After publishing four relatively successful young adult fiction, Spanish writer Carlos Ruiz Zafón finally broke through with his first adult novel, The Shadow of the Wind. It relates the entangled lives of young Daniel Sempere and the mysterious author Julián Carax. It is a towering achievement of literature, where Ruiz Zafón’s stylized writing, the Gothic atmosphere, and the soul and spirit of Barcelona converged to come up with a memorable piece of literature.
Apart from being an engaging narrative, The Shadow of the Wind is also a well of memorable and magical quotes. Here are some of these memorable lines from this equally memorable literary masterpiece.
Do check out my complete review of this tantalizing work of fiction by clicking here.
“Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it. Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens.”
~ Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Shadow of the Wind
“Perhaps she loved me, in her own way, as I loved her, in mine. But we didn’t know one another. Perhaps because I never allowed her to know me, or I never took any steps towards getting to know her. We spent our lives like two strangers who see each other every single day and greet one another out of politeness.”
~ Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Shadow of the Wind
“As it unfolded, the structure of the story began to remind me of one of those Russian dolls that contain innumerable ever-smaller dolls within. Step by step the narrative split into a thousand stories, as if it had entered a gallery of mirrors, its identity fragmented into endless reflections.”
~ Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Shadow of the Wind
“One of the pitfalls of childhood is that one doesn’t have to understand something to feel it. By the time the mind is able to comprehend what has happened, the wounds of the heart are already too deep.”
~ Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Shadow of the Wind
“Once, in my father’s bookshop, I heart a regular customer say that few things leave a deeper mark on a reader than the first book that finds its way into his heart. Those first images, the echo of words we think we have left behind, accompany us throughout our lives and sculpt a palace in our memory to which, sooner or later – no matter how many books we read, how many worlds we discover, or how much we learn or forget – we will return.”
~ Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Shadow of the Wind
“I was secretly convinces that with such a marvel one would be able to write anything, from novels to encyclopedias, and letters whose supernatural power would surpass any postal limitations – a letter written with that pen would reach the most remote corners of the world, even that unknowable place to which my father said my mother had gone and from where she would never return.”
~ Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Shadow of the Wind
“After a while it occurred to me that between the covers of each of those books lay a boundless universe waiting to be discovered while beyond those walls, in the outside world, people allowed life to pass by in afternoons of football and radio soaps, content to do little more than gaze at their navels.”
~ Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Shadow of the Wind
“I had never known the pleasure of reading, of exploring the recesses of the soul, of letting myself be carried away by imagination, beauty, and the mystery of fiction and language. For me all those things were born with that novel.”
~ Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Shadow of the Wind
“I gulped down the last of my coffee and looked at her for a few moments without saying anything. I thought about how much I wanted to lose myself in those evasive eyes. I thought about the loneliness that would take hold of me that night when I said good-bye to her, once I had run out of tricks r stories to make her stay with me any longer. I thought about how little I had to offer her and how much I wanted from her.”
~ Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Shadow of the Wind
“The female heart is a labyrinth of subtleties, too challenging for the uncouth mind of the male racketeer. If you really want to possess a woman, you must think like her, and the first thing to do is to win over her soul. The rest, that sweet, soft wrapping that steals away your senses and your virtue, is a bonus.”
~ Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Shadow of the Wind
“As I walked in the dark through the tunnels and tunnels of books, I could not help being overcome by a sense of sadness. I couldn’t help thinking that if I, by pure chance, had found a whole universe in s a single unknown book, buried in that endless necropolis, tens of thousand more would remain unexplored, forgotten forever. I felt myself surrounded by millions of abandoned pages, by words and souls without an owner sinking in an ocean of darkness, while the world that throbbed outside the library seemed to be losing its memory, day after day, unknowingly, feeling all the wiser the more it forgot.”
~ Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Shadow of the Wind
How about you fellow reader? Have you already read Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s The Shadow of the Wind? What are your thoughts? What are your favorite lines? Do share them in the comment box for I am interested to know.
I hope you are all having a great time staying in the comforts of your home while turning pages after pages. Stay safe and enjoy reading!
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