The novel takes place in post-war Barcelona between 1945 and 1966. It opens with an old bookseller taking his son, Daniel,
to the "Cemetary of forgotten books", a hidden library of Borgian proportians where old and obscure books are taken. In this way they will always be kept alive. A nice thought for a book addict like myself.
The custom is that on visiting for the first time a guest must choose a book for which they will then take responsibility for the rest of their life, ensuring that it remains safe. Daniel chooses "The shadow of the wind" by Julián Carax. On reading it he becomes enamoured of the writing and begins to
search for more books by the mysterious Carax. His search leads to generous offers for the book, which Daniel always turns down, and the appearance of a strange character, Laín Coubert, who seems intent on the destruction of all of Carax's works.
Slowly but surely Daniel is drawn into a story of love, betrayal and murder. At the same time it seems that his life is following a similar path as he is first betrayed by a childhood crush, then later as the sadistic Fumero enters his life, seemingly bent on the destruction of Daniel's life and that of the people he cares about.
The story is well crafted and, although it could take place anywhere, the Barcelona described by the author has a much older feel about it. I was constantly surprised at the mention of modern cars and utilites. Although there are plot twists there is no great surprise at the end when all is revealed. The reader feels as if he is conducting investigations alongside Daniel, although perhaps with the benefit of a little more knowledge, so rather than feeling frustrated that he has not reached the same conclusions one feels more inclined to urge him on in the right direction.
"The shadow of the wind" is Zafón's first novel for
Adults, his previous four books being for young adults and, as far as I can tell, remaining untranslated into English. It is billed as being the first in a series of four based in Barcelona. I look forward to reading the second.