Skip to content
Tropely
Theme
The Shadow of the Wind cover

Book guide

The Shadow of the Wind

by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

A boy’s chance discovery of a forgotten novel draws him into a dark, labyrinthine mystery through the streets of postwar Barcelona.

Buy or view on Amazon UK

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

About The Shadow of the Wind

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 'The Shadow of the Wind' 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 the book, a character who turns out to be the devil. This man is tracking down every last copy of Carax's work 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...

Reading signals

Spice
None
Darkness
Dark
Pacing
Balanced

Series

Cemetery of Forgotten Books · Book 1 of 4

Content warnings
  • Book burning
  • Murder
  • Torture
  • Sexual assault
  • Abuse
  • Violence
  • Death
  • Political repression
  • incest
  • sexual content
  • misogyny
  • police brutality

Keep your next read close.

Save books, track your reading, and find more stories shaped around your taste.