Alphabet Authors ~ R is for Ruiz Zafón

I found this idea on Simon's blog @ Stuck in a Book. He picks an author for each letter of the alphabet, sharing which of their books he's read, which I ones he owns, how he came across them etc.

I might not do it exactly as he does but I will try to get to all the letters of the alphabet over time.

Carlos Ruiz Zafón was a wonderful author. From the moment that I read his book "The Shadow of the Wind", the first of his Cemetery of Forgotten Books series, I was hooked. I read all of his novels, whether they were written for young adults or adults, they were all fantastic. And I'm not even a big fan of fantasy or anything like that. But his stories were just fascinating. He left us far too early.

- "The Shadow of the Wind" (E: La sombra del viento - El cementerio de los libros olvidados #1) - 2001
- "The Angel's Game" (E: El juego del ángel - El cementerio de los libros olvidados #2) - 2008

- "The Prisoner of Heaven" (E: El prisionero del cielo - El cementerio de los libros olvidados #3) - 2011
- "The Labyrinth of the Spirits" (E: El laberinto de los espíritus - El cementerio de los libros olvidados #4) - 2016
- "The City of Mist" (E: La Ciudad de Vapor - El cementerio de los libros olvidados #5) - 2020

- "Gaudí in Manhattan" (E: La Mujer de Vapor) - Gaudí in Manhattan - 2009
- "Marina" (E: Marina) - 1999
- "The Midnight Palace" (El Palacio de la Medianoche) - 1994
- "The Prince of Mist" (E: El príncipe de la niebla) - 1993
- "Watcher in the Shadows" (E: Las luces de Septiembre) - 1995

Facts about Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Born    25 September 1964 Barcelona, Spain

Died    19 June 2020 (aged 55) Los Angeles, California, United States

He received many prizes, i.a. the French Best Foreign Book Prize, the Canadian Prix de Associations des Libraires du Québec, the British Nielsen Award as well as the Ottakar's Award, the Spanish Protagonistas Award.

If he had lived longer, he might have even received the Nobel Prize for Literature.

His works have been translated into more than 50 different languages.
Because there are so many fans of his Cemetery of Forgotten Books series, we can now find plenty of maps of the important story landmarks for any fan who wanted to follow in the footsteps of the book's protagonist, Daniel Sempere. They even offer tours through Barcelona.

Here is Carlos Ruiz Zafóns homepage.

* * *

This is part of an ongoing series where I will write about a different author for each letter of the alphabet. You can see them all here.

#ThrowbackThursday. More by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

 

Everybody knows Carlos Ruiz Zafón's Cemetery of Forgotten Books. But he has written more books that are just as great. So, if you loved The Shadow of the Wind, The Angel's Game, The Prisoner of Heaven, The Labyrinth of the Spirits and The City of Mist and haven't read any others of his books, there are some surprises wiating for you.

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The Prince of Mist" (E: El príncipe de la niebla) - 1993

A fantastic ghost story, very mystical, very exciting.

A family moves from the city to the beach in order to flee from the war. They move into an old house whose previous owner died. As soon as they arrive, strange things start to happen.

Read my original review here.

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The Midnight Palace" (El Palacio de la Medianoche) - 1994

This story takes place in India. I guess a lot of the story would not have been as plausible in Europe.

Eight young people who are the best of friends, each one of them a hero or heroine in itself, some adults who are also very "good". Lots of twists add to the suspension and if you start reading this book, you might not want to put it down before you have finished it.

Read my original review here.

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "Watcher in the Shadows" (E: Las luces de Septiembre) - 1995

Shadows, Ruiz Zafón loves shadows, it's amazing what he can do with shadows …

A family in France in 1937. After the death of her father, Irene's mother moves with her children from Paris to a remote place in Normandy, a mysterious mansion inhabited by a toymaker who lives there with his sick wife.

Read my original review here.

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "Marina" (E: Marina) - 1999

Even darker than any of his other novels.

