Amy B. (BaileysBooks) reviewed The Shadow of the Wind (Cemetery of Forgotten Books, Bk 1) on + 491 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Even though this book was originally written in Spanish, nothing has been lost in the translation. This was an incredibly captivating, well written, and hauntingly beautiful book.
The plot is incredibly complex but is not hard to follow. It reminded me of those Russian nesting dolls...of plots within plots within plots. The story of the characters continues to unwind and intertwine until the very final pages. And while there is always a lot going on, the author manages to tie everything together in the end with plausible realism and no loose ends.
This is also a booklover's book. Anyone who treasures reading will marvel at the concept of "The Cemetery of Forgotten Books" and will watch with both horror and fascination as the entire collective works of Julian Carax are systematically tracked down and burned.
This book, while not what I consider to be fast-paced, was steady and suspenseful. The emotion of the characters is something that you feel keenly. Character development was exceptional. It is something of a hybrid of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and Arturo Perez-Reverte's "The Club Dumas." It is easily one of my new favorite books for the way that I couldn't put it down, for the way it stayed with me for a few days after I finished it, and for the disappointment I felt when I had no more of it to read.
This is an exceptional book and I cannot recommend it enough.
The plot is incredibly complex but is not hard to follow. It reminded me of those Russian nesting dolls...of plots within plots within plots. The story of the characters continues to unwind and intertwine until the very final pages. And while there is always a lot going on, the author manages to tie everything together in the end with plausible realism and no loose ends.
This is also a booklover's book. Anyone who treasures reading will marvel at the concept of "The Cemetery of Forgotten Books" and will watch with both horror and fascination as the entire collective works of Julian Carax are systematically tracked down and burned.
This book, while not what I consider to be fast-paced, was steady and suspenseful. The emotion of the characters is something that you feel keenly. Character development was exceptional. It is something of a hybrid of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and Arturo Perez-Reverte's "The Club Dumas." It is easily one of my new favorite books for the way that I couldn't put it down, for the way it stayed with me for a few days after I finished it, and for the disappointment I felt when I had no more of it to read.
This is an exceptional book and I cannot recommend it enough.
Nicole P. (silvergirl) reviewed The Shadow of the Wind (Cemetery of Forgotten Books, Bk 1) on + 24 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
This book has everything that makes reading wonderful: a beautiful setting, interesting characters, an intricate plot, lots of suspense, some surprising twists, romance, history, humor, and truth. Plus my new favorite insult: "fascist buttock polisher." I think that anyone who loves to read will love this book. And if you don't, you're a fascist buttock polisher.
Amy B. (BaileysBooks) reviewed The Shadow of the Wind (Cemetery of Forgotten Books, Bk 1) on + 491 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Even though this book was originally written in Spanish, nothing has been lost in the translation. This was an incredibly captivating, well written, and hauntingly beautiful book.
The plot is incredibly complex but is not hard to follow. It reminded me of those Russian nesting dolls...of plots within plots within plots. The story of the characters continues to unwind and intertwine until the very final pages. And while there is always a lot going on, the author manages to tie everything together in the end with plausible realism and no loose ends.
This is also a booklover's book. Anyone who treasures reading will marvel at the concept of "The Cemetery of Forgotten Books" and will watch with both horror and fascination as the entire collective works of Julian Carax are systematically tracked down and burned.
This book, while not what I consider to be fast-paced, was steady and suspenseful. The emotion of the characters is something that you feel keenly. Character development was exceptional. It is something of a hybrid of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and Arturo Perez-Reverte's "The Club Dumas." It is easily one of my new favorite books for the way that I couldn't put it down, for the way it stayed with me for a few days after I finished it, and for the disappointment I felt when I had no more of it to read.
This is an exceptional book and I cannot recommend it enough.
The plot is incredibly complex but is not hard to follow. It reminded me of those Russian nesting dolls...of plots within plots within plots. The story of the characters continues to unwind and intertwine until the very final pages. And while there is always a lot going on, the author manages to tie everything together in the end with plausible realism and no loose ends.
This is also a booklover's book. Anyone who treasures reading will marvel at the concept of "The Cemetery of Forgotten Books" and will watch with both horror and fascination as the entire collective works of Julian Carax are systematically tracked down and burned.
This book, while not what I consider to be fast-paced, was steady and suspenseful. The emotion of the characters is something that you feel keenly. Character development was exceptional. It is something of a hybrid of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and Arturo Perez-Reverte's "The Club Dumas." It is easily one of my new favorite books for the way that I couldn't put it down, for the way it stayed with me for a few days after I finished it, and for the disappointment I felt when I had no more of it to read.
This is an exceptional book and I cannot recommend it enough.
Helpful Score: 1
This is an OK book to read, but I hated it in audio. The narrator made every middle-age plus man sound like a smarmy version of Ricardo Montalban, and it caused me to abandon listening and actually read it.
