In an abandoned mansion at the heart of Barcelona, a young man makes his living by writing sensationalist novels under a pseudonym. When he receives the offer of writing a book with the power to change hearts and minds, he soon realises there is a connection between this haunting book and the shadows that surround his home.
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[A writer never forgets the first time he accepted a few coins or a word of praise in exchange for a story]***
(@PhoenixBooksVT, 8 October 2009, 441 pages, paperback, bought from @BarnardosScot)
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This is a prequel to the book The Shadow of the Wind which I read a last year and I really enjoyed it. I'm sorry I didn't get round to reading this until now. I enjoyed this a lot more as I struggled with the rich language in the first book but this wasn't an issue this time around. I got completed absorbed in the book every time I picked it up and often lost track of the time when I was reading it. The language used is rich, very detailed and quite beautiful at times. Like the first title, this isn't a book you can casually dip in and out of. You need to put effort into reading it and it's worth every second spent on it. The same themes are explored here; love, madness, literature and loss. I loved every word of this book. I will read the whole series.
