Have you ever, after putting down a book, been reluctant to read anything else because you feel like nothng else would be as good? "Shadow of the Wind" was like that for me. It did move a little slowly at first, but once it hooked me ... oh, my!
It begins in 1945, when Daniel (the narrator), at age 10, gets a special visit to a secret library in Barcelona, where he and his bookseller father live. Daniel is allowed to pick one book to cherish and protect; he chooses "The Shadow of the Wind" by Julian Carax. Daniel is so captivated that he tries to find more books by Carax - but discovers that someone is trying to destroy every copy. What follows is a rich, convoluted, fascinating tale full of mystery, tragedy, true love, a bit of magical realism, and outrageous, sometimes crude humor.

I read most of it in one sitting.

A wonderful book for any of those true bibliophiles out there who have a true love for books themselves. Beautiful, flowing language and a story that keeps you turning pages. This book has a bit of everything: murder, romance, intrigue, and a glimpse into the world of book collecting. There is a magical quality in this book reminiscent of other books with fantasy elements written for adults, though not with the pop-fiction appeal of Alice Hoffman, but more like the work of Gabrial Garcia Marquez, or "The Neverending Story" by Michael Ende. This book is on my Top 10 Favorite All-time books - I highly recommend it. I just wish they would get more of Zafon's books translated, as he write in Spanish!

Honestly one of the finest books I've read. The language is absolutely beautiful - even more astonishing considering it's a translation from Spanish. Nothing is lost in the translation.

Highly recommended.

A very different book. Had a hard time getting started then it grabbed me. I actually read it twice.

I read this book during my three-week honeymoon, and it was great! Perfect plane and beach read. The mystery is captivating and a page-turner. You won't be disappointed!

While some of this book was long winded, I found it very compelling. Every once in a while I had to pull out my dictionary for words I had never heard of, but otherwise the translation was great. I believed all the characters and loved the intrigue. After the first 75 pages I was hooked. The ending was definitely worth it!!! I highly recommend this book.

A surprisingly good book which captured emotion and suspense within each of its pages. The book enables you to care for and loathe the characters while creating a page turning mystery that left me guessing till the end.

Everyone in my book club loved this book but me, I thought it was too wordy, like a lot of other books translated from Spanish. Very poetic, a story within a story, lots of characters.

I really loved this book. A little bit of a stretch but neat historical facts surrounding the legend of Dracula. Thrilling, page turner, hard to put down and very well written.

This book had a great premise and I absolutely loved the first few hundred pages. However, after a while it just started to drag. Too much violence, cruelty, and unhappiness permeated the last 3rd of the book. I did enjoy the book, but it isn't a keeper or a book I will read again the way I expected when I first started it.
This is apparently going to be the first in a series.
I was especially impressed with how well this book was translated from Spanish to English, oftentimes a book seems to lose something in translation, but not this one.

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This was a great book.I can see why it stayed number 1 on the Spanish best sellers list for a year.This is a book you cant speed read or you will miss something.There is a lot of twists and turns and will definitely take you on a ride.This story was like a book inside a book.I liked how he wrapped everything up at the end and didnt leave you hanging.After reading this book I would love to do a walking tour to see everything that the book mentioned. I cant wait to read his second book.

Loved this book - could not put it down. Fascinating how interwoven everything became.

Absolutely wonderful! I would highly recommend it to anyone.

Great book - intriguing and interesting. Can't wait to read The Angel's Game.

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