Hardcover, 527 pages
German language
Published July 1, 2003 by Insel Verlag.
Un amanecer de 1945, un muchacho es conducido por su padre a un misterioso lugar oculto en el corazón de la ciudad vieja: el Cementerio de los Libros Olvidados. Allí, Daniel Sempere encuentra un libro maldito que cambia el rumbo de su vida y le arrastra a un laberinto de intrigas y secretos enterrados en el alma oscura de la ciudad. La Sombra del Viento es un misterio literario ambientado en la Barcelona de la primera mitad del siglo xx, desde los últimos esplendores del Modernismo hasta las tinieblas de la posguerra.
Aunando las técnicas del relato de intriga y suspense, la novela histórica y la comedia de costumbres, La Sombra del Viento es sobre todo una trágica historia de amor cuyo eco se proyecta a través del tiempo. Con gran fuerza narrativa, el autor entrelaza tramas y enigmas a modo de muñecas rusas en un inolvidable relato sobre …
Un amanecer de 1945, un muchacho es conducido por su padre a un misterioso lugar oculto en el corazón de la ciudad vieja: el Cementerio de los Libros Olvidados. Allí, Daniel Sempere encuentra un libro maldito que cambia el rumbo de su vida y le arrastra a un laberinto de intrigas y secretos enterrados en el alma oscura de la ciudad. La Sombra del Viento es un misterio literario ambientado en la Barcelona de la primera mitad del siglo xx, desde los últimos esplendores del Modernismo hasta las tinieblas de la posguerra.
Aunando las técnicas del relato de intriga y suspense, la novela histórica y la comedia de costumbres, La Sombra del Viento es sobre todo una trágica historia de amor cuyo eco se proyecta a través del tiempo. Con gran fuerza narrativa, el autor entrelaza tramas y enigmas a modo de muñecas rusas en un inolvidable relato sobre los secretos del corazón y el embrujo de los libros cuya intriga se mantiene hasta la última página.
Todavía recuerdo aquel amanecer en que mi padre me llevó por primera vez a visitar El Cementerio de los Libros Olvidados
([source][1])
See also:
[1]: www.carlosruizzafon.com/es/la-sombra-del-viento/index.php
A rare book sets a teenage boy on a path of mystery, love & revenge. This was nearly great, with an intriguing setup, smooth prose, vibrant characters and an evocative sense of time & place (mid-century Barcelona). But it ran out of steam with repetitive storytelling and too much exposition. And nearly all the men were incorrigible womanisers.
As it begins, it feels like you are in for a bit more whimsy, a bit more rip-roaring adventure, but Zafón weaves these romantic elements into a tale that is much darker, more grounded, and more hard-hitting than I could ever have expected. I found it very difficult to put this down after I picked it up.
I am a total outlier here as of my 4 friends that reviewed the book, two gave it 5 stars, one 3 stars and one wasn't in the mood. Well I would never be in the mood. The was a backbreaking torturous push of telling mostly, of a story, with adjectives galore, metaphor and simple analogy, which at times was contradictory and definitely overly aggressive on the description. Once we get past that, we get one persons story told to us after another and at least once while the teller is going, we get a 3rd telling a story within a story. I would call this sloppy but obviously people like this. One of my friends said it made her tear up several times. I am like stunned, where? At the overly sentimental tripe that more irritant for me than anything else? The whole mystery is solve by chance by …
I am a total outlier here as of my 4 friends that reviewed the book, two gave it 5 stars, one 3 stars and one wasn't in the mood. Well I would never be in the mood. The was a backbreaking torturous push of telling mostly, of a story, with adjectives galore, metaphor and simple analogy, which at times was contradictory and definitely overly aggressive on the description. Once we get past that, we get one persons story told to us after another and at least once while the teller is going, we get a 3rd telling a story within a story. I would call this sloppy but obviously people like this. One of my friends said it made her tear up several times. I am like stunned, where? At the overly sentimental tripe that more irritant for me than anything else? The whole mystery is solve by chance by a drawn out book of a letter written by a just murdered woman and the story is ghastly. The father had imprisoned the daughter in her room to give birth to a stillborn baby and then while screaming out for help later, dies of bleeding. We find that the father had impregnanted a woman that then goes to marry elsewhere and that this son is actually Julian Carex, who now has impregnated his half sister. The father by not getting help for the pregnancy is culpable of the deaths as the doctor said so. Yet now the egotistical Carex goes around burning his own books to the point of almost burning himself to death. The only one I liked less than the Police officer, Fumero and the father of Penelope was Carex and I think we are supposed to feel for him.
