by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Author)
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 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. A page-turning exploration of obsession in literature and love, and the places that obsession can lead.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 512
Edition: Open Market Ed
Publisher: Phoenix
Published: 07 Oct 2004
ISBN 10: 0752859544
ISBN 13: 9780752859545
Book Overview: o Rights sold in 20 countries including Penguin USA, Mondadori in Italy, Grasset in France, Gyldendal in Denmark, Suhrkamp in Germany and Signature in Holland o Sold over 350,000 copies in Spain and is still in bestseller charts after over two years. Was simultaneously at top of Castillian and Catalan charts in Barcelona - something that has never happened before o Number 1 on bestseller charts in Germany, with over 160,000 copies in print Shadow of the Wind was the number 9 bestselling book in the world in 2003 Film rights sold for a seven figure sum o The potential of Fingersmith, with elements of The Reader, Possession and The Name of the Rose o Lucia Graves, daughter of the poet Robert Graves, is the translator