Carlos Ruiz Zafon
March 18th, 2009Well, I just finished “The Shadow of the Wind” by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. It just came out in English and I don’t know what the title in Spanish. Set in post war Barcelona, it even has a maps with a walking tour tracing the movements of the characters. “The city is a sorceress, you know, Daniel? It gets under your skin and steals your soul without you knowing it…,’ says one character.
It is a novel about the power that one book has over an individual and the chain of events that are inadvertently unleashed by decisions even when they are made with good intentions. It is part detective, part coming of age, part romance, fantasy seduction and passion layered with gothic horror and a labyrinthine plot that peels away like an onion and then reverts back onto itself. Behind it “is a fierce satirical energy against the tyrants and philistines of history,” says The Economist.
It is one of the best books I have read in many many years….right up there with Murakami. This young novelist is planning a trilogy…and I can hardly wait.