Ratings268
Average rating4.1
I still remember the day my father took me to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books for the first time...
Barcelona, 1945: A city slowly heals in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, and Daniel, an antiquarian book dealer’s son who mourns the loss of his mother, finds solace in a mysterious book entitled The Shadow of the Wind, by one Julián Carax. But when he sets out to find the author’s other works, he makes a shocking discovery: someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book Carax has written. In fact, Daniel may have the last of Carax’s books in existence. Soon Daniel’s seemingly innocent quest opens a door into one of Barcelona’s darkest secrets—an epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love.
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Un amanecer de 1945, un muchacho es conducido por su padre a un misterioso lugar oculto en el corazón de la ciudad vieja: el Cementerio de los Libros Olvidados. Allí, Daniel Sempere encuentra un libro maldito que cambia el rumbo de su vida y le arrastra a un laberinto de intrigas y secretos enterrados en el alma oscura de la ciudad. La Sombra del Viento es un misterio literario ambientado en la Barcelona de la primera mitad del siglo xx, desde los últimos esplendores del Modernismo hasta las tinieblas de la posguerra.
Aunando las técnicas del relato de intriga y suspense, la novela histórica y la comedia de costumbres, La Sombra del Viento es sobre todo una trágica historia de amor cuyo eco se proyecta a través del tiempo. Con gran fuerza narrativa, el autor entrelaza tramas y enigmas a modo de muñecas rusas en un inolvidable relato sobre los secretos del corazón y el embrujo de los libros cuya intriga se mantiene hasta la última página.
Todavía recuerdo aquel amanecer en que mi padre me llevó por primera vez a visitar El Cementerio de los Libros Olvidados.
Featured Series
1 primary bookThe Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #1 is a 1-book series first released in 2014 with contributions by Carlos Ruiz Zafón.
Reviews with the most likes.
Really strong writing with a gripping plot but much too long for the story. The writer kept adding more and more details that seemed unimportant and made my attention wander.
I generally do enjoy the writing style, despite some odd passages which I'll provide the benefit of the doubt due to translation. There's an incredible gothic atmosphere, elevated by the often lovely descriptions and utter commitment to the goofy ass plot. But on that topic... this had zero grip on me aside from aesthetic appreciation. While cliches are not an inherent issue, this felt quite uninspired. And it should be telling that I'm a sucker for many of the devices here - like, the idea of the cemetery per se is completely up my alley. I just didn't enjoy the characters I guess? The protagonist was uninteresting enough plus some side characters made me want to chuck the book at the wall, in simple terms. Plus if my thick head can easily predict the “twist”, you know it's incredibly blatant.
In short - superficially quite neat yet the melodrama and storyline don't work for me. Feel like if I read this a while back I could've loved it, so I'm disappointed I didn't leap at the bandwagon sooner. Oh well.
Pocos libros me obsesionan, pocos son los que logran robarme el sueño y este libro logró lo que no sentía hace tiempo.
Las palabras de Ruiz Zafón son espectaculares, se puede sentir que cada palabra ha sido escrita con una maestría y genialidad única que sólo vi en autores clásicos. Su narración es hermosa y la historia es cautivadora, tanto como lo fue “La sombra del viento” (Julián Carax) para Daniel Sempere. Además, con este libro, uno revive el amor por los libros y de pronto, uno recuerda que son más que pedazos de papel, sino, como dice el mismo autor: son espejos.
This was overwritten for my taste. I put it down a few times. The prose is pretty, but I tired of it by the end of the book. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood. But it typically doesn't take me a week to finish a book of this type.
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