by Lucia Graves in 2004.

The book is set in moody 1940s Barcelona and we are introduced to a very sad, motherless 10-year-old boy called Daniel. His father, who is a bookseller, takes him to the gothic quarter of Barcelona to an obscure bookshop called the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, where he chooses a dusty old book called The Shadow of the Wind. Or maybe the book chooses him. From there the novel takes us on Daniel’s journey in search of other books by the mysterious author Julian Carax, uncovering some shocking secrets along the way. 

The novel is filled with suspense, mystery, tragedy and romance. All the elements of a great story! Gothic Barcelona is a real part of the book, and I especially loved the dark and intense imagery the author uses to evoke this time and place. I highly recommend this book.

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