Book #15: The Shadow of the Wind

February has officially begun! I'm 1/12th of the way through my time limit to read my height in books, and I am, frankly, flying through it. Reading is the best release for me mentally right now. It is pure escapism and allows me to flee the horrors that 2021 is flinging at us all.

I began February halfway through book number 15, which was a recommendation from Leah, who I used to work with. It came to me with the highest of recommendation, so of course, I bought it! I had absolutely no idea what to expect, a glance at the cover when ordering it gave nothing away, but with a rating of 4.8/5 on google and 4.3/5 on goodreads, I knew it would be good.

Good doesn't even come close, it was utterly brilliant, a remarkable read, as I found myself drawn more and more into the book, forcing myself to put it down, so that I could savour it that little bit longer. That said, I got through this book in a little over 4 days! At over 500 pages, this was the biggest book of the challenge to date, but it was just so effortless to read that it didn't matter to me.

So the book; it follows a boy (aged 10 at the start, but time advances in the book, and by the end he is 18) named Daniel, who is introduced to the Cemetery of Lost Books in 1945's Barcelona. Here he gets to 'adopt' a book that has been completely forgotten by the world. The book he chooses 'The Shadow of the Wind' strikes with him immediately, and he seeks out other books by its author, Julian Carax. That's basically the plot in a nutshell. Daniel's quest over the next few years sees him delve deeper and deeper into Carax's life, and stirs up a hornets nest of vendettas and mysteries which threaten not only his life, but the lives of others around him.

I'm not sure what I'd class the book as in terms of a genre, it's a murder mystery, a thriller with a hint of gothic novelisation in there. Add to that a deluge of culture and the colour of post-war Barcelona, rebuilding itself after the civil war. As the novel progresses and we discover more about the mysterious Julian Carax, we see how Daniel's life mirrors the early life of Julian.

Zafon paints a beautiful picture of Barcelona, and really captures the feelings of the period, of the uncertainty and differing factions of the anti-fascists and the anti-communists, of how some people freely switched allegiances to ensure that their climb to power was successful, and the wonderful characterisation of all of the cast. Daniel is painted, not as a genius who knows exactly what to do, but with a naivety that his young years would have. He is an utterly convincing teenage boy, not knowing about girls, his encounters along the way are awkward and utterly relatable, and displays a compassion that is, sadly lacking in todays world.

The conclusion of the book, I will admit, I think I saw coming, it took me a while to work it out, but as the pieces started to fall into place earlier in the book, it started to become clear. I wasn't 100% sure if I were right, but the conclusion was, for me utterly satisfying.

There were some flaws in the book, but they really didn't spoil anything for me, and I don't think they'd really spoil them for anyone else, unless you're really boring and look for flaws. In that case you're boring and need a hobby!

I would definitely recommend this book for anyone who has the patience to read over 500 pages, even if you don't have that patience, I still would. It was a beautifully written book, and made me want to enter its world, to discover the Cemetery of Lost Books...

The Shadow of the Wind: 5cm

Total read so far: 15 books, 41.5cm

Total left to read: 151.5cm (less than 5 foot to go!)