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Daniel Teo's Reviews > The Shadow of the Wind
The Shadow of the Wind
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After reading The Shadow of the Wind, I was left with somewhat mixed feelings. On the one hand, this is such a beautifully written book, and is in essence an ode to literature. On the other hand, there are some serious flaws which distracts from the whole experience.
The best thing about the book, in my opinion, is Zafon's skill in artistic writing. It reminds me of why I love to read in the first place, and makes me wish I could write as beautiful as this. The book contains lots of memorable quotes as well, definitely a good thing as far as I'm concerned.
So after about 50 pages in, I was ready to love this book as I seldom loved another book before. But as the story progressed, that resolution started to diminish slowly but surely. Ironically, one the more obvious flaws is Zafon's overuse of stylistic writing. It seems like everyone acts or talks in a very elaborate manner, even in the simplest of situations, and this can really become tiresome after a while.
The plot also isn't as ingenious as the hype would make you believe. Zafon does a good job creating a sense of mystery early on, and there are obvious parallels between the main character Daniel Sempere, and Julian Carax, the writer whose past he is trying to uncover. But ultimately, the stories of Daniel and Julian are seperate ones, and they just happen to interconnect with one another more by chance than by design.
By far the most troublesome flaw is the way the mysteries are "resolved". All too often, answers are given by having some side character or another tell his or her story for pages. Nowhere is this more evident than at the end of the book, where literally every single detail is revealed in the form of a (very) long letter, even details which the writer of the letter never could have known, since she wasn't even involved in those events. It's as if Zafon did not have a clue or the motivation to write a logical conclusion, and decided to just dump all the information in one place.
With a bit more attention to actual plot and character development, this could have been one of my favourite books. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed reading the Shadow of the Wind. It's just a shame that it falls some way short of its potential.
The best thing about the book, in my opinion, is Zafon's skill in artistic writing. It reminds me of why I love to read in the first place, and makes me wish I could write as beautiful as this. The book contains lots of memorable quotes as well, definitely a good thing as far as I'm concerned.
So after about 50 pages in, I was ready to love this book as I seldom loved another book before. But as the story progressed, that resolution started to diminish slowly but surely. Ironically, one the more obvious flaws is Zafon's overuse of stylistic writing. It seems like everyone acts or talks in a very elaborate manner, even in the simplest of situations, and this can really become tiresome after a while.
The plot also isn't as ingenious as the hype would make you believe. Zafon does a good job creating a sense of mystery early on, and there are obvious parallels between the main character Daniel Sempere, and Julian Carax, the writer whose past he is trying to uncover. But ultimately, the stories of Daniel and Julian are seperate ones, and they just happen to interconnect with one another more by chance than by design.
By far the most troublesome flaw is the way the mysteries are "resolved". All too often, answers are given by having some side character or another tell his or her story for pages. Nowhere is this more evident than at the end of the book, where literally every single detail is revealed in the form of a (very) long letter, even details which the writer of the letter never could have known, since she wasn't even involved in those events. It's as if Zafon did not have a clue or the motivation to write a logical conclusion, and decided to just dump all the information in one place.
With a bit more attention to actual plot and character development, this could have been one of my favourite books. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed reading the Shadow of the Wind. It's just a shame that it falls some way short of its potential.
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Giang
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rated it 5 stars
Jun 25, 2009 02:55AM
Nicely put, the letter was to long and a bit omniscient for my taste. I think the author could have gotten around this but that would have extended the book by another 200 pages or so. Not that that would be a bad thing at all. I sense that the author got bored with writing the book somewhere along the way and felt like finishing it off quickly, based on the giant chunk of text that suddenly ties up all or most of the loose ends and the prologue after the climax which ties up all the loose ends to daniels story without adding anything extra really.
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Daniel,You nailed my feelings about this book exactly. It got a wee bit tiresome for me about half way into the story.
I generally use the following measure for any book I would rank as Five Stars: has to be something I could reread more than once or twice.
Thus, The Shadow of the Wind fails to garner Five Stars from me.
You wrote so well how I, too, felt about the book. I still enjoyed it for what was there, but was disappointed in how the author wrapped everything up.four stars for me.
This is exactly how I felt about the book. Too many times the people who were "explaining" what happened couldn't have had the insight that they shared; that started to get really annoying to me. The parallelism (Julian / Penelope, Daniel / Bea) also started to grate on my nerves.I vacillated between giving it two or three stars, but decided to go with three because it's not an awful book. I, like Cowtown, wouldn't read it again (I use that criteria for four and five star ratings).
On a side note: I listened to this as an audiobook. It was my first time listening to an audiobook from Penguin - the library usually has stuff from Recorded Books - and it was quite a production, with music accompanying various sections of the reading. The annoying this was that the narrator would sometimes use Spanish-type accents, but Daniel and some lesser characters had strong American accents. I found that interesting.
