Young Daniel Sempere finds a book in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a private library open only to a select few. It is a book called The Shadow of the Wind, written by a Julián Carax. Daniel absolutely falls in love with the book, and sets about investigating the origin of the book, and the author.
He discovers that the author is now missing, along with every other copy of the book, and he likely owns the last known copy. He befriends the ebullient Fermín who helps him trace the origin of the book. This brings him into the crosshairs of the murderous Inspector Fumero, the main antagonist of the book. He is also accosted by a heavily scarred and disfigured stranger calling himself Lain Coubert, a character from The Shadow of the Wind.
Using all the leads he has, he uncovers the tragic story of the author Julián, and the love he had for Penelope Aldaya, and how their story was intertwined with that of Inspector Fumero. Daniel’s own love life involving the blind Clara and his best friend’s sister, Beatriz Aguilar is also mixed into the multi-faceted epic that is The Shadow of the Wind.
The whole book is chock-full of quotable quotes, and traces the history of Spain from the early 1900’s through to the 50’s and 60’s, through the lives of the characters. At the heart of it, this whole book is a love story to Barcelona. The book beautifully brings out the artistic and enchanting nature of the city, and it provides the perfect backdrop to the book by giving a gothic feel to the whole tale. An excellent, absolute must read.