Originally published in the Reader's Den from 02/01/10 - 02/26/10.The literary thriller, The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, is a book that kept me up reading at night from the start. Written in Spanish then later translated to English by Lucia Graves, it is a bestseller worldwide. After reading, I passed it on to no less than five people as gifts and have recommended it to many more. I hope after reading it you will do the same.
Set in the romantic but turbulent post-war Barcelona in the late 1940s and 50s, it is the story of young Daniel Sempere, son of a widowed bookseller, who finds a mysterious book by an enigmatic author, Julian Carax. Once Carax's story enchants Daniel, he becomes entangled in the intrigue himself. Allusions to the writing styles and techniques of Garcia Marquez, Eco, and Borges pepper reviews and I agree wholeheartedly.
Browse some reviews here:
About the author
Carlos Ruiz Zafon has written four novels for young adults (which haven't been translated into English yet) and The Shadow of the Wind was his first written for adults. Since its publication in 2001, he wrote a sort of prequel to the popular novel called The Angel's Game in 2009.
He was born in Barcelona in 1964 and lives in Los Angeles currently. For more information, check out wikipedia, as well as the author's website. If you'd like to see more of the Barcelona streets and places depicted in the novel, there is a downloadable "Shadow of the Wind Walk" on the author's website, as well as one that a fan did here. Both pages also have Google Earth placemarks. So cool!
Discussion Questions:
The Shadow of the Wind (La sombra del viento) was written in Spanish, and the word "sombra" can also be translated as shade, which gives the title a bit more of an ominous and darker feeling. What is the shadow (or shade) of the wind in this story?
Daniel Sempere and Julian Carax have a number of similarities and parallel experiences. Do their fates seem to be intertwined?
The character of Lain Courbet keeps appearing, who is he? In Julian's book, he represents the devil. Does he represent the same in Daniel's story
How does the setting of Barcelona in the midst of its Civil War add to the novel?
The author uses excerpts from letters, remembrances of people involved and other devices that relate part of the story from another person's point of view. Do you find the technique successful in propelling the story? Why or why not?
Julian and Daniel’s lives follow very similar trajectories. Yet one ends in tragedy, the other in happiness. What similarities are there between the paths they take? What are the differences that allow Daniel to avoid tragedy?
“This book is obviously an ode to books and to the art of reading. You have Bea state that "the art of reading is slowly dying, that it's an intimate ritual, that a book is a mirror that only offers us what we already carry inside us, that when we read, we do it with all our heart and mind, and great readers are becoming more scarce by the day" (p. 484). Do you believe this to be true? Do you share FermÃn's disdain for television?”
This last question was taken from the Penguin Reader’s Guide online.
If readers enjoyed this book, I recommend the following authors:
And if the history behind this book inspired or intrigued your readers, here are some links about the Spanish Civil war.
Britannica entry on the subject
Wikipedia entry on the subject
London Times Online topic site, great information of all sorts.
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