A well-crafted and imaginative novel that leans more toward an adventure tale than a crime story at times. The characters—though occasionally exaggerated—add to the book’s rich, almost magical atmosphere.
More about the book
It is 1945 and Barcelona is enduring the long aftermath of civil war when Daniel Sempere's bookseller father decides his son is old enough to visit the secret Cemetery of Forgotten Books. There Daniel must 'adopt' a single book, promising to care for it and keep it alive always. His choice falls on The Shadow of the Wind. Bewitched, he embarks on an epic quest to find the truth about Julian Carax, the book's mysterious author. Soon Daniel is consumed by strange discoveries about love and obsession, art and life, and how they become entangled within the shadow world of books. The Shadow of the Wind is a mesmerising love story and literary thriller, which twists and turns and enthrals with its cast of vengeful souls, threatening spectres and innocent hearts.