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The Shadow of the Wind
- Narrated by: James Wilby
- Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins
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The Shadow of the Wind
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Summary
Hidden in the heart of the old city of Barcelona is the "cemetery of lost books", a labyrinthine library of obscure and forgotten titles that have long gone out of print. To this library, a man brings his 10-year-old son Daniel one cold morning in 1945. Daniel is allowed to choose one book from the shelves and pulls out La Sombra del Viento by Julian Carax.
But as he grows up, several people seem inordinately interested in his find. Then, one night, as he is wandering the old streets once more, Daniel is approached by a figure who reminds him of a character from La Sombra del Viento, a character who turns out to be the devil. This man is tracking down every last copy of Carax's works in order to burn them. What begins as a case of literary curiosity turns into a race to find out the truth behind the life and death of Julian Carax and to save those he left behind.
Critic reviews
"Superbly entertaining." ( Washington Post Book World)
"Carlos Ruiz Zafon has written a masterful novel of hope, mystery, and love, made more superb on audio." ( AudioFile)
"Part detective story, part boy's adventure, part romance, fantasy, and gothic horror, the intricate plot is urged on by extravagant foreshadowing and nail-nibbling tension. This is rich, lavish storytelling." ( Booklist)
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What listeners say about The Shadow of the Wind
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 08-12-21
Great story, but THAT music is bloody awful
The incidental music almost put me off what is a fantastic story which is well narrated. Music sounded like it was done on a 1990s casio keyboard.
Glad I stuck with it however as the writing is great.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Yusra A.
- 14-09-21
Very good storytelling
This book was captivating from start to end. My only criticism is the fact that the audio telling is a shortened version, I was hoping it would be read word for word as I started reading the physical copy and only jumped to audio as I’m busy unpacking. Otherwise it’s still great
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Ian
- 10-10-07
Engaging
I have to say that I very rarely read books but this book was recommended to me by a few people so when I joined Audible I made it first choice. What a great decision... I was captivated. Furthermore, I had just returned from Barcalona and knew of some of the places referred to. There are a lot of characters in the book and had I had known this sooner I would have made a few notes to keep track of who they were but in the end I still got there. It's quite lengthy of around 6 hours but the story is superb, twisting and turning, and by the time we got three quarters into the book, it was all begining to make sense and move towards a conclusion.
So from a person who is not really into books - give this a go and I am sure you will enjoy it if you stick with it.
Ian
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Sardinia01
- 08-10-09
"The Shadow of the Wind".
I was recommended this book by a friend, otherwise I probably would not have chosen it. I loved it. I found it haunting and found myself thinking about it long after finishing it. It was at the end of the tape that I also discovered that the music had been composed by the author. I felt it was a shame I did not know this at the beginning, because all blended so well.
All in all a great read.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Abi
- 01-03-18
Beautiful read
What a beautiful
& powerful love story.
I have read two of his book and enjoyed both of them.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
- David G. Woodward
- 21-10-09
Nice Story - But hold the music
This was a pleasant enough story that was VERY negatively affected by the inclusion of oppressive and totally unnecessary music overlaid on the reading. At points the actual words of the book become almost unintelligable behind the loud music, that, we find out at the end, is the creation of the author.
I came close to stopping halfway through. Th effect of the music was that bad.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 14-12-20
Female characters disappointing if not brilliant
I read the book first and found the audible so well narrated I enjoyed it even more. At times the music was intrusive. Good interview at the end
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Darren
- 03-07-09
thoroughly good story
The story jumps genres a few times which only adds to the intrigue and suspense, really enjoyed this listen
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Stephanie Albert
- 08-08-11
Fantastic story
This book has been on my "must read" list for a long time, and I decided to download it instead. I'm so glad I did as it is beautifully read, and includes music written by the author, which compliments the story perfectly. Best audiobook I have downloaded by far.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mrs. L. Lawson
- 01-10-15
The shadow of the wind
The story was so gritting that I managed to loss the story line. The narrated was quite browsing
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