The Shadow of the Wind

By: Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis

Length: 18 hrs and 5 mins

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

Critic reviews

“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

Story demands your patience, but will pay off

this is the kind of thing you read to stimulate your creativity, your inspiration, and to get back in touch with the wonders of life

stara barcelona

knihy a jejich tajemstvi a tajemstvi barcelony pred behem a po obcanske valce. a zamilivani.

Amazing

What a journey. A book that takes you in a journey with twist and turns and DRAMA! Recommend for book lovers who believe in the power of a book and a trip you can take to far off places without ever leaving home.

Great story.

the author keeps the reader in suspense. Beautifully tragic. a great listen. narrated very well.

Great read

I wasn't expecting it but this book gave me chills. I actually listened to it a number of times and may go back again. I have been retelling the story to anyone who will listen to me.

One of my favorites

The book is rated at six stars as it's one of my favorites. This audiobook though fell short for me. I have to note that I have already read this book many times and the narrator couldn't possibly have matched the same voices I've imagined for all of the characters, but the Spanish accents added in the dialogue bothered me. There are parts with distracting piano music overlapping the text which I found extremely annoying. Also, perhaps because I speak Spanish, I read Zafon (or the translator's interpretation) with a different cadence, but I felt the writing didn't come through the same way. The narrator is obviously talented, but this particular rendition (with difficult expectations to live up to) wasn't what I hoped for.

A great book within a book about a book

Read this book. I was moved and in constant interest as this novel pulls from the background of civil-war Spain to weave a fast-paced mystery wrapped arpund books. A literary tour de force that pays homage to the literary tour de force.

Unexpected

I would have never chosen this book on my own, but I read it as part of a book club. It’s a little slow in the beginning, but keep going! This book has twists and turns. I loved it.

Entertaining

This book was referred to me and was the first in the series. Great book although thought the music was creepy and unnecessary, Loved it still.

ineligible for return?

Any additional comments?

I have tried to listen to this book a dozen times since purchasing it, but the over-loud background music makes it impossible. Unfortunately, the "great listen guarantee" appears only to apply to the last few books we've purchased, so audible won't refund me for this unlisten-able book.