La sombra del viento by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

It was with much thought that the word was scattered throughout the book. Every time the word shadow was used I considered its illusion of death. For death is not always the worst thing that can happen ('words are not always the worst prison'). In this sense death becomes a fate we chose ourselves. Every character had shadows which could engulf them or they could overcome. Shadow is a perfect symbol for death evoking images of how death can be metaphorical instead of literal-living shadows of lives, chasing shadows of dreams, being shadows of others, letting memories shadow life. Wrapped up in the mystery is a message of death: do we live a full life or wander through it numb? The Shadow of the Wind is an allegory for death in a fictitious novel by the same title. As the story twists and slowly unravels he doesn't know whose account to trust or how it will affect his life. Daniel embarks on a mission to solve the mystery of the author's story being watched by a revengeful cop and the book burner himself. The strange author died in poverty but now someone is seeking out all remaining copies of his unsuccessful novels to burn.

He choses a novel-or maybe it chose him-that touches him, stirs his desire for literature, and forever entangles him with the fate of the book and its author. I wanted to read this in Spanish for the rich poetry the language would add.Ī young boy Daniel is taken by his father to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books and told to salvage a book which he must take stewardship over. I needed a whole pad of post-its to mark quotes.ģ. I read the opening few pages and instantly knew 3 things:Ģ. «García Marques, Umberto Eco y Jorge Luis Borges se encuentran en un mágico y desbordante espectáculo, de inquietante perspicacia y definitivamente maravilloso, escrito por el novelista español Carlos Ruiz Zafón.» «Una de esas raras novelas que combinan una trama brillante con una escrita sublime.» Con gran fuerza narrativa, el autor entrelaza tramas y enigmas a modo de muñecas rusas en un inolvidable relato sobre los secretos del corazón y el embrujo de los libros ,manteniendo la intriga hasta la última página. La Sombra del Viento mezcla técnicas de relato de intriga, de novela histórica y de comedia de costumbres pero es, sobre todo, una tragedia histórica de amor cuyo eco se proyecta a través del tiempo. La Sombra del Viento es un misterio literario ambientado en la Barcelona de la primera mitad del siglo XX, desde los últimos esplendores del Modernismo a las tinieblas de la posguerra. Allí, Daniel Sempere encuentra un libro maldito que cambiará el rumbo de su vida y le arrastrará a un laberinto de intrigas y secretos enterrados en el alma oscura de la ciudad. Un amanecer de 1945 un muchacho es conducido por su padre a un misterioso lugar oculto en el corazón de la ciudad vieja: El Cementerio de los Libros Olvidados.

La sombra del viento by Carlos Ruiz Zafón