The Shadow of the Wind book cover by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
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The Shadow of the Wind

Adult • Historical
The Cemetery of Forgotten Books • Book 1 of 4
Set in postwar Barcelona Daniel finds a mysterious book Someone is destroying Carax's works Explores the themes of love and loss Reveals dark secrets of the city

"I still remember the day my father took me to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books for the first time."

Barcelona, 1945: the city slowly heals after the Spanish Civil War, and Daniel, the son of an antiquarian book dealer who mourns his mother, finds solace in a mysterious book titled The Shadow of the Wind by Julián Carax.

When Daniel seeks Carax's other works he discovers someone has been systematically destroying every copy of the author's books. Daniel may possess the last surviving copy and his quest draws him into one of Barcelona's darkest secrets, a sweeping story of murder, madness, and doomed love.

In postwar Barcelona, young Daniel, son of an antiquarian bookseller, discovers a rare Julián Carax novel and learns someone is destroying every copy.
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Edition information

Book details

Series
The Cemetery of Forgotten Books Book 1 of 4
Publisher
Penguin Press
Publication date
April 12, 2004
Print length
486 pages
Language
English
ISBN
978-0143034902

Historical

Reader guide

What to Know Before Reading The Shadow of the Wind

A youthful obsession that becomes an investigation: Daniel's search for Julián Carax's works and the mystery of their disappearance. Much of the setup centers on postwar Barcelona, a grieving family relationship, and the unfolding danger tied to destroyed books.

The narrative emphasis appears to be on external action and dark secrets involving murder, madness, and doomed love. Supernatural elements are not mentioned and do not appear central to the premise.

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G-NRIS™ story intelligence

Why readers connect with The Shadow of the Wind

A concise view of the book’s strongest literary signals and the reading interests shared by people connected to it on bks.social.

Story profile

G-NRIS™ identifies The Shadow of the Wind primarily as Literary Fiction, Mystery, and Historical Fiction. Its strongest themes include Obsession, Secrets and Mystery, Love and Loss, and Family and Grief. Prominent narrative patterns include Book Within a Book, Dark Secret, Mysterious Stranger, and Doomed Romance.

Reader connection

Readers connected to this book most often reflect Psychological Moral Explorer reader archetypes. Their strongest shared genre interests include Science Fiction, Literary Fiction, Graphic Novel, and Memoir. They are commonly drawn to themes such as Humor, Fish Out of Water, Coming of Age, and Personal Growth.

About the author

Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Carlos Ruiz Zafón is the author of six novels, including the international phenomenon The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game, the first two books in a series of novels set in literary universe of The Cemetery of Forgotten Books. His work has been published in more than forty different languages, and honored with numerous international awards. He divides his time between Barcelona, Spain, and Los Angeles, California.

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