la sombra del viento

My Spanish sadly isn't what it once was, so I did read "The Shadow of the Wind" in Swedish (Vindens skugga) - but I so love the sound of Spanish, so La sombra del Viento it is. Written by Carlos Ruiz Zafón the book and the story initially reminded me of the excellent La caverna de las ideas - The Athenian murders - Idéernas grotta by José Carlos Somoza, but it soon got an identity of its own.

I loved the way Ruiz Zafón takes the reader around the beautiful city of Barcelona, post-Spanish Civil War, and the initial magic of the story, which at first made in unputdownable.

I am however still not at all sure I found his way of writing enjoyable or too strained and voluble. Though the description of the Mist Angel house, its derelict garden with fallen statues and the one drowned in the fountain was really chilling (for someone with a statue thing). And I loved the idea of a secret chamber of forgotten books.

I enjoyed the collection of characters, but I did feel quite let down by the ending as it very much lacked the magic the story began with.

I bought his other book "El juego del ángel"- The Angel's Game - Ängelns lek at the same time as I got this one (yup, daring that's me) and I will probably enjoy it. But as with "The Shadow of the Wind" I will quite possibly not rave about it.