A stunning literary thriller in the tradition of Umberto Eco. The discovery of a forgotten book leads to a hunt for an elusive author who may or may not still be alive…
Synopsis
Hidden in the heart of the old city of Barcelona is the ‘cemetery of lost books’, a labyrinthine library of obscure and forgotten titles that have long gone out of print. To this library, a man brings his 10-year-old son Daniel one cold morning in 1945. Daniel is allowed to choose one book from the shelves and pulls out ‘La Sombra del Viento’ by Julian Carax. But as he grows up, several people seem inordinately interested in his find. Then, one night, as he is wandering the old streets once more, Daniel is approached by a figure who reminds him of a character from La Sombra del Viento, a character who turns out to be the devil. This man is tracking down every last copy of Carax’s work in order to burn them. What begins as a case of literary curiosity turns into a race to find out the truth behind the life and death of Julian Carax and to save those he left behind. A page-turning exploration of obsession in literature and love, and the places that obsession can lead.
節錄於誠品書店的介紹:
故事發生於二次大戰後的巴賽隆那，家裡開書店的主人翁Daniel十一歲時在「被遺忘的書墓園」發現一本罕見的小說The Shadow of the Wind，作者卡拉克斯鮮為人知。他讀後大為傾倒，開始尋找卡拉克斯的其他作品，得知傳說中有一個自稱與小說中惡魔同名的毀容男人到處追獵消滅這部小說。長大後的Daniel無法忘懷這個神秘事件，因而結識了同為書迷卻雙目失明的謎樣女子Clara，一步一步抽絲剝繭走進這個城市黑暗的過去。
reading this one as well. really like it
Hey man! can\’t help commenting when you mentioned flamenco ;)
Last time I went to Barcelona we spent a whole two hours in a small music store talking with the shopkeeper about Flamenco. I know nothing about Fado but Flamenco can be really deep too! Other than being the amazing fusion of music and dance, its less well known side of portraying the Southern Spain lifestyle is real moving. Let\’s exchange notes!!