The writing on its own is magically crafted; it doesn't even have as much as one word out of place. Everything is so perfectly sculpted and aligned, it just mesmerizes you with the poetic flow of it. It is absolutely nothing less than a breathtaking work of art.
The story takes place in 1945 Barcelona, where a young boy named Daniel Sempere is taken to a hidden place called The Cemetery of Forgotten Books by his father, who tells him that it is a tradition to pick a book out. Daniel finds the book "The Shadow of the Wind" by Julian Carax and find the comfort he needs to deal with the death of his mother in it. When he seeks to find more of Carax' books, he finds out that someone has been going around burning all of them. Daniel might possibly be in possession of one of Carax' only books left. The story follows Daniel on his adventure as he starts to slowly discover Barcelona's deepest secrets.
There was absolutely nothing I didn't love about this book. I felt that everything about it was gold. I found myself constantly taken back to the streets of Barcelona when I wasn't reading. And while I was reading, I was completely in Daniel's world, and couldn't even force myself to put it down. Saying that it was a page turner would be a serious understatement; it honestly was so much more than that. I thought the Zafon did an excellent job with giving as much importance to both the plot and the characters, making the story so much more interesting. This is the type of book I would recommend for anybody. It is a hauntingly beautiful experience: read it.
-- Written by Neha C.
