The Shadow of the Wind

The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Translated by Lucia Graves
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The Cemetary of Forgotton Books. 
It sounds intriguing doesn’t it?  It is.  And that is just the first page.  Trust me, this book is more intriguing than any other you will find on your mysterious shelves.  For it combines mystery, romance, history, tales of war and a gothic creepiness that just seeps into you.  It is about a book, it’s author and the entangled destruction of beauty, words and people.  I refuse to give you even a character’s name, for I feel that you should step into The Shadow of the Wind clean of any details.

Take a chance.  It’s a lovely jump into Barcelona.  I will tell you that it is set in Barcelona. 

If you must know more, please read the description. 

The Thirteenth Tale…one of my favorites

The Thirteenth Tale, Diane Setterfield, 2006.
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I first came upon this book in a wonderful bookshop in Maine.  I was on vacation at the time, and couldn’t justify the hardback price, but the dustjacket description stuck with me.  I forgot the title by the time I got home, and searched book stores in vain for months.  I stumbled upon it online, and firmly believe that it was fate.

If you love books… if you love the feel of a hardback in your hands as you turn each softly textured page… then this one is a treasure.  The Thirteenth Tale is a mystery revolving around two women that slowly unfolds in a gothic manor.  It sounds so Jane Eyre, but its not.  Yes, there are dark corridors and pregnant silences.  There are also libraries and gardens, and people who seem to be coincedental but evolve into being the whole reason behind everything.  It is a story within multiple stories wrapped up with a story.

I feel that I cannot say more without rubbing away the beauty of this book.  I will be honest and say that if you want give yourself a gift.  Give yourself this book.