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The Shadow of the Wind
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 18 hrs and 5 mins
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The Shadow of the Wind
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Publisher's Summary
Barry Award
Book Sense Book of the Year
Borders Original Voices Award
Gumshoe Award
Horror Guild Award
Joseph-Beth and Davis-Kidd Booksellers Fiction Award
NYPL Books to Remember
Barcelona, 1945: Just after the war, a great world city lies in shadow, nursing its wounds, and a boy named Daniel awakes on his 11th 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.
An uncannily absorbing historical mystery, a heart-piercing romance, and a moving homage to the mystical power of books, The Shadow of the Wind is a triumph of the storyteller's art.
Translated by Lucia Graves.
What the critics say
“Anyone who enjoys novels that are scary, erotic, touching, tragic and thrilling should rush right out to the nearest bookstore and pick up The Shadow of the Wind. Really, you should.”—Michael Dirda, The Washington Post
“Gabriel Garcia Marquez meets Umberto Eco meets Jorge Luis Borges for a sprawling magic show.”—The New York Times Book Review
“[T]here is no question that [The Shadow of the Wind] is wondrous. . . [M]asterful, meticulous plotting and extraordinary control over language. . . . The Shadow of the Wind is ultimately a love letter to literature, intended for readers as passionate about storytelling as its young hero.”—Entertainment Weekly
What listeners say about The Shadow of the Wind
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Laura
- 2023-01-10
A fabulous story not to be missed!
Colorful and sometimes eccentric characters, lots of humorous metaphors that kept me smiling, an amazing story that's full of intrigue that made me want to keep going, sometimes risque humor and touching moments! One of the best books I have heard!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Karen Lees
- 2024-08-21
Beautiful Storytelling
Barcelona’s settings and ambiance were exquisitely detailed. The fascinating characters came to life with their intertwined lives. Plenty of mystery and drama continued through this amazing story; all the while presenting a myriad of beauty, sweetness and darkness.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Genevieve Paquette
- 2021-04-20
great
This is still one of my favorite books. I've read it a few times, and listened to it twice. The narrator is excellent.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2024-06-22
Mesmerizing
The way Carlos Ruiz Zafón sets the scene, describes the characters, illustrates a beautiful and alluring image. His writing transports you into another world, keeps you engaged, always in want of more time. I would listen to this before bed, as the narrator has a very soothing voice, and I would always wish I could stay up longer and not feel tired the next day so I could continue to listen to the story.
It was honestly very heart-breaking, and left me a little shocked at times.
Would absolutely recommend! A romance that is more than a romance.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2020-10-19
Great story!
Excellent story, romantic, well concieved and with characters I could well relate to. Almost knew them all...
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- In. D. Rob
- 2023-08-22
Barcelona and it’s Mysteries
Captures the city, the characters that people it and the wonders there to be sensed and experienced. Beautiful story, well told. The narrator and narration are superb, the best of the audio books I’ve listened to so far.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Bonnie R
- 2019-04-26
My all time favorite book
After a busy life of being a single mom, I walked into Chapters when my daughter was 15 and asked a sales associate to help me find a good book. The Shadow of the Wind was the book she said I would love. I have since read this book at least half a dozen times. I hesitated listening to this book through audible. I thought the performance might not do the book justice. I admit I could have done without the music at the end of each chapter but the narrator was so 'spot on' for every character that it really didn't bother me anymore.
I highly recommend this book.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- mavo
- 2020-07-07
A Bittersweet Discovery
I knew from the first paragraphs of The Shadow of the Wind that I was hearing a wise and articulate voice and I was not disappointed at any point during this long and complex novel. Zafon creates characters that live in your heart for their humour and compassion and for their frailty. This book is worth reading just for the idea of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, but it is so much more than that. I lived each moment with Daniel and Nouria and Fermine, laughed out loud at their clever appraisals of the world, felt their loneliness and cheered with every success. I felt as if I had walked the streets of Barcelona, although I have never been there.
Zafon is also a consummate craftsman in the area of plot development. When one of the central characters announces that he is about to die, as a reader you are anxious and worried. But then he tells Nouria's story and by the time the death scene came, it was unexpected. Being able to sustain this level of reader engagement with such a light touch on the reins, is truly a marvelous example of craft.
Some years ago now, I first read The Prince of Mists, one of his young adult novels, and enjoyed it and recommended it to several of my students who also enjoyed it. But it wasn't until I read his obituary on bbc.com that I realized I had been missing out on the body of Zafon's work. Which made reading this amazing book bittersweet. But I am going to follow Daniel's lead and search for all the novels of Carlos Ruiz Zafon, until, like those of Julian Caracs, I have read them all.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Selena Blake
- 2023-06-21
Beautifully written and narrated
Zafòn took us back in time. His written work brings life to word. The imagery was powerful. The narrator was awesome. For me, listening to this was a real treat. Not being fluent in Spanish, it was super helpful to have the correct pronunciation of names and places.
The only thing I did not enjoy was the musical interludes, but I did get accustomed to them.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- trys
- 2022-07-19
good narrator
good narrator, however i hate when piano or music is added to the end of chapters for effect. very distracting and sped up it doesn’t work as intended
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