The Book Mistresses
"Barcelona, 1945: A city slowly heals from its war wounds, and Daniel an antiquarian book dealers son who mourns the loss of his mother, finds solace in a mysterious book entitled The Shadow of the Wind, by Julian 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 existance. Soon Daniel's seemingly innocent quest opens a door into one of Barcelona's darkest secrets- an epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love.
The Shadow of the Wind
June 2013 - Book # 108
by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Chosen by Jill
Excerpt from cover:
The Book Mistresses' Review:
Choosing a book is always a big task. This book had an appeal as it was described as a mystery, a fairy tale and a love story all wrapped into an historical fiction set in post war Barcelona. It is about several generations of family and the story within the story revolves around the “Cemetery of Forgotten Books” where all book have guardians and are valued. Ruiz Zafón's novel was originally written in Spanish is both well written and well translated so it received a lot of praise from our members. We liked the way the book was written in several first person viewpoints of the characters so the entire story was filled in for the reader as the different perspectives were introduced. The descriptions made both the characters and the City of Barcelona come alive. This book is part of the Forgotten Books Trilogy and several members expressed interested or starting reading the other books Angel’s Game and The Prisoner of Heaven. We had a lively discussion and overall liked the book and would recommend it.