The Shadow of the Wind

The Shadow of the Wind is book #1 in Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s Cemetery of Forgotten Books series. Set in 1940s Spain under Franco, 10-year-old Daniel is taken by his father (a bookseller) to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a place where “books that are no longer remembered by anyone, books that are lost in time, live forever, waiting for the day when they will reach a new reader’s hands.” The first time someone visits the cemetery, he must choose a book, adopt it, and make sure that it will always stay alive. Daniel chooses a rare book called The Shadow of the Wind but soon discovers a mysterious figure has been seeking to destroy it, which leads to a fascinating and complex literary/political adventure. Recommended.