Reading: The Shadow of the Wind

Two nights ago I stayed up until four in the morning, because of a book. This hasn’t happened in a while. I’ve been reading books – and have tried really hard to push myself to consistently read – but few had really kept me pull an all-nighter this way. This book had made me wanted to keep on reading; and if I fall asleep in the middle of my reading, I woke up wanting to read a couple more pages and get lost (again) in its words.

The story follows Daniel Sempere, a son of a bookshop owner. He was destined to find “The Shadow of the Wind” by Julian Carax at the Cemetery of the Forgotten Books. The Cemetery is a place for the  ‘books that are lost in time’, that no one remembers, that is waiting to give life again to those who are destined to cross path with it. It is a library where books – and their souls – are remembered.

The place itself is a sort of cult, I feel. Daniel’s father knew the place because his father brought him there. Those who had visited kept it discreet. First visitors must adopt a book, and make sure that the book stays alive. Daniel’s was The Shadow of the Wind. However, when Daniel attempted to look for more story from Carax, because his writing was so captivating, he found out that someone had tried to destroy every single books by Carax. His innocent curiosity lead him to a labyrinth of Barcelona’s secret saga, of love and the search of it, of life and the meaning of living it, of books and the soul that resides within, of the characters whose spirits came to life to those who lend their time for them.

I loved Zafón’s writing – and also Lucia Graves ‘s translation from the original language. Sentences flows and caught you to be at the Cemetery’s dark and mysterious aisles, Barcelona’s dusk and dawn, the abandoned villas, the closed rooms and unopened doors, the wet road and crowded cafés.

I pulled this book out of pure accident. His name seems like a mash of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Umberto Eco’s, the review seemed nice, and it was only a couple of bucks at the secondhand book store. I initially wanted to put it unto Seumpama, so I had to read its first couple of sentences to get the mood of the story. But “The Cemetery of Forgotten Books” captivated me. I thought I needed one more sentence to understand the story, then the next thing I knew, I was halfway through the book, and (I need to apologize), I’m keeping this copy for myself.

Just like how Julian Carax’s Shadow picked Daniel Sempere, Zafón’s transfixed me. At 1 a.m. this morning, I turned its last page and felt sad. I missed the story already.

Update: The Shadow of the Wind apparently is only a part of The Cemetery of Forgotten Books series. So I’m hopeful to be back there with Zafón.