Barcelona plays a major role and one gets the idea that it is full of secret and forbidden streets and alleyways that everyone would like to explore.

Óscar and Marina, the protagonists of this story, come across a mysterious character, someone who should have been dead a long time ago.

Read my original review here.

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "Gaudí in Manhattan" (E: La Mujer de Vapor) - Gaudí in Manhattan - 2009

A short story about a young architecture student who can go to New York with his much admired hero Antonio Gaudí.

A magic realism story like no other with some great illustrations and pictures in the booklet.

Read my original review here.

Rest in Peace, Carlos Ruiz Zafón!

Find links to all my other Carlos Ruiz Zafón reviews here.

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The City of Mist"

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The City of Mist" (Spanish: La Ciudad de Vapor) - 2020
(El cementerio de los libros olvidados #5)

Yes, we return to Barcelona, one last journey with a wonderful author who left a big hole in the literary world with his death. His fans can look forward to a last greeting. All stories that fit somewhere in his Cemetery of Forgotten Books. How it came about and what it has contributed to. One or the other story has already been read beforehand, e.g. "Gaudí in Manhattan" or "The Prince of Parnassus" (El Príncipe de Parnaso), but that doesn't detract from the joy of this book.

And if you haven't read the wonderful series yet, you should do so as soon as possible. These short stories are also good for getting in the mood. You can read all of his books in any order, they complement each other well.

From the back cover:

"Return to the mythical Barcelona library known as the Cemetery of Forgotten Books in this posthumous collection of stories from the New York Times bestselling author of The Shadow of the Wind and The Labyrinth of the Spirits.

Bestselling author Carlos Ruiz Zafón conceived of this collection of stories as an appreciation to the countless readers who joined him on the extraordinary journey that began with The Shadow of the Wind. Comprising eleven stories, most of them never before published in English, The City of Mist offers the reader compelling characters, unique situations, and a gothic atmosphere reminiscent of his beloved Cemetery of Forgotten Books quartet.

The stories are mysterious, imbued with a sense of menace, and told with the warmth, wit, and humor of Zafón's inimitable voice. A boy decides to become a writer when he discovers that his creative gifts capture the attentions of an aloof young beauty who has stolen his heart. A labyrinth maker flees Constantinople to a plague-ridden Barcelona, with plans for building a library impervious to the destruction of time. A strange gentleman tempts Cervantes to write a book like no other, each page of which could prolong the life of the woman he loves. And a brilliant Catalan architect named Antoni Gaudí reluctantly agrees to cross the ocean to New York, a voyage that will determine the fate of an unfinished masterpiece.

Imaginative and beguiling, these and other stories in The City of Mist summon up the mesmerizing magic of their brilliant creator and invite us to come dream along with him.

Blanca and the Departure
Nameless
A Young Lady from Barcelona
Rose of Fire
The Prince of Parnassus
A Christmas Tale
Alicia, at Dawn
Men in Grey
Kiss
Gaudí in Manhattan
Two-Minute Apocalypse"

#ThrowbackThursday. The Shadow of the Wind

 

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The Shadow of the Wind" (Spanish: La Sombra del Viento) - 2001
(El cementerio de los libros olvidados #1) 

This was the first novel I read by this wonderful author, Carlos Ruiz Zafón. There were many more to follow, however, there are never enough books if you like someone's writing and we were all very sad about his early passing at the age of 55 in 2020.

This novel and its sequels certainly deserve to be on my list of favourite books ever.

This book is intriguing, exciting, has all the parts a good book should have, an interesting story, a historical background, a description of a great city. And, it's a book about a book, that's always exciting for avid readers.

But I couldn't just remind everyone of this first book in the tetralogy, I really have to mention the other three, as well. The great thing here is, you can read them in any sequence you want.

