The Shadow of the Wind

THE SHADOW OF THE WIND. Carlos Ruiz Zafon.Tr. by Lucia Graves. Read by Jonathan Davis. 2001/2004. 16 cds. 19 hrs. Penguin Audio. 0-14-280080-5. $54.95. SA

It is 1945, and in Barcelona, 10-year-old Daniel Sempere grieves for his dead mother. To comfort him, his father, an antiquarian book dealer, takes him to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books and tells him to pick a volume for his very own. Wandering through dark corridors and ceiling-high bookshelves, Daniel is drawn to an obscure novel entitled The Shadow of the Wind. In the following years, he looks for other novels by the author, a Spaniard named Julian Carax who lived in Paris during the 1920s and was reported killed in Barcelona in the 1930s. But someone has been destroying all of Carax's books, and Daniel's quest turns dangerous. A disfigured stranger dogs Daniel's path, and a sadistic policeman seems intent on avenging a long-ago insult.

Rich in atmosphere and Dickensian characters, this long, lush novel captured top place on the Spanish best-seller list for over a year, and has been published in over 20 countries. Davis's sensitive and at times melancholy voice effectively conveys the Gothic ambiance of abandoned mansions, underground crypts, strangers lurking in doorways, and doomed love affairs. Davis narrates smoothly, nicely pronouncing the Spanish proper names. He uses a neutral American English for Daniel's narrative, which works well. Less successfully, he gives several of the other characters Spanish accents that smack of New York City. Piano music composed by the author accompanies a few passages; opinions will split over whether this is a distraction or an enhancement to the text. Zafon wrote four novels for YAs before this, his first adult novel. Beyond the shadow of a doubt, this reading of The Shadow of the Wind should bring to American listeners the winds of Zafon-mania that have swept the literary world. Helen Elizabeth Woodman, Andover, NH

COPYRIGHT 2004 Kliatt
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group