The Shadow of the Wind: Final Thoughts
The main thing I have to say about this book is this: if you haven’t read it, disregard your mile-long TBR list and go read it. Get it from a bookshop, a library, a second-hand bookstore would be even more appropriate, I don’t care where it comes from, but this is a work that begs to be read.
Personally, I don’t usually read mystery novels. Anything that feels like it could actually take place just doesn’t hit the spot for me. That being said I enthusiastically love this book. The writing is beautiful, the characters are well-developed and consistent, they grow throughout the book and make you truly care what happens to them. The twists and turns of the narrative are like the winding back roads of Barcelona, but every deflection, every offshoot has its purpose and makes you hunger for more.
This book with all of it’s beauty, the haunting melancholy that pervades every phrase, the clear adoration for the written word, the smooth leaps forward, makes the entire work a privilege to read. I’m only sorry that I will only get to take this journey, in utter ignorance, once.
Overall a fantastic book and a great first read for the new year. One that will stick with you, for a long time.