This book's been on my list for a while, and I was finally able to get around to it. I was looking for a good historical fiction novel and decided to go with Shadow of the Wind.
Blasted through it in a few days and damn, it's an absolute banger. What starts off as just a well-written, fun jaunt through post-war Barcelona eventually becomes a haunting, immersive and gothic tragedy that spans decades, and manages to capture almost the entirety of the emotional spectrum.
In many ways, Shadow of the Wind felt like an ode to writing and storytelling itself. So much of the narrative is structured as nested stories-within-stories, with characters telling stories to other characters, or characters reading journals about other characters. In less skilled hands, this could have ended up feeling like boring exposition but the act of storytelling is so crucial to the narrative here, and Zafon (RIP) weaves this dense, multigenerational story so expertly that it never once feels dragged-out or detached.
I was not prepared for the full scope of the story – each section keeps building, with the glimpses into the past tying into the present-day story until it comes full circle. The penultimate section, where Daniel finally gets a glimpse into Nuria's journal and finds out what really happened to Julian and Penelope, was absolutely breathtaking. Really some of the most compelling storytelling I've come across in a while. The part with Penelope's father hearing her give birth alone, and then her dying with her stillborn child made my jaw drop.
The characters really elevate the story too, especially all the secondary ones. I actually thought Daniel was one of the least compelling characters in the story but other ones like Fermin, Daniel's father, Miquel and especially Nuria and Julian, more than make up for that. I honestly could have read an entire book centred around just Nuria and Julian, and their strange, heartbreaking relationship. It really did feel like Julian's story was the one Zafon was really interested in.
My nitpicks with the book are fairly minor. As I mentioned, I didn't think Daniel was the most interesting protagonist – and I honestly found him kind of annoying and dumb at times but I guess it's to be expected with a lovestruck, bookworm teenage boy. Fumero was a generally good villain, but he veered on the edge of being a caricature at times. Like cmon, dude blew off his moms head with a shotgun, is obsessed with insects, and is also a uber-badass fascist super-soldier?
But again, these complaints don't take away from the overall power of the story. I found myself genuinely haunted by Nuria and Penelope's deaths, as well as the gradual disintegration of Julian's life (although I suppose he had kind of a happy ending).
Couldn't recommend this book enough.
by keepfighting90