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

Overall good read

Enjoyed the characters & history intertwined within. Liked the ending but the ‘solve’ was very unrealistic.

Narrator

I found the book very confusing at times. There are so many characters and jumping between decades that a couple of times I thought about not finishing it. But I’m glad I did. I think it would be better read as an actual book.

Entertaining story

I enjoyed the story, but the music they kept playing sporadically through the story was distracting and not needed. A few times I almost quit listening because of it.

A rich, engrossing tale

As an avid reader, I lost myself to this enchanting tale from the first paragraph. The reader was excellent. (I have enjoyed listening to him read for another author, I believe.) There is nothing of this book not to like--the characters are richly drawn, the world they enhabit pulses with life, and the storyline enchanting. I loved this book and will certainly re-listen many times.

Stunning, thought provoking novel

This is one of those audiobooks I found myself driving around just to listen to! The story is a very complex blend of coming of age, detective/murder mystery, love story...it's really remarkable. It is beautifully read, and the Spanish pronunciation is excellent. Lovely translation, the language is beautiful, interesting, very Spanish in it's references/analogies. I was so intrigued with the novel after listening to it that I had to read in in print! One of the best books I've read in a long time. Will look forward to reading more from this author.

A Book lover's Book

This was a beautifully written, beautifully read, and translated book. I enjoyed every laugh out loud moment (there were many) and was entertained from start to finish. This book reminds me to appreciate the privelage and joy I have recieved through my many years of diligent (and sometimes obsessive) readership. Don't believe the naysayers, they can only be readers looking for television style appeal. This book has heart and soul and Jonathan Davis is the bomb. I actually found this book by looking for other books he has read after listening to "Snow Crash" (another excellent selection).

Bone-chilling Mystery About Fascist Spain

Where does The Shadow of the Wind rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This may be my favorite audiobook and I have quite a large library. I never wanted this book to end. The story is multi-layered and has vividly drawn characters, plus the descriptions of fascist Barcelona are haunting. Also, I can't praise the narration enough. The personalities of the different characters really shone through.

What did you like best about this story?

I love the character Fermin who survives torture and many hardships through the graces of his unique and amusing personality. It helped me to see how certain people can even thrive after enduring the unspeakable.

Have you listened to any of Jonathan Davis’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, I haven't, but will make a point of finding more books read by him.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, it's pretty big, but I never wanted to stop listening nonetheless.

Any additional comments?

If you love historic mysteries or romances set in Spain, you should definitely read this. It reminds me of the Guillermo delToro film "Pan's Labyrinth" because of it's haunting imagery and fascinating revelations about the natures of people who embrace fascism.

Maybe best novel I have ever read

I cannot believe I never knew of this masterpiece before. Brilliant and captivating on so many levels. The buildup of the story, the simple writing, the cleverness of tying so many things together and the universal timeless wisdom throughout. The story was riveting, I cried, I laughed aloud and simply could not stop listening. One of those books where I am sad when it ends. Not surprising to discover that 15 million people have read this, though apparently only a small portion are in English.

Great Novel, Great Characters

A friend enthusiastically told me about this book: isn't that the way the news about the best stories travel? A riproaring tale of love, intrigue, mystery, with a dash of that region's famed florid approach to love, The Shadow of the Wind is one of those old-fashioned kinds of novels with a great story line, good plotting, interesting and varied characters. I give it five stars for the story. I learned a lot about the events in Spain's history through the characters, a plus for me.

I actually thought the reader, Jonathan Davis, did a terrific job narrating the story, but I only awarded three stars because of that incredibly irritating piano music which threatened to drown him out at critical times in the story. At the very end, we learn that the music was composed by the author; I say to him that perhaps he needs to chose between his words or his music as to which he wants to display for us to admire. For my tastes, I'd rather have silence to appreciate the writing, rather than to have to struggle to hear what the narrator was saying. In other words, ditch the piano.

While this is a long book that slowly ramps up to its conclusion, the length is necessary for the development of the stories and the characters. A great read!

Piano???

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Yes! No piano music which is extremely distracting and just as loud as the narration, not in the background! This is what prompted me to leave a review.

What does Jonathan Davis bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I like the voice and the way he reads.