The Shadow of the Wind

Synopsis from Goodreads.com:

Barcelona, 1945: A city slowly heals in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, and Daniel, an antiquarian book dealer’s son who mourns the loss of his mother, finds solace in a mysterious book entitled The Shadow of the Wind, by one Julián Carax. But when he sets out to find the author’s other works, he makes a shocking discovery: someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book Carax has written. In fact, Daniel may have the last of Carax’s books in existence. Soon Daniel’s seemingly innocent quest opens a door into one of Barcelona’s darkest secrets--an epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love.

Review/Comment:

Seldom have I come across a book like this. The author, a Spanish, clearly, is able to evoke the scenes in Barcelona, Spain in such vivid that I can feel the artistry of the buildings and cobblestone paths as I walked down the road of words in this book. Although I don't really read translated books, but this - translated by Lucia Graves - is exceptionally well done. Love it!

The story starts by a mysterious visit to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. I love the idea that each book houses the soul of the author, its secrecy in accessing to this place and the rule it imposes. This opening chapter is like a thick fairy storybook being opened up in the beginning scenes of a film. It draws me into the cities of Spain. What follows is that a book taken by Daniel, the main protagonist, by Julian Carax has such mystery that someone is burning/destroying all of Carax's works.

This story is like a Romeo-and-Juliet tale, but with such rich characters that stands out on each page, you cannot stop reading to get down to the real story why Carax's works are being destroyed by a strange man. Oh, and by the way, there are lots of leitmotivs in the story that you find some sense of Deja vu in it and you shudder at the foreshadowing parts.

The story ends in an epic tone, I feel. It justifies a lot of actions and doesn't leave any hanging. Correct me if I'm wrong. But I kind of tear up at the end when the protagonist child is given a name that resonates throughout the pages of the book.

One drawback of this book, I think, is the lengthy descriptions and some parts move slower than other, maybe the author expects us to give ourselves a break so that we won't be submerged into the sea of words concocted by him and the plot that doesn't stop until the end. And another thing is, the author somehow describes women in a uncomfortable way, like the male characters keep noticing "young calves" of the ladies, "bosoms" and other parts of the bodies. But hey, I read the plot not the descriptions of respectable women!

And one more thing, the author 'conveniently', by using letters send from a character, explains the last/remaining and quite significant chunk of plots just to get the mystery solved! I don't know, but I feel this is wrong in a way. I prefer it to be done by how the Daniel unravels by himself rather than by just reading the letter.

So,

Do I recommend this? Yes! I even made a PowerPoint game out of it!