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The Angel's Game" (E: El juego del ángel - El cementerio de los libros olvidados #2) - 2008
- "The Prisoner of Heaven" (E: El prisionero del cielo - El cementerio de los libros olvidados #3) - 2011
- "The Labyrinth of the Spirits" (E: El laberinto de los espíritus - El cementerio de los libros olvidados #4) - 2016

Find more books by this great author here.

Read more on my original post here. 

Carlos Ruiz Zafón †

This is a sad day for readers.

I was quite shocked when I saw this morning that one of my favourite authors passed away. Carlos Ruiz Zafón, author of some great books, especially "The Cemetary of Forgotten Books" (El cementerio de los libros olvidados) tetralogy.

He had been diagnosed with colon cancer in 2018 and succumbed to it yesterday at the age of only 55.

I was always looking forward to his next one. Now I know there won't be any. Tragic.

According to many, he was "one of the best contemporary novelists", and I totally agree with that. He wrote eight novels which were translated into more than 40 different languages and sold 38 million copies.

He received several literature prizes, unfortunately, the Nobel Prize wasn't among them. What a loss. Maybe you remember, I had suggested him in my Nobel Prize post earlier this year.

Rest in Peace!

Here is my list of his books:
- "Gaudí in Manhattan" (E: La Mujer de Vapor) - Gaudí in Manhattan
- "Marina" (E: Marina)
- "The Angel's Game" (E: El juego del ángel - El cementerio de los libros olvidados #2) 
- "The Labyrinth of the Spirits" (E: laberinto de los espíritus - El cementerio de los libros olvidados #4)
- "The Midnight Palace" (El Palacio de la Medianoche)
- "The Prince of Mist" (E: El príncipe de la niebla)
- "The Prisoner of Heaven" (E: El prisionero del cielo - El cementerio de los libros olvidados #3)  
- "The Shadow of the Wind" (E: La sombra del viento - El cementerio de los libros olvidados #1) *
- "Watcher in the Shadows" (E: Las luces de Septiembre)

And the Nobel Prize for Literature 2018 goes to ….

Word cloud made with WordItOut

As every year, many people look forward to hearing who received the Nobel Prize for Literature this time around. So, today would probably have been the day when they would have announced the newest laureate. Would - if they had elected one.

I will not go into the details why there is no winner this year, I bet everyone has read enough of it in the news. But - what a shame for that to happen to such a prestigious prize. Alfred Nobel is probably turning in his grave.

I love the Nobel Prize for Literature, I have found many great authors that way. What a pity we will not have one this year even if they announced they might choose two in 2019.

Because I was so disappointed, my thoughts were that I have lots of Facebook friends who love reading, so I asked them which would be their choice for a laureate. And here is the list - strictly in alphabetical order. I was happy that someone else also chose my favourite nominee, JCO. I added the books I read of my friends' choices in brackets.

So, Nobel Prize Committee, if you read this, take head.

Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid's Tale; The Blind Assassin, Oryx and Crake)

Coelho, Paulo (Brida, The Alchemist)

Gaiman, Neil

Hays, Edward

Irving, John (A Widow for One Year)

Nesbø, Jo

Oates, Joyce Carol (Big Mouth & Ugly Girl, A Book of American Martyrs, Carthage, Dear Husband, The Falls, The Gravediggers Daughter, Jack of Spades, The Man Without a Shadow, Middle Age, Mudwoman, The Sacrifice, Sexy, We Were the Mulvaneys, A Widow's Story)

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos (The Angel's Game, Gaudí in Manhattan, The Labyrinth of the Spirits, Marina, The Midnight Palace, The Prince of Mist, The Prisoner of Heaven, The Shadow of the Wind, The Watcher of the Shadows)

Of course, I am always happy to add other authors that anyone who reads this might put on their list!

I contribute to this page: Read the Nobels and you can find all my blogs about Nobel Prize winning authors and their books here.

