The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
With "La sombra del viento" (The Shadow of the Wind), his first novel for adults, Carlos Ruiz Zafón established himself as a master storyteller. The 2001 novel, translated into English three years later by the daughter of writer Robert Graves, is a Gothic masterpiece set in mid-20th century Barcelona. The novel about a boy's search for a mysterious author whose books were destroyed is a haunting tale of doomed love that hooks you from the first page.
I set myself the challenge of reading the Spanish original and the English translation concurrently. At nearly 600 pages apiece, this was a task that involved looking up the dictionary a lot. Mission accomplished - some three months later. And I discovered that Lucia Graves had achieved something few translators can - capture the magic of the original. Author Zafón has stipulated that none of his books be adapted for the big screen. Which is a pity because "La sombra del viento" would have been a spellbinding film.
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My rating: 4 of 5 stars
With "La sombra del viento" (The Shadow of the Wind), his first novel for adults, Carlos Ruiz Zafón established himself as a master storyteller. The 2001 novel, translated into English three years later by the daughter of writer Robert Graves, is a Gothic masterpiece set in mid-20th century Barcelona. The novel about a boy's search for a mysterious author whose books were destroyed is a haunting tale of doomed love that hooks you from the first page.
I set myself the challenge of reading the Spanish original and the English translation concurrently. At nearly 600 pages apiece, this was a task that involved looking up the dictionary a lot. Mission accomplished - some three months later. And I discovered that Lucia Graves had achieved something few translators can - capture the magic of the original. Author Zafón has stipulated that none of his books be adapted for the big screen. Which is a pity because "La sombra del viento" would have been a spellbinding film.
View all my reviews
