Review of Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

I have just finished reading an excellent book called ‘Shadow of the Wind’ by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. The book follows two different stories at once, one of a Daniel, young boy growing up in his father’s book shop in Barcelona, and the other trailing an author of a book that Daniel has become devoted too.
The reasons that this story is a must read are manifold. Firstly, it is exceptionally well written by Carlos Ruiz Zafón with a great understanding and ability to communicate the intricacies of Spanish culture. The author is of Spanish origin, so his knowledge on this subject is unsurpassable, but his ability to convey the sense of the Spanish mindset and lifestyle is faultless. Zafón brilliantly expresses the relaxed, lazy atmosphere of the Spanish afternoons spent in coffee shops and Tapas bars, everyone enjoying the hot afternoon sunshine in the Plaza.
Zafón also blends in with his wonderful descriptions of good Spanish living with the much seedier, squalid poverty of Barcelona in the 1940’s under Franco’s governance. Many of the characters either experience or come into contact with the poverty and abandonment that faced many Spanish citizens, for the oppressive and prejudicial nature of the Government and the law. The blend of the two ways of Spanish life in this novel is quite unique to me. Too often books about 20th century Spain focus on Franco’s rule and how this crippled the country, destroyed Spanish culture etc. all of which are undoubtedly true. However, Carlos Ruiz Zafón is distinctive in that he chooses neither to focus on how bad Franco’s rule was nor what it did to individuals or the country, without making clear that there was an amalgamation of the good and bad of Spain at that time.
Finally, this book was fantastic because it was chillingly cold-hearted and abject in places, yet also was full of hope and possible happiness. This reflects his description of Spanish lifestyle, but it is much more apparent in the themes and story line of the book.
As an example of this I point to the story of Penelope Aldaya. I am trying not to give too much away in this review, but no reader will be left untouched by the description of Penelope’s fingernails scraping the door in an effort to get out of the room where she had her illegitimate and incestuous baby, with her parents standing on the other side refusing to help. Similarly shocking is the discovery of the room years later by Daniel, who finds the blood stains on the wall and floors. Zafón goes a good deal beyond horror in this scene. Yet, we also get wonderfully refreshing and heart-warming incidents, such as in the opening chapters where Daniel meets Clara, reads to her and listens to her piano playing.
I would unhesitatingly recommend this book to anyone who wants a challenging read and a book that deals with complex emotions. As a rule I only like books that have a happy ending, but keep you guessing until the end, and Shadow of the Wind was no exception.