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "Gaudí in Manhattan"

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "Gaudí in Manhattan" (Spanish: La Mujer de Vapor) - 2009

A short story about a young architecture student who can go to New York with his much admired hero Antonio Gaudí. A very short story. But it was by one of my favourite authors, so I had to read it. And it was just as beautiful as his novels. I just don't get why he didn't make it into a whole book.

A rich person offers Gaudí to pay for the rest of the Sagrada Familia and it turns out to be a young woman … or was it all a dream? A magic realism story like no other. Plus, there were some great illustrations and pictures in the booklet.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2023.

From the back cover (translated):

"A young student of architecture accompanies the famous architect to America, where Antonio Gaudí is to receive the order to build a skyscraper. But when they arrive in Manhattan, things take a different course."

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The Labyrinth of the Spirits"

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The Labyrinth of the Spirits" (Spanish: El laberinto de los espíritus) - 2016 
(El cementerio de los libros olvidados #4)

It was a lucky day in 2001 when I first stumbled upon my first book by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. Finally the fourth book in the series of the Cemetery of Forgotten books has been published and was available as a paperback in translation. You can't imagine how I have waited for this.

And I was not disappointed. The fourth novel was just as exciting as the first three that had originally been called a trilogy but - luckily - the author decided to turn it into a tetralogy. Maybe he'll even write a fifth one? No matter what, if he is writing another book, I am going to read it.

We have learned a lot about the family Sempere and the authors they read, their friends and their lives, esp. the lives of the people in Catalonia during the Franco regime. It must have been horrible. But the author manages to describe all the incidents meticulously, with so much detail that you can imagine having been there yourself.

In this novel, he gets behind the scenes of a minister and his evil deeds. The Sempere family is involved again and we also hear about some of the characters from the previous episodes. Apparently, you can read the series in whatever order you want, there is always some information from the other books. I intend to re-read all the other three books soon.

These are the first books in the series:
- "The Shadow of the Wind" (La Sombra del Viento)
- "The Angel’s Game" (El Juego del Ángel)
- "The Prisoner of Heaven" (El Prisionero del Cielo)

From the back cover:

"The internationally acclaimed New York Times bestselling author returns to the magnificent universe he constructed in his bestselling novels The Shadow of the Wind, The Angel’s Game, and The Prisoner of Heaven in this riveting series finale - a heart-pounding thriller and nail-biting work of suspense which introduces a sexy, seductive new heroine whose investigation shines a light on the dark history of Franco’s Spain.

In this unforgettable final volume of Ruiz Zafón’s cycle of novels set in the universe of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, beautiful and enigmatic Alicia Gris, with the help of the Sempere family, uncovers one of the most shocking conspiracies in all Spanish history.

Nine-year-old Alicia lost her parents during the Spanish Civil War when the Nacionales (the fascists) savagely bombed Barcelona in 1938. Twenty years later, she still carries the emotional and physical scars of that violent and terrifying time. Weary of her work as investigator for Spain’s secret police in Madrid, a job she has held for more than a decade, the twenty-nine-year old plans to move on. At the insistence of her boss, Leandro Montalvo, she remains to solve one last case: the mysterious disappearance of Spain’s Minister of Culture, Mauricio Valls.

With her partner, the intimidating policeman Juan Manuel Vargas, Alicia discovers a possible clue - a rare book by the author Victor Mataix hidden in Valls’ office in his Madrid mansion. Valls was the director of the notorious Montjuic Prison in Barcelona during World War II where several writers were imprisoned, including David Martín and Victor Mataix. Traveling to Barcelona on the trail of these writers, Alicia and Vargas meet with several booksellers, including Juan Sempere, who knew her parents.

As Alicia and Vargas come closer to finding Valls, they uncover a tangled web of kidnappings and murders tied to the Franco regime, whose corruption is more widespread and horrifying than anyone imagined. Alicia’s courageous and uncompromising search for the truth puts her life in peril. Only with the help of a circle of devoted friends will she emerge from the dark labyrinths of Barcelona and its history into the light of the future.

