The Shadow of the Wind

That’s the translated name of a novel by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. The Spanish title is La Sombra del Viento.

 

I first came across it when it was mentioned in a blog by a someone working in the Far East. It sounded intriguing, so I added it to the list of books to read.

 

I’ve just finished it, and I can thoroughly recommend it to people who like both books and Barcelona (a near-perfect combination, as far as I am concerned). The book starts with such an arresting idea (a child is taken by his father to a mysterious building housing the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, and is told to choose a book to read). That the book takes root in his life and those around him is almost inevitable. The book was like a marvellous piece of machinery – a great steam locomotive  – that gradually gains speed and ultimately becomes an elemental force pursuing its inexorable course to the climax. I loved it. As the blurb on the dustjacket says: the subplots have subplots; but never once did I feel that Zafon was losing control of his material. This is storytelling with the simplicity and power of Dickens. Read it.