The Shadow of the Wind
This novel is the story of a young boy named Daniel who with his father visits a secret bookstore in Barcelona named the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. Daniel comes across a book entitled The Shadow of the Wind and later becomes so enthralled with the story that he wants to meet its author. Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s book is based on an intriguing search for that author, Julian Carax, and several scandalous romances mixed with tragedies.
Daniel’s main helper in his search is a beggar he befriends named Fermin. Fermin is being sought by Fumero, an antagonistic police investigator who works by laws of his own. But Julian Carax is no longer to be found in Barcelona. He escaped to Paris after the father of his girlfriend Penelope threatened him. Rumors also spread that Julian’s own father had disowned him. One person Daniel meets who might know the author’s whereabouts is Lain Coubert. He is a mysterious man who named himself after an evil character in The Shadow of the Wind, and now he wants to destroy all books Julian Carax has written. Daniel’s other informant is Nuria, a young woman who wanted to take the place of Penelope in Julian’s life.
Much of the action in the story takes place in Barcelona at the Aldays mansion, before and after it becomes deserted. Oddly enough, it is at this mansion where Daniel’s romance seems to parallel Julian’s, but many years later and with a different result.
The Shadow of the Wind is translated from the original in Spanish and is easy to understand. Yet, some readers may question Zafon’s frequent pages of italics and a letter of memoirs which is 13 chapters long. The copyright date of this book is 2001.