I really though I would have something to connect me at the end but I did not. Put with that the male centric store with no well developed woman but one who is at fault also, keeping secrets that should have been told long before, for her own selfish wants. no women talk to one another her, they are treated and talked about as objects, sometimes as envy, or described simply, vain, using, angels, sweet, but usually discussed as sexual objects, including taking the whore to the mental hospital for the man in exchange for information. There is so much I dislike in the writing with the story but the way it is told just tops it off. Worse book of the year for me. Sorry to those that loved it, I just did not.
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I am about 60% in and am vaguely interested in seeing how all the threads, might, maybe, gather together but I do not really care about the characters and although all are described with an overly floral glee and sometimes contradicting words, I have not connected with any and they all are quite flat in my mind. I see that we are seeing parallels of Julian Carax's life with our protagonist, Daniel which I would think does not end the same. Still there are several other smaller stories, the "mystery" that really has gone no where. What we have gotten is a tragic love story which is told to you, and with many adjectives, adverbs, and/or metaphors, rather than shown to you with or without the descriptiveness. I really do not mind being told a story or secondary story, or even tertiary story but this was painful as it was the connecting parts and were not connecting more than telling a little story that may or may not matter at some point. It really makes me need to rewind as I start daydreaming while reading or listening. The way it is written just does not pull me and if it were not for wanting to connect the parts of the "mystery", I might not have gone on.
Along with this is the male centered aspect of this book that makes me feel as the woman are all one dimensional objects. So far other that the woman that raises the baby, there are no interactions between any.
Recomendable. Novela muy inmersiva que te hace sentir en todo momento estar viviendo la historia que está contando.
Uno de esos libros que van despacio, pero están escritos con un trazo inolvidable. Marcados quedarán por siempre muchos de estos personajes en mi memoria.
Es una historia auténtica, y creo que apta para cualquier amante de la literatura.
Si tenéis la oportunidad, el audiolibro de Jordi Boixaderas será un acompañante magnífico en vuestros diarios viajes al trabajo.
La sombra del viento es una de esas lecturas que te enamoran de los libros en general.
This book almost lost me at times when its melodramatic soap opera feel was at peak levels, but characters like Fermin Romero de Torres helped keep things satisfying. Fermin forever :).
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 …
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.
It took a little while to get used to the rather flowery language, but once you get going it is an enthralling story, nicely told. It felt like a cross between The Name of the Rose (with its hidden libraries and so on) and the Da Vinci Code with its thriller elements. The book is definitely on the long side. Maybe it was me, but some sections read fast and easily and some I struggled through. Sections are written from the perspective of different characters, which was nicely done. Altogether, a good read.
Ein Buch, das man nur sehr ungerne aus der Hand legt und mit stolz ins Bücherregal stellt.
Un auténtico novelón. Una historia muy bien trabajada y me ha emocionado mucho. Me quedo con esta reflexión que he extraído de este libro: "Todo amor prohibido, si perserveras y luchas por él, es felicidad eterna."
Un auténtico novelón. Una historia muy bien trabajada y me ha emocionado mucho. Me quedo con esta reflexión que he extraído de este libro: "Todo amor prohibido, si perserveras y luchas por él, es felicidad eterna."
This novel has "dozens" of twists, turns, mysteries, and intrigues. The characters are hateful, endearing, mysterious, caring and...
I was shocked, horrified and engrossed by the story. This is truly a masterful tale. It is not a tale for the feint of heart, but it is one to thoughtfully explore. Enjoy.
This novel has "dozens" of twists, turns, mysteries, and intrigues. The characters are hateful, endearing, mysterious, caring and...
I was shocked, horrified and engrossed by the story. This is truly a masterful tale. It is not a tale for the feint of heart, but it is one to thoughtfully explore. Enjoy.
No me gustó la manera en que describe el español que hablamos en América. Y Bogotá no es la capital de Venezuela.
Por lo demás es un muy buen libro.
Books are magical, and this one is even moreso.
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 …
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 :)
