Advanced
Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Title details for The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon - Wait list

The Shadow of the Wind

#1 in series

by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Jonathan Davis
Audiobook
0 of 2 copies available
Wait time: About 9 weeks
Place a hold Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
0 of 2 copies available
Wait time: About 9 weeks
Barcelona, 1945—just after the war, a great world city lies in shadow, nursing its wounds, and a boy named Daniel awakes on his eleventh birthday to find that he can no longer remember his mother’s face. To console his only child, Daniel’s widowed father, an antiquarian book dealer, initiates him into the secret of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a library tended by Barcelona’s guild of rare-book dealers as a repository for books forgotten by the world, waiting for someone who will care about them again. Daniel’s father coaxes him to choose a volume from the spiraling labyrinth of shelves, one that, it is said, will have a special meaning for him. And Daniel so loves the novel he selects, The Shadow of the Wind by one Julian Carax, that he sets out to find the rest of Carax’s work. To his shock, he discovers that someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book this author has written. In fact, he may have the last one in existence. Before Daniel knows it his seemingly innocent quest has opened a door into one of Barcelona’s darkest secrets, an epic story of murder, magic, madness and doomed love. And before long he realizes that if he doesn’t find out the truth about Julian Carax, he and those closest to him will suffer horribly.
As with all astounding novels, The Shadow of the Wind sends the mind groping for comparisons—The Crimson Petal and the White? The novels of Arturo Pérez-Reverte? Of Victor Hugo? Love in the Time of Cholera?—but in the end, as with all astounding novels, no comparison can suffice. As one leading Spanish reviewer wrote, “The originality of Ruiz Zafón’s voice is bombproof and displays a diabolical talent. The Shadow of the Wind announces a phenomenon in Spanish literature.” An uncannily absorbing historical mystery, a heart-piercing romance, and a moving homage to the mystical power of books, The Shadow of the Wind is a triumph of the storyteller’s art.

  • Creators

  • Series

    Cemetery of Forgotten Books

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    January 1, 2005

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781101975954
      • File size: 521144 KB
      • Duration: 18:05:42

  • Languages

    • English

  • Levels

    • Lexile® Measure: 990
    • Text Difficulty: 5-7

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Carlos Ruiz Zaf—n has written a masterful novel of hope, mystery, and love, made more superb on audio. Originally written in Spanish, the story begins when young Daniel no longer remembers his mother's face, and his father takes him to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. There he finds THE SHADOW OF THE WIND, a novel by Julian Carax. Enchanted by the book, Daniel embarks on a search for other works by Carax, and eventually for Carax himself. During his quest, Daniel becomes enveloped in murder, intrigue, and love. Jonathan Davis's reading is brilliant, and the book is a certain Audie Award nominee. Davis uses a light, but effective, Spanish accent, offering the listener a remarkable sense of authenticity. Davis imbues Daniel with a mix of reverence and innocence that shines through every word. The audiobook also contains periodic musical accompaniment, composed by Zaf—n, that works surprisingly well. THE SHADOW OF THE WIND has been translated into 20 languages; with its translation into English, American readers can share the beauty of what is destined to be a literary classic. D.J.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      February 16, 2004
      Ruiz Zafón's novel, a bestseller in his native Spain, takes the satanic touches from Angel Heart
      and stirs them into a bookish intrigue à la Foucault's Pendulum
      . The time is the 1950s; the place, Barcelona. Daniel Sempere, the son of a widowed bookstore owner, is 10 when he discovers a novel, The Shadow of the Wind
      , by Julián Carax. The novel is rare, the author obscure, and rumors tell of a horribly disfigured man who has been burning every copy he can find of Carax's novels. The man calls himself Laín Coubert—the name of the devil in one of Carax's novels. As he grows up, Daniel's fascination with the mysterious Carax links him to a blind femme fatale with a "porcelain gaze," Clara Barceló; another fan, a leftist jack-of-all-trades, Fermín Romero de Torres; his best friend's sister, the delectable Beatriz Aguilar; and, as he begins investigating the life and death of Carax, a cast of characters with secrets to hide. Officially, Carax's dead body was dumped in an alley in 1936. But discrepancies in this story surface. Meanwhile, Daniel and Fermín are being harried by a sadistic policeman, Carax's childhood friend. As Daniel's quest continues, frightening parallels between his own life and Carax's begin to emerge. Ruiz Zafón strives for a literary tone, and no scene goes by without its complement of florid, cute and inexact similes and metaphors (snow is "God's dandruff"; servants obey orders with "the efficiency and submissiveness of a body of well-trained insects"). Yet the colorful cast of characters, the gothic turns and the straining for effect only give the book the feel of para-literature or the Hollywood version of a great 19th-century novel. (Apr. 12)

      Forecast:
      Appealing packaging (a weathered, antique-look jacket), prepublication bookseller events and an eight-city author tour should give this an early boost, though momentum may flag down the stretch.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • Lexile® Measure:990
  • Text Difficulty:5-7

Loading