Last semester, it was suggested that I pick up the book THE SHADOW OF THE WIND by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I was told it was a wondrous story, a beautiful story. I picked it up, but with teaching and life and hurricane, the book was put on a shelf, awaiting its chance to be read.
Well, about a month ago, I decided to take back a few hours a day of my life and start reading again; thus, I began my reading odyssey with Zafon's novel. After reading just the first few pages, I deemed this book "absolutely delicious."
I began reading it during classes, during my office hours, during my down time at home. The more I read, the more I hungered to finish the novel...though it pained me tonight to finally close the book.
For those who are true lovers of the art of reading and the art of storytelling, you can find no better novel than this. Zafon has beautiful, poetic passages, he has vivid, intricate characters, stories within stories within stories that ultimately seem to make the novel an homage to the art of telling stories, and he has many "lectures" on storytelling, on the importance of reading, on love, on relationships between men and women, and the list continues. This is a literary novel that embraces all the greatness of genre--mystery, intrigue, suspense, romance, action, adventure.
Through reading this novel of great characters and situations, I learned a lot about myself as a person, as a reader, and as a writer. I've always known this, but I was reaffirmed in my belief that good stories should move readers, should connect with readers and transport them into new worlds, and this novel did all of that and more for me.
I hope that at least ONE of you will consider purchasing this book and delving into its beauty. From the very first page, I think you will be too invested to stop reading: check out the book at AMAZON.com!
No comments:
Post a Comment