the shadow of the wind by carlos ruíz zafón

Every time the word shadow was used I considered its illusion of death. For death is not always the worst thing that can happen ('words are not always the worst prison'). In this sense death becomes a fate we chose ourselves. Every character had shadows which could engulf them or they could overcome. Shadow is a perfect symbol for death evoking images of how death can be metaphorical instead of literal-living shadows of lives, chasing shadows of dreams, being shadows of others, letting memories shadow life. Wrapped up in the mystery is a message of death: do we live a full life or wander through it numb? The Shadow of the Wind is an allegory for death in a fictitious novel by the same title. As the story twists and slowly unravels he doesn't know whose account to trust or how it will affect his life. Daniel embarks on a mission to solve the mystery of the author's story being watched by a revengeful cop and the book burner himself. The strange author died in poverty but now someone is seeking out all remaining copies of his unsuccessful novels to burn. He choses a novel-or maybe it chose him-that touches him, stirs his desire for literature, and forever entangles him with the fate of the book and its author. I wanted to read this in Spanish for the rich poetry the language would add.Ī young boy Daniel is taken by his father to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books and told to salvage a book which he must take stewardship over. I needed a whole pad of post-its to mark quotes.ģ. I read the opening few pages and instantly knew 3 things:Ģ.

The shadow of the wind by carlos ruíz zafón