Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

41 reviews

readandfindout's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

3.5

Style/writing: 4 stars
Themes: 3 stars
Characters: 2 stars
Plot: 4.5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Police brutality, Blood, Violence, Domestic abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Torture, Physical abuse, and Child death

Moderate: Homophobia, Confinement, Incest, War, Miscarriage, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Death of parent and Excrement

krysley's review against another edition

emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Hate crime, Incest, Murder, Police brutality, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Death of parent

seasonedreadings's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Homophobia, Abortion, Incest, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Antisemitism, and Sexual harassment

cass_lit's review against another edition

4.0

I think I overhyped this in my head, unfortunately. While it’s still a 4⭐️ primarily because of the feat it is to write so many plot lines and books within books, my enjoyment during it was just *fine.* One thing that kept coming back to irk me were the romantic relationships — I didn’t buy into any of them enough for how much they completely controlled where this story went. I know Daniel started out young in the beginning of the book, but even towards the end, I can’t tell you how many times I rolled my eyes at him. As Isaac Monfort says, Daniel is an idiot for most of this long book. 

For all of my complaints, however, I was still impressed by this. I loved the writing style, the discussions on books and what they mean to each person, and the stories within stories within stories. After the first few chapters, I wondered how everything would come together without it feeling almost too fantastical. But it did. And the last ~10% or so when everything came out / came together? I literally gasped at 👀that👀 reveal. 

Also — the audiobook is great! There are fun little interludes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Police brutality

Moderate: Incest, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Rape, Abortion, Bullying, and Hate crime

Minor: Transphobia, Death of parent, and Homophobia

vilde_a's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

4.75

It took a couple of chapters getting into it, but in return, there were several chapters I just had to complete no matter time or place. If you like books about books, you’ll love this!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Police brutality, Violence, Blood, Torture, Sexual content, and Murder

Moderate: Classism, Miscarriage, War, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief

Minor: Excrement, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Incest, Medical content, and Sexual harassment

kiana_hi's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Gun violence, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Murder, Homophobia, Sexism, and Death of parent

Minor: Miscarriage, Lesbophobia, Forced institutionalization, Sexual harassment, and Bullying

lydia_books's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Death, and Sexism

Moderate: Grief, Sexual violence, Incest, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and War

mariegatou's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy, Police brutality, War, Misogyny, Sexism, Transphobia, Violence, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Sexual violence, Excrement, Death, Lesbophobia, Vomit, Confinement, Homophobia, Incest, and Death of parent

dlrosebyh's review against another edition

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

4.75

Barcelona in 1945 is a city slowly healing in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, and Daniel, an antiquarian book dealer's son who mourns the loss of his mother, finds solace in a mysterious book entitled The Shadow of the Wind, by one Julian Carax. But when he sets out to find the author's other works, he makes a shocking discovery: someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book Carax has written. In fact, Daniel may have the last of Carax's books in existence. Soon Daniel's seemingly innocent quest opens a door into one of Barcelona's darkest secrets— an epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love.

If I said it didn't take me a while to get into the book, I'd be lying. But because of how flawlessly the novel unraveled, I believe it was worth it. This kind of literature was exactly what I was looking for because the plot felt so magical and transported me into an other kind of universe. I certainly enjoyed it. I don't read a lot of mysteries or historical fiction, but this author really outdid himself.

I was reluctant to read this book because it was written by a man, it was set in the post-war era (which isn't my cup of tea), and it was so much hyped.  Usually, praised books leave me unimpressed. This is mainly because the book was either poorly written, poorly executed, problematic, or the story wasn't engaging. But this one was so excellent that it often rendered me astonished. I hadn't intended to continue with the series within the first 100 pages, but I want to drop everything now and read the other novels.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Violence, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Incest, Misogyny, and Homophobia

Minor: Death of parent

amhud1030's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Blood, Death of parent, Sexual content, Violence, War, Classism, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Police brutality, Pregnancy, and Torture

Moderate: Chronic illness, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Infertility, and Sexual harassment