Title: The Shadow of the Wind
Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafón
First published: 2001
Add it: Goodreads, Book Depository
Rating: ★★★★★
I knew I'd love this book, and I did. And I love it when I'm not disappointed :) It is a mystery set in a post-civil war Barcelona, which is dark, dangerous and irresistible. This mystery revolves around a book and it goes a couple of generations back, to the beginning of the century. There is love, murder, betrayal and some wonderful characters besides (and I mean Fermin here, of course :))
The story is anything but realistic or believable, and the characters don't seem real too, but somehow it didn't irritate me at all. It reads like fantasy, although the setting is real, and I was willing to accept any improbable plot turns. Speaking of the setting, Barcelona is portrayed beautifully, and I longed to return to it every time I opened the book. I visited it a couple of years ago, but only for a day, and it is certainly not enough to see everything! But it helped me to imagine the scenery of the story and added to my experience.
In my book:
A very entertaining and captivating book, if only you are ready for something unfeasible :)
I too am not doing the readathon. :D But I did do a lot of housecleaning today and I'm going to go finish Maidenhair in a bit...
ReplyDeleteI had very similar experience with this book. Even though there were potentially irritable aspects about the story, the overall package was well done and atmospheric that they did not irritate me :) I didn't like female characters that much but Fermin was indeed pretty fantastic.
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