Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

31 reviews

chalkletters's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.5

The Shadow of the Wind is one of those books that seems to always be featured in book shops. I must have picked it up a dozen times to read the blurb or the first page but never quite got around to actually buying it. It’s a book about books, and while those appeal to me as a reader in theory, they are often slightly disappointing in practice.

Such was the case with The Shadow of the Wind. While the cemetery of forgotten books is a fascinating concept, Carlos Ruiz Zafón spends hardly any time there. The Shadow of the Wind isn’t so much a book about books as a book about one author and his mysterious backstory. Except, some of the mystery, specifically Lain Coubert’s identity, could be guessed hundreds of pages before it was officially revealed.

Daniel and Julián simply aren’t that interesting as characters, unless you find adolescent male romances particularly compelling. Sadly, the women they fall in love with aren’t very well fleshed out, they exist mostly as aloof and unattainable examples of femininity, which is tiresome. Carlos Ruin Zafón does much better with the minor characters: Daniel’s father is sympathetic, Fermin’s story is unexpected, Bernada is sweet, and I could go on. In terms of building a large and interconnected cast of characters, Carlos Ruin Zafón has succeeded, but the story he chooses to tell with them isn’t all that inspired.

The Shadow of the Wind’s prose is very nice, there were several poetic descriptions of Barcelona, usually at the beginnings of chapters, as well as some lovely atmospheric moments throughout. It does veer towards pretension at times, but not enough to ruin the reading experience.

Overall, The Shadow of the Wind is solidly written, and has good moments especially in Carlos Ruin Zafón’s minor characters, but the main story wasn’t something I’d especially recommend.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Incest, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Blood, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War

okarenhelena's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Torture, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Murder, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, Blood, and Stalking

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Mass/school shootings, Pregnancy, and War

frenandjen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

wortwahl's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I adore Zafons writing. He uses words to paint vibrant but also dark pictures amd makes it an incredible journey to read The Shadow of the Wind. However...did he really have to include incest? It's such a beautiful story, but that storyline just put a damper on it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Incest, and Violence

Moderate: Child death, Miscarriage, Sexism, Sexual content, Police brutality, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and War

lovelessreader's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

What a book. It took me around 100 pages to get into the it because the pacing is excruciatingly slow, but it was absolutely worth it. The story was completely unpredictable and really fun, and nerve-wracking at certain parts, to read. 10/10 would reccommend

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

tessduets's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I loved this book so much. Lots of shocking plot twists and a completely unique story. While it was exciting and mysterious it was also a rather cozy read. It is beautifully written and is now one of my favorite books. I had the added fun of getting to read it while visiting Barcelona, definitely recommend that if you get the chance.  

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Dementia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

parkyparkpark's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

jeanniea's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Great storytelling. Similar storytelling style to that of erin morgenstern. Story picks up about halfway thru. I enjoyed the ending of the book! There were a few unexpected surprises in the plot.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Child death, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, Abortion, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

bluejay21's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment

francine_is_reading's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Injury/Injury detail