In this haunting new novel, Carlos Ruiz Zafón proves yet again that he is a masterful storyteller and pays homage to the world of books, to his ingenious creation of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, and to that magical bridge between literature and our lives."

Favourite quotes:
"You drink to remember, you write to forget." David Martín
and
"The Semperes travelled through books, not the map."

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2022.

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The Midnight Palace"

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The Midnight Palace" (Spanish: El Palacio de la Medianoche) - 1994 (Niebla 2)

Another youth book by Carlos Ruiz Zafón that also deserves being read by adults.

After having read quite a few books by this author about his beloved home city Barcelona, I was surprised to find that this story takes place in India. However, once I started reading, I think I understood why he chose this place. A lot of the story would not have been as plausible in Europe. Not that the story itself was plausible but the real life story was more credible in India than in Spain.

Anyway, as usual, Carlos Ruiz Zafón wrote a wonderful story which kept me in suspension for the whole duration of the book. It reminded me more of a fairy tale than fantasy, maybe that's why I like his writing even though I am not a fan of fantasy in itself. He keeps more in line with the South American writers and their magic realism even though this is time he is quite stretching it.

The beauty of this story is not just the tale itself, no it's the characters, eight young people who are the best of friends, each one of them a hero or heroine in itself, some adults who are also very "good". Lots of twists add to the suspension and if you start reading this book, you might not want to put it down before you have finished it.

Don't tell me I haven't warned you.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2023.

From the back cover:

"1916, Calcutta. A man pauses for breath outside the ruins of Jheeter's Gate station knowing he has only hours to live. Pursued by assassins, he must ensure the safety of two newborn twins, before disappearing into the night to meet his fate. 

1932. Ben and his friends are due to leave the orphanage which has been their home for sixteen years. Tonight will be the final meeting of their secret club, in the old ruin they christened The Midnight Palace. Then Ben discovers he has a sister - and together they learn the tragic story of their past, as a shadowy figures lures them to a terrifying showdown in the ruins of Jheeter's Gate station."

Read about his other books here.

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The Prisoner of Heaven"

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The Prisoner of Heaven" (Spanish: El Prisionero del Cielo) - 2011
(El cementerio de los libros olvidados #3)  

The third book in the series of stories around the Cemetery of Forgotten Books and the Sempere & Sons bookshop after "The Shadow of the Wind" and "The Angel's Game". We see some familiar faces again and go further back in time but also further forward. We meet Daniel Sempere from the former and David Martín from the latter but also their mutual friend Fermín Romero de Torres who is the main character of this novel and whose story before meeting Daniel is told.

Like the two other books, this is a fantastic story. It brings together the characters from the two previous ones, creates the link from one to the other. I really liked that.

I would have liked more visits to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, though. I can't wait for his next book. Get writing, Señor Ruiz Zafón. Please.

From the back cover:

"Barcelona, 1957. It is Christmas, and Daniel Sempere and his wife, Bea, have much to celebrate. They have a beautiful new baby son named Julián, and their close friend Fermín Romero de Torres is about to be wed. But their joy is eclipsed when a mysterious stranger visits the Sempere bookshop and threatens to divulge a terrible secret that has been buried for two decades in the city’s dark past.

His appearance plunges Fermín and Daniel into a dangerous adventure that will take them back to the 1940s and the early days of Franco’s dictatorship. The terrifying events of that time launch them on a search for the truth that will put into peril everything they love, and will ultimately transform their lives."

Within just a few years, Carlos Ruiz Zafón has become one of my favourite authors. Read more about his other books here.

Must learn better Spanish so I can read his books in the original. And I'd love to go to Barcelona and visit all the places. One day I will and then I'll report about it. Watch this space. ;-)

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2022.

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "Marina"

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "Marina" (Spanish: Marina) - 1999

Just as Carlos Ruiz Zafón's other books, "Marina" grips you from the first page. It starts with the end, as the author reveals but it is exciting all the way. This is even darker than any of his other novels.

