Shadow of the Wind
by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Daniel Sempere: When I was young... my father brought me to a labyrinth filled with a lot of books....
Mr. Sempere: This is the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. Choose the book you desire and you must protect it.
Daniel Sempere: I chose the Shadow of the Wind... I was so in love with the book that I wanted to find the other novels written by Julian Carax but....
Julian Carax: All of the novels that I've written are burned....
Daniel Sempere: I shall protect the book with my life and get to the bottom of this mystery...
My discovery of this novel felt similar to the way its main character found a novel of the same title.... I couldn't let it go! I fell under its spell instantly and reading the plot already made me so attached to it, much more when I started reading it! It was irresistably good that it was really difficult to put it down due to time contraints....
Overall, it was simply brilliant~ I was so intrigued to its many mysteries.... they involve tragic pasts, destructive wars, inhumane tortures, dark secrets, and so on. Despite its gothic theme, it manages to make me chuckle a lot because of its witty humor! It also shared a lot of insightful thoughts related to politics, society, philosophy, and religion (even the occult). It also made me so pleased that this novel is also about love for books and literature.... and sure knows a lot about it!
The author does beautiful storytelling which kept me so engrossed to the book. It's difficult not to fall in love with its story and characters~
I admit that I wasn't that impressed with its love stories though.... those involving the protagonists give us examples of "geniuses turning into idiots because of being too passionately in love". Ahahahaha.... but well, that's "youth"? Hehe. It's a coming-of-age story after all. At least they develop. The idiotc protagonists could be compelling characters if they want to be.
The most interesting main protagonist for me is Julian.... mainly because of his habit of telling frightening tales related to the supernatural... also because of his guts to insult a noble and befriending weirdos. As for the other main protagonist, he's a darling but sometimes I find him too idiotic. But well, that's part of growing up. Haha! He's a nice character.... my only problem with Daniel that on many ocassions he seems to be.... too lucky. How he gets away and gets saved.... they're mostly thanks to coincidence.
Nonetheless, many of the supporting characters have been really remarkable (and even those who don't get much of a role are nicely developed), especially my favorites~ Mr. Sempere had been such a nice man, who truly loved his wife and his son. He's such a caring father that can be considered as one of the best fathers in the literary world~ I would also want to award Julian's and Daniel's best friends as the "best best friends in the literary world"~
Both Miguel and Fermin, who are Julian's and Daniel's best friends repsectively, are friends that a lot of people would wish to have for their selfless love and fierce loyalty. They aren't only like that to the protagonist that they adore, but to the woman that they love as well. Aside from that, they also have great minds and fun personality. I love learning about Fermin's opinions about various matters (from food to war to women to sanity).... and I absolutely adore Miguel's Freudian obsession~ It's also difficult not to giggle at their jokes... especially Fermin... he's so hilarious~~
I'll never forget how I madly fell in love with my favorite characters, especially Miguel. This book is worth treasuring.... for being so incredible and amazing~
Overall, it was simply brilliant~ I was so intrigued to its many mysteries.... they involve tragic pasts, destructive wars, inhumane tortures, dark secrets, and so on. Despite its gothic theme, it manages to make me chuckle a lot because of its witty humor! It also shared a lot of insightful thoughts related to politics, society, philosophy, and religion (even the occult). It also made me so pleased that this novel is also about love for books and literature.... and sure knows a lot about it!
The author does beautiful storytelling which kept me so engrossed to the book. It's difficult not to fall in love with its story and characters~
I admit that I wasn't that impressed with its love stories though.... those involving the protagonists give us examples of "geniuses turning into idiots because of being too passionately in love". Ahahahaha.... but well, that's "youth"? Hehe. It's a coming-of-age story after all. At least they develop. The idiotc protagonists could be compelling characters if they want to be.
The most interesting main protagonist for me is Julian.... mainly because of his habit of telling frightening tales related to the supernatural... also because of his guts to insult a noble and befriending weirdos. As for the other main protagonist, he's a darling but sometimes I find him too idiotic. But well, that's part of growing up. Haha! He's a nice character.... my only problem with Daniel that on many ocassions he seems to be.... too lucky. How he gets away and gets saved.... they're mostly thanks to coincidence.
Nonetheless, many of the supporting characters have been really remarkable (and even those who don't get much of a role are nicely developed), especially my favorites~ Mr. Sempere had been such a nice man, who truly loved his wife and his son. He's such a caring father that can be considered as one of the best fathers in the literary world~ I would also want to award Julian's and Daniel's best friends as the "best best friends in the literary world"~
Both Miguel and Fermin, who are Julian's and Daniel's best friends repsectively, are friends that a lot of people would wish to have for their selfless love and fierce loyalty. They aren't only like that to the protagonist that they adore, but to the woman that they love as well. Aside from that, they also have great minds and fun personality. I love learning about Fermin's opinions about various matters (from food to war to women to sanity).... and I absolutely adore Miguel's Freudian obsession~ It's also difficult not to giggle at their jokes... especially Fermin... he's so hilarious~~
I'll never forget how I madly fell in love with my favorite characters, especially Miguel. This book is worth treasuring.... for being so incredible and amazing~
A (EPIC AWESOME! So addicting I cannot get enough!) It's GENIUS but I just can't make it A+ because the erotic romance kinda turned me off... ehehehe.
5 Hearts ---> OBSESSION I'm really a sucker for books dealing with various topics related to religion, philosophy, psychology, politics, sociology, and the like. And it just had to add some crime and book loving stuff. I also absolutely adore stoies with mystery and comedy xD Lastly, Miguel, I love you~
