Spanish author Carlos Ruiz Zafon writes a riveting mystery story in The
Shadow of the Wind. The tale takes hold of its reader, pulling its reader into its
pages and taking one back to the early 20th century in Spain. Zafon carefully weaves
together many different and human characters into the same plot. The novel starts with a young boy, Daniel Sempere, discovering a deserted book, The Shadow of the Wind, by a certain Julian Carax, in a crypt called the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. Daniel, in later years, is both haunted by this mysterious author and connected to Carax, and sets out to discover who he was and why his books are rarely seen. This plot is a rollar coaster ride that sets the reader to think that the story will take off in one direction. However, Zafon then turns that predictability into astonishment when certain things, very unpredictable things, occur. The author’s style of connecting the characters and creating a bond between them also became a great resource in understanding the meaning of the novel. Because this story is a mystery, possible readers of this book should be able to understand complex and adult-leveled text. They should also be interested in the mystery genre, for that is the major genre of the book. The Shadow of the Wind is an unexpectedly good page-turner that gives the saying, ‘You can never judge a book by its cover’, meaning. At first look, one may pass over the cover without a second look, but once one starts reading it, The Shadow of the Wind, is an amazing book about discovery, the bonds of friendship, and the plagues of love.