Hardcover
Published Sept. 26, 2013 by FISCHER Taschenbuch.
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. Allí, Daniel Sempere encuentra un libro maldito que cambia el rumbo de su vida y le arrastra a un laberinto de intrigas y secretos enterrados en el alma oscura de la ciudad. 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 hasta las tinieblas de la posguerra.
Aunando las técnicas del relato de intriga y suspense, la novela histórica y la comedia de costumbres, La Sombra del Viento es sobre todo una trágica historia de amor cuyo eco se proyecta a través del tiempo. Con gran fuerza narrativa, el autor entrelaza tramas y enigmas a modo de muñecas rusas en un inolvidable relato sobre los …
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. Allí, Daniel Sempere encuentra un libro maldito que cambia el rumbo de su vida y le arrastra a un laberinto de intrigas y secretos enterrados en el alma oscura de la ciudad. 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 hasta las tinieblas de la posguerra.
Aunando las técnicas del relato de intriga y suspense, la novela histórica y la comedia de costumbres, La Sombra del Viento es sobre todo una trágica historia de amor cuyo eco se proyecta a través del tiempo. 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 cuya intriga se mantiene hasta la última página.
Todavía recuerdo aquel amanecer en que mi padre me llevó por primera vez a visitar El Cementerio de los Libros Olvidados
([source][1])
See also:
[1]: www.carlosruizzafon.com/es/la-sombra-del-viento/index.php
La sombra del viento es una de esas lecturas que te enamoran de los libros en general.
Beautifully written -- an intricate tale of love, passion, revenge, kindness, forgiveness -- the gamut of human emotions and reactions. this is a book to be savored.
This is a pretty good mystery and period novel set in post war Barcelona. I think I found this as a recommendation because I read The Club Dumas. This is different but if you liked that this is worth a try.
I read the author's other book, "The Angel's Game," before I read "The Shadow Of The Wind," and I'm glad I did, because, although "The Angel's Game" was published seven years later, it covers the events that chronologically happen before "The Shadow Of The Wind." So, when the story opens with a boy Daniel and his father mourning the death of their mother and wife, the character who was never more than a memory in the book, I felt like I knew her, having read the other book in which she features prominently. Reading out of order was a fortunate mistake, because it reacquainted me to Barcelona I left in "The Angel's Game" and some characters I was already familiar with.
Zafon masterfully waves his spider net of intrigue, mystery, and old secrets which are being dug out, one detail at a time, by Daniel, the bookseller's son. There's love, …
I read the author's other book, "The Angel's Game," before I read "The Shadow Of The Wind," and I'm glad I did, because, although "The Angel's Game" was published seven years later, it covers the events that chronologically happen before "The Shadow Of The Wind." So, when the story opens with a boy Daniel and his father mourning the death of their mother and wife, the character who was never more than a memory in the book, I felt like I knew her, having read the other book in which she features prominently. Reading out of order was a fortunate mistake, because it reacquainted me to Barcelona I left in "The Angel's Game" and some characters I was already familiar with.
Zafon masterfully waves his spider net of intrigue, mystery, and old secrets which are being dug out, one detail at a time, by Daniel, the bookseller's son. There's love, passion and crime, but although there are hints to supernatural, everything was at the end clearly explained. The narrative is engaging from the first sentence and the characters come alive. I felt like I knew them personally.
One thing that makes me like this book less than it's sequel-prequel is the detailed histories of certain buildings where the plot was unfolding. Although it was interesting to read how a certain villa came about, it slowed the plot somewhat, and I found myself wishing the author would hurry back to the present time and continue with the several threads of the story he dangled before my nose like a carrot.
Overall, a wonderful bittersweet story that makes you wish to read it all over the moment you turn the last page.
The Cemetary of Forgotten Books is one of the most romantic concepts I've come across in quite awhile, and it is in this fantastic place that a young Daniel Sempere finds a book written by Julien Carax called The Shadow of the Wind, and vows to protect it forever.
However, there is a mysterious man lurking about who is on a mission to burn every one of Carax's novels, and is trying to intimidate Daniel into giving up his copy. As Daniel becomes obsessed with learning more about the author, his life starts to parallel Carax's. What his research unearths about Carax's life, and the consequences it has for himself and others, unfolds beautifully in this nicely-paced, intriguing mystery.
I also enjoyed the smokey atmosphere of the book and the intrigue that surrounded the lives of the previous generation. The use of flashback, and the parallel stories of two generations …
The Cemetary of Forgotten Books is one of the most romantic concepts I've come across in quite awhile, and it is in this fantastic place that a young Daniel Sempere finds a book written by Julien Carax called The Shadow of the Wind, and vows to protect it forever.
However, there is a mysterious man lurking about who is on a mission to burn every one of Carax's novels, and is trying to intimidate Daniel into giving up his copy. As Daniel becomes obsessed with learning more about the author, his life starts to parallel Carax's. What his research unearths about Carax's life, and the consequences it has for himself and others, unfolds beautifully in this nicely-paced, intriguing mystery.
I also enjoyed the smokey atmosphere of the book and the intrigue that surrounded the lives of the previous generation. The use of flashback, and the parallel stories of two generations reminded me somewhat of Wuthering Heights; the previous generation was doomed, but the next generation...that's all I should say.
Some readers may find the ending a bit predictable, but the motivations behind the actions in this story are not predictable.
