Rick's Ramblings

Sunday, August 14, 2005

The Shadow of the Wind

This book by Carlos Ruiz Zafon is a great book for lovers of books. It is part mystery, part history, part romance and even has some dry comedy sprinkled in. The book was originally published in Spanish and has been a big hit in Spanish speaking countries—particularly Spain, where the story takes place. It is about a boy whose father runs a bookstore, who becomes fascinated with an author after reading one of his books. He tries to find additional books by this author, but they all seem to have disappeared—many being burned. Who is one step in front of him burning books and attempting to destroy all the works of this author? And, why?

The book has rich characters that become very real. There are several stories going on at once, but they all intertwine in time. This book made me happy and it made me sad. It made me laugh, and it brought a lump to my throat.

The translation by Lucia Graves is extremely well done, although there are occasional idiosyncracies in some wording or phrasing. I highly recommend this book.

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