This book was written before "The Shadow of the Wind" and has only become famous after that big one was such a huge success. Again, Barcelona plays a major role and one gets the idea that it is full of secret and forbidden streets and alleyways that everyone would like to explore.

Óscar and Marina, the protagonists of this story, come across a mysterious character, someone who should have been dead a long time ago. Ruiz Zafón is faithful to his storytelling and doesn't disappoint anyone who has read his later books. Shows how you have to be on all the shelves before you are read. It is a horror story as well as a love story, actually, two love stories, one in the past, the other one in the presence, both beautiful and "forever".

In any case, if you want a short book (only 350 pages) with an exciting story, this is your literature. It's gripping and just brilliant. One of those "unputdownables". I love Carlos Ruiz Zafón's novels and would like to learn Spanish well enough just to be able to read them.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2023.

From the back cover:

"In May 1980, fifteen-year-old Óscar Drei suddenly vanishes from his boarding school in the old quarter of Barcelona. For seven days and nights no one knows his whereabouts. It all began the previous autumn when, while exploring the dilapidated grounds of what seemed to be an abandoned house filled with portraits, he inadvertently stole a gold pocket watch. Thus begins Óscar's friendship with Marina and her father Herman Blau, a portrait painter. Marina takes Óscar to the gardens of the nearby cemetery to watch a macabre ritual that occurs on the fourth Sunday of each month. At 10 a.m., a coach drives up to the cemetery and a woman with her face shrouded, wearing gloves, and holding a single rose is helped down from the coach and walks over to a nameless gravestone, where she sets down the flower, pauses for a moment, and then returns to the coach. The gravestone bears no marking but the outline of a strange-looking butterfly with open wings. On one of their subsequent walks Óscar and Marina spot the same woman and determine to follow her. Thereupon begins their journey into the woman's past, and that of the object of her devotion. It is a journey that takes them to the heights of a forgotten, postwar-Barcelona society, of now aged or departed aristocrats and actresses, inventors and tycoons; and into the depths of the city's mysterious underground of labyrinthine sewers, corrupt policemen, beggars' hovels, and criminal depravity."

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The Watcher in the Shadows"

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The Watcher in the Shadows" (Spanish: Las Luces de Septiembre) - 1995 (Niebla 3)

A family in France in 1937. After the death of her father, Irene's mother moves with her children from Paris to a remote place in Normandy, a mysterious mansion inhabited by a toymaker who lives there with his sick wife. Shadows, Ruiz Zafón loves shadows, it's amazing what he can do with shadows …

I don't really like ghost stories but nobody tells them so beautifully as Carlos Ruiz Zafón. All he needs is a remote island, a mysterious castle, an old library, whatever, he makes it into a voyage into the unknown.

I have loved every single one of this brilliant author's works, any one of them a masterpiece. Can't wait to get a hold of the next one.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2023.

Find more books about this great author here.

From the back cover:

"A mysterious toymaker who lives as a recluse in an old mansion, surrounded by the magical beings he has created...

A sickly wife locked away in a hidden room...

An enigma involving strange lights that shine out from the small island on which an old, disused lighthouse stands...

A shadowy creature that hides deep in the woods...

These are the elements of a mystery will bind 14-year-old Irene to Ismael during one magical summer spent in Blue Bay when her mother takes a job as a housekeeper for the enigmatic toymaker, Lazarus Jann."

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The Prince of Mist"

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The Prince of Mist" (Spanish: El príncipe de la niebla) - 1993 (Niebla 1)

What a fantastic ghost story, very mystical, very exciting. Initially written as a youth book, this has been rereleased after the author's great successes with "The Shadow of the Wind" and "The Angel's Game".

A family moves from the city to the beach in order to flee from the war. They move into an old house whose previous owner died. As soon as they arrive, strange things start to happen. Then the son meets another boy and his grandfather and the mystery starts to unravel.

