Wednesday, October 24, 2012

"The Shadow of the Wind" {by Carlos Ruiz Zafon} Book Club Ideas

OCTOBER BOOK CLUB:
"The Shadow of the Wind"
by: Carlos Ruiz Zafon
"Books are mirrors: you only see in them what you already have inside you."


Decorations
Angie did a fantastic job decorating from several small moments from the book!
Decorations
Angie even printed off several photos of Veronica Lake and Carole Lombard who were famous actresses from the 1920's and 1930's whom Fermin had a "thing" for!
The photo of Veronica on the left says,
"Get well soon Fermmin, xoxo Veronica"
Decorations
Let's Eat!
Food
 We had sangria's AND horchata drinks!
Food
We ate GOOOOOOOOD!
Food
My girls Kellie, Robin and Megan!
My mom and I


DISCUSSION TIME!
Game Winner
Angie handed each of us a maze and a pencil and told us that the first person to figure their way out of the maze would win this fabulous prize of Zafon's book, "The Angel's Game" and Lain Couberts earrings!
(The earrings were a hot purple color that was supposed to look like his burned scarred skin!)

Lain Coubert
Here are a couple questions and answers that were discussed at our meeting:

Q: Nuria Monfort tells Daniel, "Julián once wrote that coincidences are the scars of fate. There are no coincidences, Daniel. We are the puppets of our unconscious." What does that mean? What does she refer to in her own experience and in Julián's life?

A: I think we are puppets of our unconscious if we are not paying attention to what we are doing (which is very easy to do). She wanted Julian and was willing to push past moral boundaries to have him. She was concerned with what she wanted so much that she couldn't give Julian what he needed (a completely different kind of help). And Julian, obviously, put the utmost regard to his wants in the way of letting everyone around him sacrifice for him to make help him get what he wanted.

Q:  Discuss the title of the novel. What is "The Shadow of the Wind"? Where does Zafón refer to it and what does he use the image to illustrate?

A: The wind would not leave a shadow so it could mean that Carax was so elusive, so fragile... there but not. Even though the wind cannot be caught in shadow, it still exists. Sort of like he left his mark.


My favorite character from this book was the Cemetery of Forgotten Books!  
This is partially how I imagined it.

"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."              

SEE OUR FULL REVIEW HERE!



"The Shadow of the Wind" {by Carlos Ruiz Zafon} Book Review


TITLE OF THE BOOK: Shadow of the Wind
AUTHOR: Carlos Ruiz Zafon, translated to English by Lucia Graves

NUMBER OF PAGES: 486

YEAR PUBLISHED: originally in Spanish, 2001 In English 2004.

PUBLISHER: Penguin Press

GENRE: Mystery/ Fiction


SUMMARY:

The novel, set in 1945, post Spanish Civil War Barcelona concerns a young boy, Daniel Sempere. Just after the war, Daniel's father, an antiquarian, takes him to the secret Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a huge library of old, forgotten titles lovingly preserved by a select few in attempts to comfort Daniel's mourning of the loss of his mother.  According to tradition, everyone initiated to this secret place is allowed to take one book from it and must protect it for life. Daniel selects a book called The Shadow of the Wind by Julián Carax. That night he takes the book home and reads it, completely engrossed. Daniel then attempts to look for other books by this unknown author but can find none. Instead, he makes a shocking discovery: someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book Carax has written. In fact, Daniel may have the last of Carax’s books in existence. Soon Daniel’s seemingly innocent quest opens a door into one of Barcelona’s darkest secrets--an epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love.
“ Anyone who enjoys novels that are scary, touching, tragic and thrilling should rush right out to the nearest bookstore and pick up The Shadow of the Wind.” –The Washington Post

Masterfully written, the novel is chocked full of symbolism and parallel of the seeker (Daniel) and the person being sought after (Julian) as both become engrossed and engulfed with the passion for writing, women and loyalty.  Shadow of the Wind is an epic story of murder, madness and doomed love.