Reviews

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

marym_mohamed's review against another edition

لنتمهل قليلًا حتى لا ننسى شيئًا وبالتالي ستبدو اللوحة ناقصة مشوّهة بالنسبة لي على الأقل.
بدايةً، كانت التوقعات العظيمة هي عدوي الأول في قراءتي لتلك الرواية .. كانت في الخطة منذ بداية الأجازة ولم أبدأها إلا في عيد الأضحى.. رواية رائعة لاشك في هذا، دانيال الذي يجد كتاب ظل الريح في مقبرة الكتب المنسية ومن ثم يحاول أن يكتشف شيئا عن كاتبه خوليان كاراكس وسط زيارات من غريب يتخذ لقب الشيطان اسمًا له، يحاول إقناعه بشراء الكتاب لكي يحرقه و من ثم تبدأ سلسلة من الألغاز والدخول في متاهات مرهقة جدًا و اكتشاف علاقات معقدّة بين الشخصيات .. فيرمين والمحقق وكلارا وإسحاق والأب وخورخي و… و… و آخرين .. يمكنني القول أن 'دماغي لفَّت' من التعقيدات الحادثة.
طريقة السرد رائعة وكل فرد يحمل قطعة من الحقيقة وبالتالي نجمع الأجزاء كلعبة البازل على صفحات الرواية المتتالية.
مشكلتي كانت في طول الرواية، ليست لدي مشكلة جدية مع هذا غالبًا لكن في ظل الريح كان الأمر محوريًا .. استغرقت مني أيام العيد الثلاثة بأكملها .. لم تكن المشكلة بالأحداث بل أن كل شخص يحكي، يحكي من البداية وبالتالي تشعر أن بعض ماقيل قد قيل من قبل ..
لكن في النهاية تظل مقبرة الكتب المنسية حلمنا الطفولي، وإني لأتسائل، ماالكتاب الذي كنت لأختاره لأحافظ عليه، أو بالأحرى ماالكتاب الذي كان ليختارني :) ؟

heidilreads's review against another edition

4.0

i thought this was beautifully written - i loved reading the words off the page. however, there's a point in the middle where i nearly quit reading... thankfully, a friend reassured me that it would return to its previous energy - and it did. i hope you enjoy it.

mcbibliotecaria's review against another edition

2.0

It was tedious. And I cannot read books about books.

ella_reads's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

torturedfiber's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

brandeereads's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.25

sohva's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

An intriguing and athmospheric read! The city is perhaps the coolest part of the book. The plot and the philosophical mullings aren't quite as impressive, but they do good enough job at supporting the athmosphere. The plot is also rather interesting, although I had some trouble keeping up with the characters.

As an aside, if you aren't a fan of essentially every single female character suffering poeticly, this might not be a book for you.

neverendingrain's review against another edition

5.0

I'm not very good at writing reviews, but I picked this book up at the grocery store on a whim and loved it.

color_girl's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

“Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it. Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens.” 

This was my first gothic novel experience and I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would! It was so unique and different from anything I’ve experienced. I never lost interest in the story (I was worried I would) but I stayed engaged the whole time.

The audiobook was amazing!! The reader had perfect voices for the characters and the music made it all the more haunting and spooky. I honestly loved the characters-they were unique and had a lot of depth to them. It made things easier to understand and keep separate.

This sort had so many layers to it. This made it difficult to understand at times, and it was dark and sad. It’s not my type of book, but I think it’s a good one if you’re interested in trying gothic novels. I’m glad this was my first one and I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. I loved the mystery element and the puzzles and clues. That’s why I’m giving 3 stars. It was fun to try and figure out what was going to happen! 

nujibuji's review against another edition

3.0

It was not the story I expected. But halfway through the book, the story took a turn that finally captured my attention. I will say this story had the most beautiful character names I've heard. I found myself rolling the names over my tongue throughout the day.