Quite a short story, only 202 pages, read them in a day. Wonderful.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2023.

Find more books about this great author here.

From the back cover: "1943. As war sweeps across Europe, Max Carver's father moves his family away from the city, to an old wooden house on the coast. But as soon as they arrive, strange things begin to happen: Max discovers a garden filled with eerie statues; his sisters are plagued by unsettling dreams and voices; a box of old films opens a window to the past.

Most unsettling of all are rumours about the previous owners and the mysterious disappearance of their son. As Max delves into the past, he encounters the terrifying story of the Prince of Mist, a sinister shadow who emerges from the night to settle old scores, then disappears with the first mists of dawn . . .

Originally published in Spain as a young adult novel, THE PRINCE OF MIST is a mesmerising tale of mystery, romance and adventure."

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The Angel's Game"

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The Angel's Game" (Spanish: El juego del ángel) - 2008
(El cementerio de los libros olvidados #2)

If you enjoyed "The Shadow of the Wind", this is the book for you. Another book about books, history, mystery and the fabulous town Barcelona. It has everything, it's a love story and a crime story. This time, a writer brings us back to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books and the Sempere & Sons bookshop on another quest for the author of a book.

I just love Carlos Ruiz Zafón's style of writing, the way he gets you to wonder what will happen next, how you try to figure out what is behind the story, you're almost there but never quite reach it. His unravelling of the thread is stunning, extraordinary. Can't wait for his next work. His novels make me want to learn Spanish better so I can read them in the original.

Find more books about this great author here.

From the back cover:

"In an abandoned mansion at the heart of Barcelona, a young man - David Martin - makes his living by writing sensationalist novels under a pseudonym. The survivor of a troubled childhood, he has taken refuge in the world of books, and spends his nights spinning baroque tales about the city's underworld. But perhaps his dark imaginings are not as strange as they seem, for in a locked room deep within the house letters hinting at the mysterious death of the previous owner. Like a slow poison, the history of the place seeps into his bones as he struggles with an impossible love.Then David receives the offer of a lifetime: he is to write a book with the power to change hearts and minds. In return, he will receive a fortune, perhaps more. But as David begins the work, he realises that there is a connection between this haunting book and the shadows that surround his home..."

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2022.

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The Shadow of the Wind"

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The Shadow of the Wind" (Spanish: La Sombra del Viento) - 2001
(El cementerio de los libros olvidados #1) 

This novel certainly deserves to be on my list of favourite books ever. I don't know why I actually love it so much but I do. Usually, I try not to read a famous bestseller immediately as everyone raves about it and then I am disappointed. But something attracted me to this book, I just had to read it. And then I had to finish it as soon as possible. Hardly got any sleep in those days ...

This is one of the best books I ever found. It is intriguing, exciting, has all the parts a good book should have, an interesting story, a historical background, a description of a great city. And, most important, it's a book about a book, how someone can get involved in something after reading a story. A wonderful book by a very promising author.

We discussed this in our book club in October 2006.

Find more books by this great author here.

From the back cover:

"Hidden in the heart of the old city of Barcelona is the 'cemetery of lost books', a labyrinthine library of obscure and forgotten titles that have long gone out of print. To this library, a man brings his 10-year-old son Daniel one cold morning in 1945. Daniel is allowed to choose one book from the shelves and pulls out 'La Sombra del Viento' by Julian Carax.

But as he grows up, several people seem inordinately interested in his find. Then, one night, as he is wandering the old streets once more, Daniel is approached by a figure who reminds him of a character from La Sombra del Viento, a character who turns out to be the devil. This man is tracking down every last copy of Carax's work in order to burn them. What begins as a case of literary curiosity turns into a race to find out the truth behind the life and death of Julian Carax and to save those he left behind. A page-turning exploration of obsession in literature and love, and the places that obsession can lead."

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2022.