Ruiz Zafon’s Gothic epic is a page turning, confusing adventure that has doomed romances, multiple murders and elements of the supernatural. By the end of the novel I wasn’t sure if our main character is sane, crazy, or just dreaming. I would recommend reading this book, but be warned you’ll have many questions at the end.
What I particularly enjoyed about this book is how Zafon explores the idea of a book capturing an author’s soul. Zafon writes, “Every book, every volume you see, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and the soul 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.” I’m not sure this is true of every book as there are a lot of not so great reads. However, I have been affected by many books in this special way.
