Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón


At the tail end of last year I read one of the best books I’ve ever read, a novel that completely entranced me from the opening words down to the very last word. To be honest, I was a little daunted in writing my review because so many great things have been said about the book. I wasn’t sure what else I could add to the mix, but nonetheless, I posted my review of Shadow of the Wind yesterday. The version I read was an ARC of the Subterranean Press edition, which, as with the previous ARCs I read from them, is of amazing quality. Here’s a snippet of my review:

The first thing that struck me, on the whole, is just how elegantly the prose is written. I don’t know Spanish, so I can’t speak of how accurate the translation is. What I can say is how beautifully and magical the prose is in English. Each passage is naturalistic in its depiction of Daniel’s feelings / emotions and utterly engaging.

In many ways, this novel can be considered a love letter to passionate readers in all walks of life. As The Shadow of the Wind has touched Daniel and given form to his life, so have books given purpose and meaning to many a reader’s life. This novel is an absolute must read for any lover of books.

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