I also completely agree with your review. I felt like half way through writing the book, the author ran out of ideas of how to reveal the rest of the mystery. I couldn't believe that everyone else who I know loved the book and had no problem whatsoever with this. I was starting to think there's something wrong with me. :)
Great review. You nailed it. Especially your criticism of how the mysteries ate revealed.
Damn, I really should have checked more often if there are comments :-) Thanks to everyone who commented, although I imagine most of you won't read it since the comments are quite old.I'm happy to read that there are others who are also annoyed by the way the mysteries are revealed. I find it quite baffling that it is apparently not a problem for many people. Then again, many people think that the Da Vinci Code is brilliant, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised by anything anymore... :-P
Totally agree with you; I feel like I've been cheated on when I've been kept waiting for answers for so long and then suddenly all is blurted out in a sad excuse for an ending!So obvious!
I agree with your review, I read the entire book with determination to finish it rather than being captivated by it, and your words explain better than I could ever say why that was. The ending fits somehow, it's rather uncolourful but satisfying.
two not three stars from me
two not three stars from me
I couldn't put my finger on the reasons for not enjoying this book as much as I felt I ought to given the beautiful writing. But I feel you have articulated my views entirely!
I was going to write a review about this book, but yours pretty much sums everything up I have to say about the shadow of the wind.
My thoughts exactly! Not to be rude, but Nuria's letter was all we needed. Plus, I read it in Spanish and many of the phrases were -give or take a few words- almost exactly like the ones written by Garc铆a Marquez in "One hundred years of solitude". I'd like to think Ruiz Zaf贸n was trying to pay homage to the Master of Magic Realism - without actually using this narrative style (or GM's magic for narration).
I emphatically agree with you! The mid-point was very tiresome. Cowtown wrote: "Daniel,
You nailed my feelings about this book exactly. It got a wee bit tiresome for me about half way into the story.
I generally use the following measure for any book I would rank as Five St..."
Much as I enjoyed the story and couldn't put it down, I agree that Nuria's lengthy letter felt like a cop-out and hammered home the fact that, although Daniel and Ferm铆n had uncovered most of the elements of the plot, they had completely failed to put any of them together. Daniel, in fact, was too busy feeling sorry for himself and landing his illicit girlfriend in trouble to apparently think any of it through. This was, to say the least, frustrating when a bit more work on the author's part might have tied it all up most satisfactorily.
I completely agree, couldn't have said it better myself
I agree. The ending was lazy, like the author just wanted to be done with the book. I know that feeling, but one most resist the impulse.
This is a good review of the book which addresses my major criticisms.That said, I don't think anyone would disagree it's perfect summer/casual reading as a break from heavier and more difficult to read novels.
i agree with you, well writing but poor trama
That's all exactly what I was thinking while reading, thanks :).
I do 100% agree with your criticisms, but it definitely did not stop me from completely suspending my belief, and absolutely loving the novel. Though, my main reason for commenting is a question: does anyone know if some of the novel's faults may be due to the translation?
yes, the fact how a lot of mysteries were uncovered by Nuria's letter was a bit disappointing, however I still enjoyed the book very much. True that the author should have made more effort for the last part of the book
my thoughts exactly in every point you mentioned and described.
An absolutely beautifully written book-envelops the mind from the onset-the obsessive mindset,the ritualistic self abuse,one develops and the warped,distorted perceptions of the disillusioned and disenchanted!Takes the reader on a journey into the darkness of the human psyche.Unfortunately,the ending,was extremely poor and left me questioning the author's motive?!!Did I see it coming;never.Rather weakly executed leaving me feeling less than enamoured with the plot twist.Why,would a grown man be happy with that outcome,is beyond me-it kind of borders on taboo.Otherwise a thoroughly engrossing read from the moment I picked it up!
I found it interesting, until everyone was telling the story of Julian which put things in repetition from different aspects. And detailed conversations of people with whom they were not conversing even. Anyone could predict the ending from the last letter and it lost the charm.
This is indeed a well written review and exactly how I feel about this book. Thanks for sharing!
I could not have written in a better way my thoughts about this book. Totally agree with you
I just finished the book and was not sure why I didn't love it, even though I liked it a lot! You definitely nailed down the reasons. Nuria's letter was a bit too much.
im only 1/3 of the way through it and was struggling to understand why i wasnt loving it as much as i did in the very beginning.. your review is excellent, outlines my same feelings. honestly not feeling like i want to finish the book.
The overuse of omniscient italicized explanations definitely detracted from the overall experience. Wonderful characters, lots of intrigue, but too many plot holes that were wrapped up using that technique. great review!
This is 100% how I am feeling. I'm not quite done but I'm at the letter. And while I'm things are being wrapped up it is being done poorly.
