Book Review: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

I can’t remember the last time I DNF’d a book. Even when I’m not crazy about a book, I have a compelling need to read to the last page. But I don’t have the smallest desire to finish The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. I read half of the novel, and then lightly skimmed the rest, which didn’t reignite my interest. I have only heard good things about this novel, and yet I can’t say anything good about it. 

I didn’t like the first page of writing, and I immediately knew this book wasn’t for me. The rest of the novel proved me right. I never understood why some people say they don’t like metaphors in novels, but after reading this book, I get it. The similes and metaphors didn’t blend with the writing, making them seem pretentious rather than lyrical. They took me out of the story, and I ended up skimming nearly every page because it told me nothing. It was so overwritten. 

The dialogue is clunky and unnatural, nothing is fleshed out appropriately—including the characters—and there are too many cliches. The mystery didn’t enthrall me. I could care less about Julian’s past, Daniel’s future, or how they tie in together. Daniel’s tedious chapters of investigation didn’t seem to be properly motivated and were downright boring. The mystery was forced, the parallels between Daniel and Julian forced, and the intrigue nonexistent. In fact, as I was skimming the second half of the novel, the obvious parallels were laughable and made me roll my eyes. 

The romances were just weird. Daniel seemed to get instantly tingly around every woman that the author wanted him to eventually have a tryst with. All of the women were one-dimensional, and Daniel only adopted a personality a quarter of the way through the novel, so I didn’t understand anyone’s attraction. 

I truly can’t understand how this book is so highly rated. I’m actively trying not to be narrow-minded, but I can’t understand how anyone can even like this book or find it compelling. I feel bad for saying it, because I know a lot of work goes into every novel, and people have a wide variety of tastes that no one should shame them for. But every page struck me as lazy writing, and I can’t recommend this novel to anyone.