My review of The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

On one level, the plot of The Shadow of the Wind is simple: Young Daniel Sempere falls in love with a novel and decides to find out where its author has disappeared to. But as Daniel’s search unfolds, the story develops complex layers. The twists and turns in the plot of Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s novel The Shadow of the Wind took me on a corkscrew roller coaster ride. 

 

Set in Barcelona from 1945 to 1966, The Shadow of the Wind, which is also the name of the elusive author’s novel that so fascinated Daniel, contains murder, madness, incendiary hatred, passionate love, cruelty, curiosity, bravery, cowardice, and one silver-tongued, quick-thinking master of repartée, Daniel’s unlikely accomplice.

 

One frustration I had reading this novel was that despite the emotionally charged happenings, the fast pace of Daniel’s quest prevented me from experiencing emotion. I just wanted to pursue the mystery. Another frustration was that the length of various witnesses’ testimonies slowed my pursuit of the mystery. Then of course, the reader has to wait while Daniel and his accomplice figure out which parts of whose stories are false. In short, the pacing jerked me around a bit. That said, The Shadow of the Wind is a wild and engrossing mystery novel.