If you haven’t read Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, then you need to do so immediately. This book is made for book lovers. I was reminded of Dickens’ Great Expectations time and time again, with all the memorable characters and the mysterious plot that keeps you on your toes. It is so beautifully written, case in point when Daniel visits the Cemetery of Forgotten books he is told, “Every book, every volume, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it. Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens.” Or if that doesn’t convince you, how about this one? “Few things leave a deeper mark than the first book that finds its way into [your] heart. Those first images, the echo of words we think have left behind, accompany us throughout our lives and sculpt a place in our memory to which, sooner or later- no matter how many books we read, how many worlds we discover, or how much we learn or forget- we will return.” Now that is beautiful writing that speaks to the reader in all of us.
Brief Summary: On Daniel’s tenth birthday his father takes him to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books where Daniel is to find the one book which belongs to him. Daniel chooses, or rather it chooses him, The Shadow of the Wind by Julian Carax. When Daniel sets out to find more of Carax’s novels he discovers that they all have disappeared. In fact, it seems as though someone has taken it upon himself to burn all existing copies of Carax’s work. Intrigued by this, Daniel begins investigating the life of Julian Carax, which proves to be full of mystery and secrets. What follows is a tale of mystery, love and passion which will “sculpt a place in our memory” for years and years to come.
State of Denmark 