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| The Shadow of the Wind | 
 enlarge | Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Category: Book
List Price: £16.99
Buy Used: £4.67
You Save: £12.32 (73%)
New (2) from £218.14
Avg. Customer Rating:  384 reviews
Sales Rank: 262774
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 403
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.7
ISBN: 029784752X
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780297847526
ASIN: 029784752X
Publication Date: May 27, 2004
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: SUPER FAST SHIPPING, DISPATCHED SAME DAY FROM UK WAREHOUSE. NO NEED TO WAIT FOR BOOKS FROM USA. GREAT BOOK IN GOOD OR BETTER CONDITION. MORE GREAT BARGAINS IN OUR ZSHOP. amazon.co.uk/shops/awesome_books_001
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| Customer Reviews: Read 379 more reviews...
 A couple of minor faults but otherwise enjoyable November 4, 2008
Let me start with the good points. The concept behind this book is quiet brilliant, the writing at times is very poetic an poignant and one cannot but compare with ones own life and maybe feel that things could have and can be done better. Barcelona also is a star character.
However, I have a few minor problems with this novel. It is overly sentimental and at times reads like Mills and Boon trash. It could easily have been 100-150 pages shorter and is very slow to get going. The coincidences or is it fate at times are all a bit much. The may be the authors plan but to me it detracts from a clever storyline. Things do not always have to be tidied up to this degree.
Overall, please read and make up your own mind. This book is not time wasted however I do feel it is shame that it never quiet fulfilled its potential to be truly great.
 AMAZING! October 28, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I literally cannot put into words how great this book is! My favourite of the year at least and one of my all time favourites! Buy it, read it, enjoy!
 Disappointed at the last October 14, 2008
I read this book 2 years ago so this isnt the most thorough book review you will read. Save to say I was gripped by the story and characters, it was beautifully written, atmospheric, subtle, haunting, gothic perhaps, with interesting characters especially seen through a child's eyes. A book however definately written for grown ups. But oh the twist, completely guessable, its been done soooo many times. A real disappointment, such an original piece of work spoiled by a totally unoriginal history or 'twist'. Having said all that, I thinks it's still worth the read.
It has a bit of everything and utterly swept me away September 26, 2008
This is certainly one of the best, most compelling and most memorable books I have ever read.
It begins with a ten year old boy, Daniel Sempere, being taken to an old building in Barcelona by his father. There the secret existence of a huge, inspiring labyrinth library calld the Cemetery of Forgotten Books is revealed to him. He must choose a book, one of these ancient volumes, to treasure and protect for the rest of his life. Strangely drawn to its title, he eventually picks out 'The Shadow of the Wind' by Julian Carax. Reading it in one night, he knows he made the right choice and that in a way, the book chose him.
However, all is not well in Daniel's world. There is suddenly a lot of unwanted interest in Daniel's book, with both friends and strangers showing a sinister kind of fascination with the novel and its author. He begins to realise that there must be a deeper story, buried in history and the city itself, behind this particular novel and the life of Julian Carax.
As he discovers more about Carax and his work, the mystery deepens. Terrifying people - a disfigured menace and a psychopathic police officer - seem determined to get hold of the book, no matter what the cost in terms of money or even lives. Local myth tells of a man posing as Carax's fictional Devil, stealing any Carax novels he can get his hands on and burning them as he goes.
As Daniel's life continues, more and more characters are introduced, their stories interweaving to gradually build up his - and the reader's - knowledge of Carax and the tragedies of his life and the lives of those close to him. The parallels between Daniel and Julian, and between their lives, become more and more significant, building to a wrenching and incredibly gripping climax when the truth comes out and everything converges in one crashing, terrifying wave of realisation before receding into a conclusive and poignant end.
Set in Barcelona under Franco's violent reign, the city is as much of a character as Daniel himself, coming to life in Zafon's novel as an entity in its own right. The streets are full of vibrance, and the characters reflect every human trait from love, to terror, to humour. The passages describing the place of books in a person's life, and the importance of keeping works of literature alive, were particularly inspiring.
This is one of those books that you will be devastated to finish, and will require some time to digest before you can even contemplate moving onto your next read - one to savour and mull over deliciously!
So near and yet..... September 25, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
For me the sum of its parts do not add up to the intrigue of the novel's basic premise.
It's a good read, occasionally a riveting read, with some really interesting characters, plots and sub-plots and yet there is something intangible that prevents me from saying this was a truly great read. I felt somewhat let down at the end and I really can't explain why? Perhaps the blistering start to the novel raised my expectations above and beyond the realms of reason, but towards the end the twists and turns seemed formulaic even signposted.
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