Vanessa L. (VanessaL) reviewed The Shadow of the Wind (Cemetery of Forgotten Books, Bk 1) on + 26 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This is my all-time favorite book. I love it so much that I get extra copies to loan out to friends, and I've never recommended it to anyone who didn't end up loving it. In fact, I ran out of copies and had to order another one! As you read the book, you fall in love with the main character, Daniel, and with the beautiful city of Barcelona. It manages to be both fantastical and relatable at the same time. The book is translated from the Spanish, but the translation is a work of art.
Kaaren M. (Kaaren) -
Helpful Score: 1
A friend read this book in English and thought it was really good. She wondered aloud (a-text? On her blog) if the translation was a good one. The original was written in Spanish by Spaniard Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I thought to myself "Self, I can read that in Spanish and let her know," so I ordered the Spanish version from Amazon and began to read it. Into the book by about 4 chapters, I realized something. How exactly would I know if the translation was good if I was only reading it in Spanish? DOH! I got the English version from the library and read them side by side, chapter by chapter.
This book was a fantastic mystery novel full of colorful characters, suspense, twisting plots and beautiful prose. Mr. Zafon is a gifted author. His writing was descriptive, hysterical, creepy, mournful, exciting.
For a complete review of the differences I found between the Spanish and English, see my very-long blog post: http://kaarensblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/shadow-of-wind-la-sombra-del-viento.html
This book was a fantastic mystery novel full of colorful characters, suspense, twisting plots and beautiful prose. Mr. Zafon is a gifted author. His writing was descriptive, hysterical, creepy, mournful, exciting.
For a complete review of the differences I found between the Spanish and English, see my very-long blog post: http://kaarensblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/shadow-of-wind-la-sombra-del-viento.html
Sam J. (samuel1543) reviewed The Shadow of the Wind (Cemetery of Forgotten Books, Bk 1) on + 2 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This book is an excellent read. The reader is steadily drawn into the story by seeing the events, both past and present, unfold in a haunting and tantalizing way. It has many spanish location names that may confuse the reader if they go long periods between readings. It is one of the best stories that I have read in a long time. I highly recommend this book.
Sam
Sam
Sarah F. (sefields) reviewed The Shadow of the Wind (Cemetery of Forgotten Books, Bk 1) on + 5 more book reviews
Beautiful language, great story, great characters
Erika M. (summrsun16) -
One of the best books I've read in years. It's written so beautifully and so perfectly you just don't want to put it down. The story is intriguing, exciting, and unexpected. Read this book!
kuzumel reviewed The Shadow of the Wind (Cemetery of Forgotten Books, Bk 1) on + 112 more book reviews
I love reading. Books. Magazines. Dry academic archaeology conference papers. Comics. But most of all, I enjoy a well drawn story.
"Shadow of the Wind" (English version) is a story-lover's dream. Other reviews praised its deceptively intricate plot, the artful translation of the rich Spanish text, and the fascinating characters drawn and refined from the classic Gothic novels. It is all that, but the praise does not fully describe the experience(s). And maybe THAT is the best praise for a well told story that had the kitchen sink thrown into the whole thing (so to speak).
Personally, I reluctantly wondered deeper into a Barcelona of Dracula, Frankenstein, and Cthulhu gloom, populated with characters out of Dickens, Hugo, Hammett, Poe and Lovecraft - but without the need for supernatural beings to provide the suspense and horror that weaves its tentacles through to the end. You suspect (or know) how the story must end. But when it finally arrives, it calls up the sewers of Paris and val Jeans' last battle with Javert.
So here I am, having emerged even more reluctantly out the other side, hoping to recover from this experience soon. Otherwise, reading-withdrawl symptoms may force me to watch bad television just to reset (reduce) my standards!
"Shadow of the Wind" (English version) is a story-lover's dream. Other reviews praised its deceptively intricate plot, the artful translation of the rich Spanish text, and the fascinating characters drawn and refined from the classic Gothic novels. It is all that, but the praise does not fully describe the experience(s). And maybe THAT is the best praise for a well told story that had the kitchen sink thrown into the whole thing (so to speak).
Personally, I reluctantly wondered deeper into a Barcelona of Dracula, Frankenstein, and Cthulhu gloom, populated with characters out of Dickens, Hugo, Hammett, Poe and Lovecraft - but without the need for supernatural beings to provide the suspense and horror that weaves its tentacles through to the end. You suspect (or know) how the story must end. But when it finally arrives, it calls up the sewers of Paris and val Jeans' last battle with Javert.
So here I am, having emerged even more reluctantly out the other side, hoping to recover from this experience soon. Otherwise, reading-withdrawl symptoms may force me to watch bad television just to reset (reduce) my standards!
