The Shadow of the Wind (El cementerio de los libros olvidados #1) by Carlos Ruiz Zafon; translated by Lucia Graves
Published by The Penguin Press HC, 2004 (originally published 2001)
Hardcover, 487 pages
ISBN 1594200106
Genres: adult fiction, fantasy, gothic novel, historical fiction, literary fiction, mystery, philosophy, thriller
Synopsis (via Goodreads): Barcelona, 1945—just after the war, a great world city lies in shadow, nursing its wounds, and a boy named Daniel awakes on his eleventh birthday to find that he can no longer remember his mother’s face. To console his only child, Daniel’s widowed father, an antiquarian book dealer, initiates him into the secret of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a library tended by Barcelona’s guild of rare-book dealers as a repository for books forgotten by the world, waiting for someone who will care about them again. Daniel’s father coaxes him to choose a volume from the spiraling labyrinth of shelves, one that, it is said, will have a special meaning for him. And Daniel so loves the novel he selects, The Shadow of the Wind by one Julian Carax, that he sets out to find the rest of Carax’s work. To his shock, he discovers that someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book this author has written. In fact, he may have the last one in existence. Before Daniel knows it his seemingly innocent quest has opened a door into one of Barcelona’s darkest secrets, an epic story of murder, magic, madness and doomed love. And before long he realizes that if he doesn’t find out the truth about Julian Carax, he and those closest to him will suffer horribly.
My review: This novel is fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. I knew it would be one of this year's favorites before I was half-way through it. Between the fascinating story line, well-developed characters, and elegant style, The Shadow of the Wind is hard to compete with. What initially drew me in was discovering it is a book about books: a mysterious and secret Cemetery of Forgotten Books and a certain volume discovered within. The main protagonist, Daniel, enthusiastically delves into this previously-forgotten novel and begins unraveling the mystery of its tormented author, leading to a years-long quest culminating in a stunning ending. This book is part adventure story, part mystery, part historical drama, part thriller, with a sprinkling of fantastical elements and philosophical questions. In addition, it is Daniel's coming-of-age story, bittersweet in that the reader re-experiences all of the doubts, questions and fears of growing up. It is, in my opinion, the perfect cross-genre piece.
The characters evolve and develop, becoming richer and more familiar the farther into the book the reader gets. They are unpredictable and so very human, each with their own temperaments, faults and dreams. I love that although Daniel is the main protagonist, the author has labored to make each and every character unique and indispensable to the plot. The cast of characters is pretty large, though instead of becoming a hindrance for the reader it simply makes the novel that much more enjoyable. Daniel is one of my favorite characters because he is compassionate, curious, and intelligent. Another favorite character would have to be Fermin, a man whom Daniel literally stumbles upon who has been living on the streets. He has an extremely shadowy past, more aliases than you can count, and a case of PTSD that would land a lesser man in a sanitarium (or worse); and yet, through it all, he has an indomitable spirit and an admirable code of honor.
This novel is set mainly in Barcelona, Spain with a small portion taking place in Paris, France. The imagery is incredible and it is obvious the author, who was born in Barcelona, is extremely knowledgeable about its geography. The streets of the two cities literally come alive and while I have always wanted to travel in Europe, my desire has rarely been stronger than while I was reading this novel. It was fascinating to read about life in Barcelona immediately following the Spanish Civil War: the still-apparent signs of destruction, the fragile state of politics on every level, the drudgery of a struggling economy, the deaths of loved ones still hanging in the air. The complexity and multi-faceted nature of The Shadow of the Wind is stunning.
I would strongly recommend reading this book; it is one I would love to own myself. I originally thought it was a stand-alone but am thrilled to report it is actually the first in a series! El cementerio de los libros olvidados (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books) series includes The Shadow of the Wind (#1), of course, The Angel's Game (#2), The Prisoner of Heaven (#3), and The Rose of Fire (#.5), the last being a short story available only in ebook form. I cannot wait to read and review the entire series, as well as Carlos Ruiz Zafon's other works.
Mary Beth
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| the novel in question |
The Sherlockian: A Novel by Graham Moore
Published by Twelve, 2010
Hardcover, 350 pages
ISBN 0446572594
Genres: adult fiction, historical fiction, mystery, thriller
Synopsis: Harold White is a nervous, bumbling twenty-eight year old who has been in love with the stories of Sherlock Holmes since he was a child. He fancies himself a serious Sherlockian, though he is employed as a private consultant for certain film studios, employing his extensive knowledge of literature to help them when sued for plagiarism and such. He is thrilled to find out that he is being accepted into the Baker Street Irregulars, though his joy turns to shock when one of its most respected members appears to be murdered. The dead man is Alexander Cale, a Sherlockian who has dedicated his entire adult life to finding a diary written by Arthur Conan Doyle, missing for over a hundred years. Only a few months before his death, Mr. Cale had announced his having discovered the diary and his plan to unveil it to the Baker Street Irregulars. However, no such book is found upon his murder and Harold takes it upon himself to channel Sherlock Holmes and his theories to track down the diary and Cale's killer. A second story-line develops around Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself, which spans several years. It begins with his throwing Sherlock Holmes off of the Reichenbach Falls, though ultimately channeling his creation's techniques when he is pulled into investigating the sordid murders of several young girls.
My review: I started this book two weeks ago and finished it this afternoon, after having pushed my way through the majority of it over the weekend. I had to get some momentum going, otherwise it was in danger of ending up on my re-re-re-renewed shelf on Goodreads. I'm sorry to say I'm pretty disappointed. To be fair, The Sherlockian isn't terrible, especially seeing as it's the author's debut novel, but it didn't hold my attention especially well nor did it have any tidbits that put me on the edge of my seat.
The characters are not particularly engaging or relatable, and I felt no emotional attachment to any of them; this is a particularly disappointing aspect of the book for someone who has been known to fall in love with a fictional character or two (*ahem*). In fact, at certain points during the story I felt such intense dislike for Harold I wanted to cause him bodily harm, and I'm pretty sure that is not what the author is going for. I expected him to become a geeky, unlikely hero- you know, the inept, bumbling, lovable genius with no common sense and zero social skills who suddenly appears on the scene and, against all odds, saves the day. Well, he is certainly bumbling but not lovable. All of the characters are also strangely two-dimensional, especially Sarah Lindsay, who accompanies Harold on his quest and should have developed dramatically throughout the book. Her becoming Harold's love interest was also sadly predictable as well as completely unbelievable.
To be honest, the chapters involving Arthur Conan Doyle are a little bizarre. Sir Conan Doyle did, in fact, assist Scotland Yard with some of their cases, but in the novel his experiences are portrayed as being melodramatic beyond belief. It also feels a little libelous to have a well-known historical figure be portrayed as a cross-dressing, gun-toting vigilante (who fires said gun directly at someone's head, no less). I understand the author is taking an "artistic liberty", but there must be a limit somewhere. In addition, the facts about Sir Conan Doyle's life are given in the tone of an almanac: dry and succinct, reminders to the reader that they are, in fact, reading about the real-life author of Sherlock Holmes.
While I don't feel this book was a complete waste of time, and there are some semi-interesting plot points, I would recommend it only to those who (a) already have an intense love for Holmes and Doyle, (b) don't mind a fairly slow story, and (c) don't have high expectations of books belonging to the "historical fiction" genre. This was a fairly strong start to Graham Moore's writing career, and I look forward to his future works, though The Sherlockian is ultimately underdeveloped and forgettable.
Mary Beth
