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The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #1)

Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Start date: May 1, 2021

Finish date: May 31, 2021

Discussion: Buddy Reads

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Showing 2 of -2 topics — 786 comments total

Buddy Reads

* Buddy Reads 2025
By Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ Jenn Ƹ̴… , Founding Retro Chick · 128 posts · 22 views

last updated Aug 03, 2025 05:15AM

* Historical Fiction Timeline Tag
By Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ Jenn Ƹ̴… , Founding Retro Chick · 208 posts · 25 views

last updated Sep 06, 2025 05:56PM

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What Members Thought

Apr 27, 2017 Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin rated it it was ok · review of another edition

*****VERY UNPOPULAR OPINION TIME*****

The majority of my friends love this book to death but I didn't. Some of my friends didn't love it so I don't feel so alone thank goodness.

I tried reading the paperback awhile back and put it down. Then I picked it up again and the beginning was so good. I thought we were going to go on some kind of crazy journey when I read about the cemetery of forgotten books. It just never went where I thought it might go.

I finally got the audio version on Overdrive and ...more

126 likes · Like · see review

Aug 31, 2020 Maureen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, rcsummer-challenge

“I STILL REMBER THE DAY MY FATHER TOOK ME TO THE CEMETERY OF THE
FORGOTTEN BOOKS for the first time. It was the early summer of 1945, and we walked through the streets of a Barcelona trapped beneath ashen skies as dawn poured over Rambla de Santa Monica in a wealth of liquid copper.”

Daniel was ten years old when his father, a book dealer takes him to the Cemetery of the Forgotten Books. Daniel is to choose any book he wants but must adopt it as his own. Daniel chooses The Shadow of the Wind by Ju ...more

27 likes · Like · see review

Jun 24, 2010 Tasha rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction, gothic-ghost, favorites-2021

Loved this story! Beautifully written, engaging story line and very interesting characters. It is definitely a book you can get lost in.

Reread May 2021, on audio this time. Still as good as the first time. The only thing I can say about the audio that was a challenge is keeping all the characters straight in my head. Other than that, the beautiful writing comes through as a beautiful story over audio.

12 likes · Like · see review

Nov 04, 2008 Book Concierge rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own, suspense, book-club, books-about-books, concierge, library, spain

I cannot begin to describe this book. It is passionate and thought-provoking, intelligent and emotional, full of love, lust, political intrigue, interwoven plots and twists & turns everywhere. The ending is satisfactory without being "too neatly" tied up. The writing is full of wonderful description (it does have a decidedly "Spanish" feel). Makes me wish I understood Spanish well enough to read it in the original.

In short, this is a great story, well-written. The "art of reading" is NOT dying ...more

9 likes · Like · see review

Aug 15, 2024 Theresa rated it really liked it

Shelves: ghost-story, coming-of-age, historicals-mystery-and-romance, gothic, series, books-libraries-bookstores, history, historical-fiction, z-pop-sugar-2021-reading-challenge, first-in-a-series

Review restored 8/16/24
I found myself immersed in the gothic section of Barcelona mid-20th century. The Spanish Civil War is ending but WWII has its grip through the story, as well as the rise of Franco's dictatorship and all the arrests, bloodshed and chaos that ensued. These are dark times in Spain, especially it seems in Barcelona. In the midst of all this, a 10 year old boy and his father, still mourning the mother's death, visit the mysterious Cemetery of Forgotten Books where Daniel gets t Review restored 8/16/24
I found myself immersed in the gothic section of Barcelona mid-20th century. The Spanish Civil War is ending but WWII has its grip through the story, as well as the rise of Franco's dictatorship and all the arrests, bloodshed and chaos that ensued. These are dark times in Spain, especially it seems in Barcelona. In the midst of all this, a 10 year old boy and his father, still mourning the mother's death, visit the mysterious Cemetery of Forgotten Books where Daniel gets to pick a book to keep and remember. He picks The Shadow of the Wind by Julian Carax. It's a dark gothic adventure and Daniel loves it so much, he starts looking for more of his books only to find that someone has been systematically destroying Carax' ouevre. This is the story of Daniel's many year quest to find out more about Carax and his works, as well as the story of Danie's own coming-of-age.

It is GOTHic! There is atmosphere galore - gloomy alleys, misty early mornings, bigger-than-life characters, crumbling mansions, dark secrets, an asylum/hospital/nursing home that rivals Bedlam for horror, ghostly happenings. There are also love stories and wonderful characters like Fermin.
It is complex, a many layered story with Ruiz Zafon taking his time to tell the story.

And yet....

I found myself dis-engaged from the story at various times, too many times. I foresaw every single major reveal long before all is disclosed by the author thus leaving no real surprises. I did not necessarily see the complex pieces fitting around all the reveals but none of those surprised me once seen either. Too much was predictable and inevitable. The book goes on too long and in too many ways is too predictable to sustain nearly 500 pages.

So why am I giving it 4 stars? Well I actually have rounded up from 3.5 stars because:
1. It is well-written, nicely complex, with a lovely balance of history.
2. Strong sense of place (at the back of the book there's a walking tour map of Barcelona with all the real places used in the story - I've now added that to my travel wish list!)
3. Great atmosphere and capturing the essence of gothic story writing.
4. Great characters. Fermin alone would have me reading the rest of the trilogy.
5. It revolves around books and writing, in a very central way.
6. Did I mention the walking-tour of Barcelona? ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Aug 06, 2014 Kris (My Novelesque Life) rated it really liked it

3.5 STARS

"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 ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Oct 08, 2011 Nancy rated it liked it

Shelves: 2013-books

3.5 stars
There were parts in this book that I loved and parts that I hated. The overall story was good but it was too complicated. There were too many times when I had to go back to verify or remember something that had happened earlier. Also parts of the story were told over and over from different voices. Overall too much redundancy.

1 like · Like · see review

May 25, 2021 ˜”*°•.˜”*°• Sheri •°*”˜.•°*”˜ rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery

I enjoyed this novel. It is very well written and plotted. The suspense and intrigue start immediately with this book, and the level of excitement continues throughout the novel. I wanted to give it 5 stars but the way the women are depicted bothered me.

1 like · Like · see review

Jul 22, 2011 Kelly marked it as to-read

Feb 01, 2015 Candi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, mystery-crime

32 likes · Like

Sep 15, 2011 Robin P rated it really liked it

1 like · Like

Mar 18, 2014 Taylor rated it it was amazing

Shelves: reread, book-club

Apr 10, 2019 Samantha rated it liked it

Jun 05, 2025 Elsbeth rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: mini-bieb

1 like · Like

Nov 14, 2015 Allison marked it as to-read

Shelves: pick-it-for-me

Nov 12, 2019 MaureenAnn marked it as to-read

Shelves: tbr-physical-books

May 21, 2021 Sharmon rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, bb-bom, audio, rcc-selection, 2021

Jul 01, 2013 Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ Jenn Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ Schu marked it as to-read

Shelves: historical-fiction

May 07, 2021 Bianca marked it as wishlist

Jul 10, 2015 Celia rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction-read, kindle-list, bookey, well-read-world-lit, gilmore, translated, vero-book-club, travel, book-about-books, reading-the-wrld

2 likes · Like