Great review, you put in words some of the things that have passed through my thoughts while reading this book. I haven't finished the book yet, but it was nice to read a well thought out review that I could connect with.
Can you give some specific example(s) where "details which the writer of the letter never could have known"? I'm not doubting it, I just didn't notice that while reading, and I usually notice things like that.Though I think I agree with you about the way the story is laid out. It has a lot more flashbacks/letters than other stories.
I was going to write a longer review, but found yours and just linked to that. Hope you don't mind. :)I gave it a very generous 4 stars. Perhaps 3.5 would be more accurate of my assessment.
Matt wrote: "Can you give some specific example(s) where "details which the writer of the letter never could have known"? I'm not doubting it, I just didn't notice that while reading, and I usually notice thing..."I listened to the audiobook, so I can't really flip back through, but I remember especially during Nuria Monfort's letter that she gave so many details that she couldn't have known. *Spoiler alert* The scene where Miquel shoots the cops and dies had all sorts of details, IIRC. There was another scene about the Aldaya house I think that included someone's thoughts, and the shadows they could see through the dark. I can't remember exactly, maybe someone else can. It was kind of distracting.
This was my exact thoughts as well
鈥淐an you give some specific example(s) where "details which the writer of the letter never could have known"?鈥�In Muria Nonfort鈥檚 letter she describes how Detective Fumero followed her one afternoon, then went home and masturbated thinking of her. How could she possibly have known that?
I noticed about 5 or 6 such details while reading and while I agree it鈥檚 a flaw, for me it didn鈥檛 detract from how phenomenal this story was and I still have it 5/5 stars.
Just finished this book and your review exactly points out what I didn鈥檛 like this book as much as I thought after reading the first 100 pages. The tone and plot shifts from from Daniel鈥榮 point of view to just hearing stories or reading letters from another persons perspective. Just not my cup of tea. But the story as a whole is really good.
I felt exactly the same about the letter and the plot not being as bizarre as it seems during most of the book, the latter is not a flaw per se, but a bit disapointing. But the writing is so great, I was loving the book so much before the letter, I couldn't rate it less than 5 stars, but unfortunatly it is not one of my favorite books, as I felt sure it would be before that deus ex machina solving the mistery. Also, the letter is not as beautifully written as the rest of the book, what on the one hand is good, because is a different character that is telling the story, but on the other, man, it's almost 100 pages, too much time without the brilliance of the narration. Still, for me, recognising important flaws, it's still five stars (just a comment, I understand your rating)
Yes, I also agree. Exactly why I gave it four stars instead of five.
Completely agree. To me the flaws are:-As you say, those long explanations. As if the author is worried that you would forget the previous plot, he usually repeats it.
Nuria's being the worse offender. "Oh, let me write you a letter, more like a short novel, full of my most intimate secrets, some details it's unlikely I could have known, and to explain this mystery, person I met once". Also, the tone of the narrator isn't different enough in each occasion.
-Too similar stories between Carax and Daniel.
-There's always a character with a funny way of talking, usually using clear irony which other characters are blind to. It reminds me of Eduardo Mendoza although in his books it's better used, in my opinion.
-He uses too much metaphors. To a point I don't remember in any other novel. To me this kind of writing ends being tiresome. Many of them being so typical and repetitive that add little style.
-The plot is easy to predict in general with mostly archetypical characters.
That being said, I mostly enjoyed the novel so I'll give it a 3/5.
Great description. I was also very captivated in the beginning but started to loose interest and patience after the middle of the book. I agree that there is so much potential, as the writer has the ability to use words so beautifully. But, my end feeling is somewhat disappointing unfortunately. A good read that I do not regret - but would also not read it again.
Well written review of exactly what I feel. I thought the plot going to be very mysterious and adventurous, but then it turned out to be a tragic melodramatic love stories that are overly exaggerated .
You nailed that. Sadly I put the book down a million times because it lost its grip on me (the reason behind my 3 stars) for the exact reason you鈥檝e said. Because it was so beautiful written otherwise is the reason I kept picking it back up. I鈥檝e never not finished a book but alas I鈥檝e put it down so many times that I鈥檝e lost touch with who鈥檚 who and this it鈥檚 now even less enjoyable....maybe I鈥檒l pick it up again soon... Anyway, amazingly review 馃憤馃徎
This review is spot on. It almost seems like he's trying to tie up all the loose ends of the novel in that letter (which I swear he said was on 10 pages, but covers at least 50 in the book). How quickly both the pregnancies were realised was another flaw for me.Nevertheless I enjoyed reading the book and found the writing very gripping and beautiful.
This review says word for word how I felt about this book! Despite some of the pitfalls you mentioned, I still found it difficult to put this one down. I couldn鈥檛 agree more the descriptive writing of Zaf贸n is enchanting and definitely kept me engaged. Thanks for your well written review!
