Carlos Ruiz Zafón (1964–2020)
Author of The Shadow of the Wind
About the Author
Carlos Ruiz Zafón was born in Barcelona, Spain on September 25, 1964. He is a scriptwriter and the author of both adult and young adult novels. His first novel, El Príncipe de la Niebla (The Prince of Mist, 1993) received the Premio Edebé literary prize for young adult fiction. His other young show more adult novels include El Palacio de la Medianoche (1994), Las Luces de Septiembre (1995), and Marina (1999). His adult novels include La Sombra del Viento (The Shadow of the Wind, 2001) and El Juego del Angel (The Angel's Game, 2008). (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Works by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
JAUME CABRÉ 13 copies
Barcelona Gothic 2 copies
Political Suicide 1 copy
Labirynt duchów 1 copy
The City of Mist: Stories 1 copy
Two-Minute Apocalypse 1 copy
2011 1 copy
Relatos 1 copy
Inferno 1 copy
LAS LUCES DE SETIEMBRE 1 copy
The City of Mists 1 copy
Le prince de la brume 1 copy
Prisoner Of Heaven 1 copy
Associated Works
Die Geschichtenerzähler: Neues und Unbekanntes von Allende bis Zafón (suhrkamp taschenbuch) (2008) — Contributor — 5 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Ruiz Zafón, Carlos
- Legal name
- Ruiz Zafón, Carlos
- Birthdate
- 1964-09-25
- Date of death
- 2020-06-19
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- Spain
- Country (for map)
- Spain
- Birthplace
- Barcelona, Spain
- Place of death
- Santa Monica, California, USA
- Cause of death
- colorectal cancer
- Places of residence
- Barcelona, Spain
Los Angeles, California, USA - Education
- Sant Ignasi School
- Occupations
- screenwriter
novelist
journalist
advertising - Relationships
- Belver, MariCarmen (wife)
Graves, Lucia (translator) - Awards and honors
- Premio Edebè (1993, El príncipe de la niebla)
- Agent
- Antonia Kerrigan
Members
Discussions
LE: Carlos Ruiz Zafón - The Shadow of the Wind coming 8 August in Folio Society Devotees (August 2023)
Reviews
Lists
Overdue Podcast (1)
Great Audiobooks (1)
Favourite Books (1)
READ IN 2020 (1)
A Novel Cure (1)
Indie Next Picks (1)
Unread books (1)
To Read (1)
2000s decade (1)
Secrets Books (2)
Magic Realism (2)
BBC Big Read (1)
First Novels (1)
Five star books (1)
Allie's Wishlist (1)
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 45
- Also by
- 2
- Members
- 49,873
- Popularity
- #304
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 1,999
- ISBNs
- 1,026
- Languages
- 35
- Favorited
- 215
“A story is a letter the author writes to himself to tell himself things he would be unable to discover otherwise.”
“The art of reading is slowly dying, that it's an intimate ritual, that a book is a mirror that offers us only what we carry inside us, that when we read, we do it with all our heart and mind, and great readers are becoming more scarce by the day.”
The Shadow of the Wind by Spanish author Carlos Ruiz Zafron is a worldwide bestselling novel, having sold more than 15 million copies and won many awards.
It is a story within a story, beginning in Barcelona in 1945 with Daniel Sempere, a boy whose father owns a bookshop. Daniel’s father takes him to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a secret place where rare and banned books are kept. Daniel chooses the book The Shadow of the Wind and takes it home. He discovers that the book, written by the mysterious author Julián Carax, is the only copy left and not only is the author missing, but someone has been burning all of his other books. Daniel becomes obsessed with Carax and his book and begins to search for the truth behind the stories. Daniel finds other people are also searching for the book, including a frightening, burned and disfigured man called Lain Coubert who tries to get it from Daniel.
When Daniel is working for his father in the bookshop he meets the beggar and vagrant Fermín Romero de Torres. His father takes Fermín in and gives him a job. The flamboyant, philosophical and humorous Fermín becomes a great friend to Daniel and a lynchpin of the story. The two embark on a quest to uncover the mystery of what happened to Julián Carax. In the background the evil Inspector Francisco Javier Fumero is always lurking, already responsible for persecuting and torturing Fermín in his former life as a spy.
The story of Julián’s life gradually unfolds: his childhood friendship with Miquel Moliner who grows up to be a wealthy publisher, and his star-crossed romance with Pénélope, daughter of the wealthy Don Ricardo Aldaya. The story seems to parallel Daniel’s own life in many ways.
This was an engaging, atmospheric, larger than life read. The mystery is complex and the characters enigmatic. The setting in 1940s and 50s Barcelona is appealing and lends to the gothic magical feel of the story. Despite the darkness of the tale there is also a warm humour that runs through it, with lines like this:
“People talk too much. Humans aren't descended from monkeys. They come for parrots.”
“God, in His infinite wisdom, and perhaps overwhelmed by the avalanche of requests from so many tormented souls, did not answer.”
“The clear, unequivocal lucidity of madmen who have escaped the hypocrisy of having to abide by a reality that makes no sense.”
I think the audiobook probably made the book a little harder to follow and keep all the characters straight, and I did wonder why all the Spanish characters had English accents. Overall this was a great read and I can see why so many people are absorbed by it. 4.5 stars… (more)