The Shadow of the Wind

MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD
Normally I give books that others have reviewed well but are clearly not the right kind of book for me at least three stars because they at least accomplish what they set out to do, even if I question the point of doing it. The book, however…. I can’t. First, I don’t know what it wants to do. Second, it feels like trauma/misery porn, mostly not in a way that’s useful. Third, the unrelenting sexism goes way beyond acknowledging a period specific reality. I don’t know why it’s so constant. There is no good reason for it. Add to the the absolutely terrible pacing and general lack of purpose to things like parallels between characters, I’m not sure the book even deserves two stars by my usual rating system. There are moments where the writing is good enough to justify the extra star, though. I can’t imagine recommending it to anyone.

4/5: This book was a page turner for me. It's a combination of mystery and love story in a very well written language. I really appreciated the setting: The book plays in Barcelona of the 50's which is described with great detail, so that the reader has always a picture of it before its inner eye while following the protagonist through the city. Another aspect that really catched my attention was about spains civil war and its political impact.
After reading the book I had the same feeling when looking a good fantasy movie. While you are in it you love it, but when you think about it you discover many coincidences that make the story not authentic. But I don't think that matters too much, because while reading I never felt like that. Instead i always wanted to continue reading. Therefore, a 4/5 seems like a good rating for me :)

SECOND READ:

This novel was recently chosen by my book club, and while I read it in 2014, I remembered very little and decided to re-read it. I soon remembered what made it so forgettable: It’s an entertaining, plot-driven whodunnit that would probably make a good movie, but it doesn’t have the lasting “oomph” of great literature. The last 10% or so descends Into a tough-to-believe gothic romance, with levels of melodrama that quickly become tiresome. I raced through it, eager to get to the next twist in the plot or resolution of a story-within-a-story, but as soon as it was finished, I mostly forgot it again.

FIRST READ:

I feel like if I had read this book when I was 20, it would have been one of my lifelong favorites. But as an adult, I find the page-turner of a mystery to be overshadowed by the lack of realism in the characters. Everyone in this book is driven by a single aspect of his or her personality or history, which never loses its power over him or her, even though the story spans decades. That's just not how humans work! But if you accept the elements of fantasy and just focus on enjoying the story, it's an entertaining read, although I think it might work better as a movie rather than a book. It also prompted me to learn more about the Spanish Civil War, which provides an interesting backdrop.

Lorsque j'ai dit que j'avais commencé à lire "L'Ombre du vent" de l'écrivain espagnol Carlos Ruiz Zafón, nombreux ont été ceux qui m'ont dit qu'ils avaient adoré ce livre et qu'il y avait de fortes chances qu'il en soit de même pour moi. Le résumé en quatrième de couverture me laissait en tout cas espérer de belles choses :

Dans la Barcelone de l'après-guerre civile, par un matin brumeux de 1945, un homme emmène son petit garçon – Daniel Sempere, le narrateur – dans un lieu mystérieux du quartier gothique : le Cimetière des Livres Oubliés. L'enfant est ainsi convié par son père à un étrange rituel qui se transmet de génération en génération : il doit y « adopter » un volume parmi des centaines de milliers. Là, il rencontre le livre qui va changer le cours de sa vie et l'entraîner dans un labyrinthe d'aventures et de secrets « enterrés dans l'âme de la ville » : L'Ombre du vent.

Avec ce tableau historique, roman d'apprentissage évoquant les émois de l'adolescence, récit fantastique où les mystères s'emboîtent comme des poupées russes, Carlos Ruiz Zafón mêle inextricablement la littérature et la vie."