The Shadow of the Wind

The Shadow of the Wind
  - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

You adore some books for their beautiful language, and love some for their amazing plot. What do you call one that combines both in a magnificent work? - The Shadow of the Wind!! It is the best work of fiction I have come across in a while, and whatever I write about it cannot do justice to the sentiments it invoked.

The book starts off with a scene that embodies the stuff that a book-lover’s dreams are made of – the hero Daniel (then a mere boy, all of ten years old) is introduced by his father to ‘The Cemetery of Forgotten Books’ – an ancient, mysterious place that is a labyrinth of passages, tunnels and bridges, housing rows upon rows of bookshelves, full of books rescued from libraries and bookshops that had closed down. The books are living souls, forgotten by time, and this magical place is their secret sanctuary, until they find a new reader’s love.

“In the shop we buy and sell them, but in truth books have no owner. Every book that you see here has been somebody's best friend.”

This is a book about books, and a story within a story.  On his first visit, Daniel is allowed to choose a book to make his own and cherish forever. The book titled “The Shadow of the Wind” is written by an unknown writer named Julian Carax; it makes a deep impression on his young mind, and the insatiable curiosity and passion it ignites in him marks the course of his entire life from there on. He makes it his life’s mission to find and read other books by this author, and to learn about the fate of the author himself. However, Daniel finds that rarely anyone has heard of the author, and his books are impossible to find. As the events progress, Daniel collects bitter and sweet experiences of life – love and heart-break, fear and friendship, and grows up from a boy into a young man. As he proceeds with his quest to unravel the mystery surrounding Julian, he uncovers stories of/from people who had been a close part of Julian’s life, but each tale leads him into a new mystery. His search inadvertently sets off a sequence of disastrous events, and he himself gets entrenched into a web of things that he has no knowledge about.

“It’s a story of love, of hatred, and of the dreams that live in the shadow of the wind.”

The way the plot unfolds is simply delightful - many inter-woven tales with a multi-layered mystery – you peel one layer, only to find another one underneath. The manner in which Daniel’s life starts taking a parallel course to that of Julian, and eventually becomes closely intertwined is marvelous. The suspense builds up gradually and steadily, and these stories keep one engaged and intrigued. The revelation is not sudden as is typical of suspense thrillers, rather it also builds up as a story and tapers down to tie up all the threads. Though I feel that this was somewhat long-drawn, and could have been crisper.

The imagery is rich and vivid, wonderfully conveying the feel of fascinating buildings and squares of Barcelona, as well as the despair of the war-torn city. The prose is lyrical and the language enchanting, and all of this comes together to create a wonderful feeling of magical realism. It is a treasure house of phrases and quotes – the kind that you can keep turning in your mind again and again and still be captivated by their beauty.

“In my schoolboy reveries, we were always two fugitives riding on the spine of a book, eager to escape into worlds of fiction and secondhand dreams.”

“Books are mirrors: you only see in them what you already have inside you.”

“The moment you stop to think about whether you love someone, you've already stopped loving that person forever.”

“There are few reasons for telling the truth, but for lying the number is infinite.”

 “A secret's worth depends on the people from whom it must be kept.”

 “. . .sometimes one feels freer speaking to a stranger than to people one knows. Why is that?" “Probably because a stranger sees us the way we are, not as he wishes to think we are.”

“Presents are made for the pleasure of who gives them, not the merits of who receives them.”

The nurse knew that those who really love, love in silence, with deeds and not with words.”

“In this world the only opinion that holds court is prejudice.”

To be honest, I had guessed the suspense or the suspect quite early on, but I kept hovering between certainty and uncertainty of my guess. But the point is that even if you get it right, it doesn’t really matter, because what is important is the story, which will keep you hooked. I can speak for myself – I found it impossible to put down, and one Saturday when I didn’t have other pressing demands (like work ;-)), I read almost non-stop for 8 hours.

I feel that it is a great example of story-telling, it sways your thoughts in one direction or other, and you may turn out to be right or wrong. At some point, I had even anticipated paranormal elements. Another thing I loved about the book is that the underlying stories are an integral part of the whole – unlike several other books I have come across in recent times, where the sub-plots are either deliberate red-herrings or dead-ends.

To sum up: a fast-paced narrative, wonderful plot, beautiful language, sprinkled with subtle humor throughout – a thoroughly enjoyable read!