La sombra del viento / Shadow of the Wind (El cementerio de los libros olvidados) (Spanish Edition)

I really cannot emphasize enough how wonderful this book is. If you speak Spanish, by all means, get the version in Spanish. I haven't read the English translation, and while I'm sure it's wonderful, I'm glad I waited until my Spanish was at a level to where I was able to read the original. One of my professors during my semester abroad in Spain recommended this book highly to me years ago and when I finally sent the sample chapter to my Kindle a few months ago, I was hooked from the first line. "Todavía recuerdo aquel amanecer en que mi padre me llevó por primera vez a visitar el Cementerio de los Libros Olvidados." (I still remember that morning in which my father took me for the first time to visit the Cemetery of Forgotten Books)The wonderful thing about La sombra del viento is that not only does the plot keep you on the edge of your seat, and not only do the characters come alive, and not only is it beautifully written, but there are some amazing lines in the book that are just so insightful, and when I finished, as the main character says of the titular book in the first few pages of the novel, "No quería perder el hechizo de la historia ni todavía decir adiós a sus personajes." (I didn't want to lose the enchantment of the story, or say goodbye to its characters yet.)This is easily the best book I've ever read in Spanish, and probably one of the top five best books I've ever read period. I can't wait to read the sequel.

Un libro que habla de varios elementos innatos del ser humano: el amor, el valor de la amistad, la pasión, la inocencia, la codicia; todos estos sentimientos representados por uno o varios autores. Un libro que en algún momento se convierte en un imán, un libro que no quieres parar de leerlo. Buen libro.

I read the Spanish version of La Sombra del Viento by Spanish author Carlos Ruiz Zafón. It was a fabulous read, and I highly recommend it. It is a love tragedy perfectly projected across time, with a backdrop in early 20th Century Spain, a time of war. I enjoyed Ruiz Zafón's focus on the love for books and their timeless worth and influence in readers' lives. The author's writing style was exquisite. I enjoyed the historical backdrop and the way the author intertwined the characters' lives around their love for writing and books. The mystery elements in the novel we also wonderful. A few of my favorite quotes from the book: "There are worse prisons than words." "A tale is a letter that the author writes to to tell himself things that otherwise he could not uncover." "Does the madman know he is mad?" "A book is a mirror, and we can only find in it what we have inside."

I read this book in its orginal language. Ruiz Zafón uses a poetic, yet light vocabulary that does not betray the time period in which the book is set. That alone was reason enough for me to keep reading. However, the story is captivating enough to make a fairly quick read for me, even as I was trying to be a student of the style of Spanish of the narrator and all the characters. Some elements for me were at times a little predictable, it was necessary to read to very end to have a full revelation. I also appreciated some of the historical allusions, especially after having just read "The Time in Between" ("El Tiempo Entre Costuras") by María Dueñas.

Buen libro

El personaje de Fermín me hizo reír mucho. Es misterio, es romance, es historia. Me encantó! Voy a comprar los libros que siguen.

No pude dejar de leerla ; emocionante de principio a fin. Excelente novela ! Fascinante historia . Altamente recomendada .

Libro cautivante, te engancha y no te suelta porque no puedes parar su lectura. Me encanto, leeré el próximo también