The Shadow of the Wind Review - Justin Yu

Title of Book: The Shadow of the Wind

Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafon

# of Pages: 565

Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆

Why This Book has Value:

Daniel, the protagonist of Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s novel The Shadow of the Wind, is an energetic and driven teenage boy. The authors choice of words and Daniel’s cirumstances in his own life show his character, by the end of the book, to be honorable, intelligent, and very driven to his purpose.The story begins with him at age 10 and ends when he is 18, meaning that over the course of these 8 years Daniel had an incredible amount of character development. Beyond the simple process of going from pre-teen to adulthood, which is a journey in the most ordinary of circumstances, Daniel is put through trials and situations beyond what most children go through and was changed for it.

Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s writing style changes as Daniel grows older, which shows Daniel’s personality and level of maturity through his language, thoughts and his actions in the world around him. When Daniel’s father first showed him The Cemetery of Forgotten

books(Zafón, 3), Daniel was interested in books, but the passion did not come from his heart, it came from his father’s. Over the next few years after Daniel reads The Shadow of the Wind, Daniel develops his own passion and love for books and reading books. When Daniel learns that Julian Carax’s(The author of The Shadow of the Wind) books are systematically disappearing, Daniel sets out on a quest to find and protect these books. Although Daniel’s quest to protect these books and to find the identity of the man responsible for the disappearing books leads him into many troubles and is wrought with hardship, Daniel persists and overcomes these obstacles. His determination and unwavering devotion to the protection of these books is a strong representation of his character and how both driven and honourable Daniel is as a character. His passion and great understanding of books, as well as how artfully and skillfully Daniel searched and discovered the mystery of The Shadow of the Wind, show how intelligent and clever Daniel is.

Daniel’s character is very strong, clear and consistent throughout the whole of the book, and his development and the lessons he learns is shown through both dialogue and writing style. His growth from 10 year old to 18 year old is represented and is changed through the view of the world around him. Daniel is a clear protagonist, and Carlos Ruiz Zafón did a beautiful job of portraying him as such.