The Shadow of the Wind
By Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Phoenix, £ 3.00

For book-lovers, there is something very alluring about the idea of a ?Cemetery of Forgotten Books?. Carlos Ruiz Zaf?n?s novel begins in such a library of obscure and forgotten books in the heart of the magical city of Barcelona.

To this library, housed in a sprawling mansion with endless galleries and corridors, in 1945 an owner of a bookshop brings his ten-year-old son, Daniel. The latter is made the offer of choosing a book that he can keep. From the shelves he draws out a book called The Shadow of the Wind by Julian Carax, an unknown author. Unknown to himself, the young boy sets in train a chain of events that completely transforms his life.

He discovers that the book he has chosen is the only copy around. Through a series of bizarre accidents every single copy of books that Carax wrote have all disappeared or have been burnt. A handful of people, he finds out, know about Carax, who left Barcelona in the Thirties to live in Paris where he earned a living as a pianist in a brothel. He returned to Paris just before World War II and died in a duel. As Daniel learns all this about the mysterious Carax, he also discovers that there are other people, including a vicious and sadistic police officer, who are interested in Carax. This makes Daniel more determined to find out the details of Carax?s life and career.

He gets help from a most unexpected quarter. He and his father rescue from the streets of Barcelona a tramp who calls himself Fermin: a former fighter against Franco who was captured and tortured. He took to the streets and knew the underworld like the back of his hand. Befriended by Daniel and his father, he finds a new life and begins to work in the bookshop. He becomes Daniel?s confidante and joins him in the quest for Carax.

As he progresses, Daniel finds himself being pursued by a faceless man; faceless because his face, except for the charcoal-like eyes, is completely burnt. Daniel recognizes this man as Lain Coubert, a character from Carax?s novel who represents the devil. The man wants from Daniel the copy of The Shadow of the Wind. Terrified, Daniel returns to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books and hides the book where only he will be able to find it.

By this time, the ten year old boy is a full-grown youth. The more he learns about the life of Carax, the more similarities he begins to discover between his own life and that of Carax. Readers are treated to a novel within a novel which is already suggested by the novel?s title, which is the same as Carax?s novel.

There is a peppering of violence at the very end. The narrative, even though it takes many complex twists and turns, is fast-paced. The writing is evocative in places, especially in its descriptions of Barcelona. Zaf?n also writes with a great deal of humour. The scale of the novel is larger than life but very enjoyable because of that.