The shadow of the wind, or in Spanish ‘La Sombra Del Viento’ is a novel by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I devoured this book in no more than four days, each page offering a gripping narative and intuitive storyline. As far as i am concerned, this novel is the superlative example of writing in the top form. I have never enjoyed a book to the latter extent.
Set in Post Spanish Civil War Barcelona, the novel follows a character named Daniel Sempere. Following the war, Daniel’s father takes him to the ‘cemetery of forgotten books’ where Daniel is informed he may pick one book, and he must protect, preserve and treasure it infinitely by oath. The book he selects is ‘The Shadow Of The Wind’ by one ‘Julian Carax’. Daniel seeks other works by the author without success, yet discovers a dark and mysterious past surrounding a character from the book named Lain Coubert, a personification of Satan. His research leads him to discover that the person assuming the name of Coubert has been buying and burning Carax’ books for many years. As the story develops, this very man approaches Daniel with a generous offer to part with the book, yet Daniel observes the oath he took, and becomes entangled in a web of confusion and complication, a story that predates his very birth, and endeavours to threaten his very life.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fiction. It is a lengthy novel but you will find it is quite ‘unputdownable’.
