I finished listening to The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón the other day. I had originally thought it was some kind of magical fantasy book, but it was absolutely not that. It was, however, and excellent read/listen outside of my usual genres and writing style.
The story takes place in Barcelona in the 1940's and 50's as a young boy seeks to solve the mysteries surrounding the author of his favorite book. As the story unfolds it becomes a wonderfully captivating tale of murder and mystery and intrigue, all while we watch the narrator grow up and stumble through his own life making mistakes along the way.
There is so much emotion in this novel. Barcelona feels alive, the characters are all messy and passionate and expressive, the events and storylines that take place are often so illogical but so human in ways that you don't frequently see in SciFi/Fantasy, and it was a very refreshing read for that - I had a similar experience when reading East of Eden in that strange capturing of human messiness that is so often distilled out of my normal reading.
The author has a line that "Books are a Mirror", that you only see in them that which you already have inside you. This really struck me, as while I most definitely learn new things from books all the time, a book like this truly feels like a mirror. I kept seeing in the story reflections of my own mistakes and experiences in life, bittersweet reminders of failed romances and lost friends that elevated the story.
Given the messy nature of the story and the lives the author spins into this tale, they managed to finish completely cleanly -- they tied up every loose end and left no questions about any of the characters' fates. I thank them for that, as I really felt attached to many of the colorful cast.
I really enjoyed this story and how perfectly self-contained it was. I understand there's some prequels out there, but for now I think I'll let this one stand on it's own.