The Shadow of the Wind
by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
translated by Lucia Graves

Overall La Sombra del Viento or The Shadow of the Wind is a good book considering the literary style and flow. But at times there is over treatment of describing things to the finest detail. The story is interwined with many little stories. A speculative reader gets the complete picture as the same events are narrated from different people.

The story is about a boy, Daniel Sempere, who gets a copy of "The Shadow of the Wind" (yes - it bears the same name as the author's book) from his father's Cemetery bookshop and how his interest in find the book's author, Julian Carax (not Carlos!!) leads him through emotional trails along his journey to revelation. The story also outlines the growth of Daniel from a child to an adolescent.

In his journey, Daniel finds a disturbed police officer Fumero, who is blood thirsty on his early childhood friends. Fumero is desperate to eliminate all of them especially Julian, as it was Julian who stole Penelope from him. Most women in the novel - Daniel's childhood crush Clara, Daniel's wife Bea, Julian Carax's wife Penelope, Julian's mother Sophie Carax, Miquel Moliner's wife and Julian's girlfriend Nuria all engage in affairs whose activities are put in celebrated detail. At times humour reveals in the form of the know-all Daniel's guru Fermin who works at Daniel's father's bookshop.

In short, it is a good story if not a great one and considering all the elements it will probably make a good movie.

Links :
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Book Review from MostlyFiction.com