Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron

I was saddened to learn today of the passing of Carlos Ruiz Zafon but was fortunate to read this wonderful book in 2004 when it was first published.  What a stunning book it is!  I so loved it, I also listened to the audiobook.  However, in 2004 I was writing comments, mostly as a way for me to track which authors and books I liked.  It was prior to my writing in-depth reviews.  Even so, I've decided to add those notes here, on my review site.

Ten-year-old Daniel Sempere is taken to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books where he is to adopt a single book and promise to keep it alive always. He is drawn to "The Shadow of the Wind." When he finds out that all other copies of the author's books have been burned, it becomes a quest for Daniel to find out about the mysterious author, Julian Carax. Over time, Daniel's and Carax's lives become linked in frightening, and sometimes dangerous, ways.

I loved this book! There is humor, sorrow, love, suspense, friendship, tragedy, brutality, revenge, fabulous sense of time and place, and a fountain pen that connects the story together through time. The language is flowery, and the pace sometimes slow but I never wanted to put it down. There was a twist I didn't expect yet all the ends are neatly tied into a perfect circle at the end. It's not a traditional mystery, but it is a wonderful book.

THE SHADOW OF THE WIND (Mystery/Novel-Barcelona-1945-1966)-Ex
Zafon, Carlow Ruiz – 1st adult novel
The Penguin Press, 2004 - Hardcover