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The Shadow of the Wind cover art

The Shadow of the Wind

Written by: Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
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Publisher's Summary

Barry Award

Book Sense Book of the Year

Borders Original Voices Award

Gumshoe Award

Horror Guild Award

Joseph-Beth and Davis-Kidd Booksellers Fiction Award

NYPL Books to Remember

Barcelona, 1945: Just after the war, a great world city lies in shadow, nursing its wounds, and a boy named Daniel awakes on his 11th birthday to find that he can no longer remember his mother's face. To console his only child, Daniel's widowed father, an antiquarian book dealer, initiates him into the secret of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a library tended by Barcelona's guild of rare-book dealers as a repository for books forgotten by the world, waiting for someone who will care about them again.

Daniel's father coaxes him to choose a volume from the spiraling labyrinth of shelves, one that, it is said, will have a special meaning for him. And Daniel so loves the novel he selects, The Shadow of the Wind by one Julian Carax, that he sets out to find the rest of Carax's work. To his shock, he discovers that someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book this author has written. In fact, he may have the last one in existence. Before Daniel knows it, his seemingly innocent quest has opened a door into one of Barcelona's darkest secrets, an epic story of murder, magic, madness, and doomed love.

An uncannily absorbing historical mystery, a heart-piercing romance, and a moving homage to the mystical power of books, The Shadow of the Wind is a triumph of the storyteller's art.

Translated by Lucia Graves.

©2001 Carlos Ruiz Zafon; 2004 Lucia Graves (P)2004 Penguin Audio

What the critics say

“Anyone who enjoys novels that are scary, erotic, touching, tragic and thrilling should rush right out to the nearest bookstore and pick up The Shadow of the Wind. Really, you should.”—Michael Dirda, The Washington Post

“Gabriel Garcia Marquez meets Umberto Eco meets Jorge Luis Borges for a sprawling magic show.”—The New York Times Book Review

“[T]here is no question that [The Shadow of the Wind] is wondrous. . . [M]asterful, meticulous plotting and extraordinary control over language. . . . The Shadow of the Wind is ultimately a love letter to literature, intended for readers as passionate about storytelling as its young hero.”—Entertainment Weekly

What listeners say about The Shadow of the Wind

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great

This is still one of my favorite books. I've read it a few times, and listened to it twice. The narrator is excellent.

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I enjoyed the unique story, music was distracting

I usually return books that have music because I listen to these as I go to sleep and the music jars me awake. In this story, in addition to being jarred awake, the music goes on for so long that I found it hard to concentrate on what is being said. Other than that I enjoyed the story and narrator. I didn’t return this book which is saying something.

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I like the music highlighting the story in parts

I struggled to complete this story as the story jumps back in time and perspectives frequently. If you enjoy piecing a puzzle together by being handed pieces a few at a time with a glimpse now and then of the box top, you might enjoy this. I thought plot lines very predictable with few surprises. I am glad I finished the book for the ending nicely added closure to the story.

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Masterpiece

I loved this book so much. It was well written and the parallels were so beautiful.
Thank you.

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great book and narrator was perfect for it

loved it. The story is entertaining with lots of drama, action and suspense. The narrator conveys the feelings of the characters in a very realistic way.

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A hauntingly beautiful novel

This beautiful book has left me sad and hopeful at the same time. The writing is poetic and elegant. The narrator was perfect for the book. The story was excellent.

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Beautifully Written

My first book with this author and many to come. It was an incredible book. It’s was a poetry ...

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Great story!

Excellent story, romantic, well concieved and with characters I could well relate to. Almost knew them all...

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A Bittersweet Discovery

I knew from the first paragraphs of The Shadow of the Wind that I was hearing a wise and articulate voice and I was not disappointed at any point during this long and complex novel. Zafon creates characters that live in your heart for their humour and compassion and for their frailty. This book is worth reading just for the idea of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, but it is so much more than that. I lived each moment with Daniel and Nouria and Fermine, laughed out loud at their clever appraisals of the world, felt their loneliness and cheered with every success. I felt as if I had walked the streets of Barcelona, although I have never been there.

Zafon is also a consummate craftsman in the area of plot development. When one of the central characters announces that he is about to die, as a reader you are anxious and worried. But then he tells Nouria's story and by the time the death scene came, it was unexpected. Being able to sustain this level of reader engagement with such a light touch on the reins, is truly a marvelous example of craft.

Some years ago now, I first read The Prince of Mists, one of his young adult novels, and enjoyed it and recommended it to several of my students who also enjoyed it. But it wasn't until I read his obituary on bbc.com that I realized I had been missing out on the body of Zafon's work. Which made reading this amazing book bittersweet. But I am going to follow Daniel's lead and search for all the novels of Carlos Ruiz Zafon, until, like those of Julian Caracs, I have read them all.

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Brilliantly Captivating

Goosebumps.
This story is complex, compelling and so full of wonder and intrigue. Its read beautifully and I enjoyed every second of listening. Major kudos. 10 stars. Just went out and bought the hard copy.

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