Shadow of the Wind - unabr cass
13 journalers for this copy...
Unabridged cassettes; unabridged; Read by Jonathan Davis
Translated by Lucia Graves
Ruiz Zafón's novel, a bestseller in his native Spain, takes the satanic touches from Angel Heart and stirs them into a bookish intrigue à la Foucault's Pendulum. The time is the 1950s; the place, Barcelona. Daniel Sempere, the son of a widowed bookstore owner, is 10 when he discovers a novel, The Shadow of the Wind, by Julián Carax. The novel is rare, the author obscure, and rumors tell of a horribly disfigured man who has been burning every copy he can find of Carax's novels. The man calls himself Laín Coubert-the name of the devil in one of Carax's novels. As he grows up, Daniel's fascination with the mysterious Carax links him to a blind femme fatale with a "porcelain gaze," Clara Barceló; another fan, a leftist jack-of-all-trades, Fermín Romero de Torres; his best friend's sister, the delectable Beatriz Aguilar; and, as he begins investigating the life and death of Carax, a cast of characters with secrets to hide. Officially, Carax's dead body was dumped in an alley in 1936. But discrepancies in this story surface. Meanwhile, Daniel and Fermín are being harried by a sadistic policeman, Carax's childhood friend. As Daniel's quest continues, frightening parallels between his own life and Carax's begin to emerge. Ruiz Zafón strives for a literary tone, and no scene goes by without its complement of florid, cute and inexact similes and metaphors (snow is "God's dandruff"; servants obey orders with "the efficiency and submissiveness of a body of well-trained insects"). Yet the colorful cast of characters, the gothic turns and the straining for effect only give the book the feel of para-literature or the Hollywood version of a great 19th-century novel.
You have in your hands a free gift. This book is yours to do with as you wish...read it, share it, keep it, pass it on!
I've registered this at BookCrossing.com so that I can keep up on where it goes, who reads it, and what they thought of it. If you like the BookCrossing concept, you might want to register yourself with a screen name, so that you can keep up on this book, and maybe release others also! It’s all confidential (you’re known only by your screen name and no one is ever given your e-mail address), fascinating, and fun!
Thank you for picking up this book. I'd love to see an entry letting me know it is safe with you. Do with it as you please... read it (or not!), give it to a friend, keep it, leave it in the wild - it's up to you! Enjoy! If you like you can mention me, booklady331, as the one who referred you.
Try to finish the cassettes within a month and pass it on to the next person. Tenative list.
1. Carlissa FL --DONE
2. KateKintail VA --DONE
3. NMReader NM --DONE
4. rooshill CA --DONE
5. tabby90 NC --DONE
6. purple4 NC (a surprise - PM me)--DONE
Released 16 yrs ago (11/19/2007 UTC) at U.S. Postal Mail in By Mail, A RABCK -- Controlled Releases
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
Off to Carlissa to begin a bookring. I trust everyone enjoys the book even 1/2 of what I did.
Booklady331, I love what you said about being swept away- that's it entirely. Even though I figured out the biggest twist VERY early on and a few of the other twists were pretty obvious, I still fell hard for this book- the characters, the mystery, the love of literature, the beauty. Throughout the whole thing, I felt envious that I can't write as beautifully as the author/translator. It wasn't just a wonderful story with wonderful characters, but it was beautifully told and presented. I especially loved listening to it with the music and accents and voices. I'm not sure I liked how the book was divided into parts, but given the POVs I can't see it done any differently. And at first I thought the wrap-up/coda at the end was unnecessary because the story itself ends nicely. However, I loved the very last bit and had tears in my eyes when listening to it! *sigh* Such a good book.
Now I'm considering buying a copy of the book so I can read it again and force it on my friends and family.
The only drawback is that it's only February and I think this will be the best book I'll read all year. It's probably all downhill from here! :-)
Thank you so much for the bookring! I'm PMing the next participant now and I'll do my best to get it out in the mail ASAP.
Delivery Confirmation Number: 0307 3330 0000 9084 9113
I really enjoyed the book. It was engaging. I really started to care for all the characters. Towards the end I found the chapter numbers confusing but...
The book is on its way to rooshill. The confirmation delivery number is 0308 0070 0000 7605 8064
According to the PO:
Label/Receipt Number: 0308 0070 0000 7605 8064
Status: Delivered
Your item was delivered at 8:34 AM on August 7, 2008 in FORESTHILL, CA 95631.
I never had the chance to listen to it, so I can't offer a rating.
Apologies for the delay.
(booklady I got a PM from you y'day that prompted me to open boxes and find this. i've been minimal in email use for some time and it looked like you'd tried a few times - i'm sorry for any worry)
Will go in the mail this week to it's next recipient, surprise!
passing on
Released 13 yrs ago (5/13/2010 UTC) at Controlled Release, A Bookcrossing member -- Controlled Releases
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
Purple4 gave it to me to pass on.
Enjoy! off to Bascula as a RABCK
Released 12 yrs ago (4/16/2011 UTC) at 2011 BookCrossing Convention in -- Mail or by hand-rings, RABCK, meetings, etc, Virginia USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
To the finder: I hope you enjoy finding this book as much as I did releasing it!
I enjoyed the book...a bit long in some parts and unlike the other journalers, I didn't care for the accents. But, also like the others, I wished I could re-read or highlights some of the passages, comments and quotes.
The book was filled with some wonderful flashes of humor and poignancy. Nice use of language, which I think is especially amazing since it's a translation.
Now, to figure out where to release. I'd like to wild release but don't have a good catch rate and would hate to see its long journey end!
Released 12 yrs ago (2/20/2012 UTC) at ~~~ ♥ ~~~ A Friend ~~~ ♥ ~~~, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- USA
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
Released 11 yrs ago (11/26/2012 UTC) at A BookCrosser, A Bookcrossing member -- Controlled Releases
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
It's hard to know where to start in heaping up praise. The story is complex and satisfying. The many elements are kept in perfect balance - you'd leave one situation without having it fully resolved, but the next part of the story was so interesting you'd only want to hear more of that. The characters are brilliant, especially Fermin; I liked and sympathized with all of them. The translation is elegant and fluid. The performer, Jonathan Davis, is outstanding. He's crafted a remarkable voice for Fermin, perfect for an older and more worldly character. BTW, we learn eventually that he moved to Spain from Cuba, so it makes sense that his speech would sound slightly accented to Daniel. Oh, and when we first meet Fumero, he's described as speaking with a menacing giggle. Davis gives us the giggle, and oh my word, it's truly creepy!
For the hours I spent with this book, I felt completely immersed in the time and place it depicts. Zafon's frequent use of street and place names, and description of the geography of the city, made Barcelona feel so real and immediate I felt I could see it. He also used the weather very effectively, both to add detail to the setting, and to match the tension of the story.
Really, I'm just blithering at this point. I feel, like KateKintail, that this is probably the best book I'll experience this year. It's certainly the best audiobook I've heard in years.
Released 10 yrs ago (5/16/2013 UTC) at by mail, A Bookbox -- Controlled Releases
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
I enjoyed it a lot. I often get impatient reading long books, but reading this one side of a cassette at a time was just the right pace and length. I always get upset at characters who choose hate (even if something really bad happens to them), but that was the only thing I didn't enjoy that much. The cemetery of forgotten books is such an interesting place that I imagined I'd want to visit it.
I hope you enjoy the book. Happy reading!
The narrator for the audiobook did a fine but not particularly memorable job.
I don't know if anyone listens to cassettes any more, but this is available if anyone wants it.