NATIONAL BESTSELLER - From the author of the international phenomenon The Shadow of the Wind, comes a riveting masterpiece about love, literature, and betrayal. - " Zaf n's] visionary storytelling prowess is a genre unto itself." --USA Today
In this powerful, labyrinthian thriller, David Mart n is a pulp fiction writer struggling to stay afloat. Holed up in a haunting abandoned mansion in the heart of Barcelona, he furiously taps out story after story, becoming increasingly desperate and frustrated. Thus, when he is approached by a mysterious publisher offering a book deal that seems almost too good to be real, David leaps at the chance. But as he begins the work, and after a visit to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, he realizes that there is a connection between his book and the shadows that surround his dilapidated home and that the publisher may be hiding a few troubling secrets of his own. Once again, Ruiz Zaf n takes us into a dark, gothic Barcelona and creates a breathtaking tale of intrigue, romance, and tragedy.
Industry Reviews
"[Zaf�n's] visionary storytelling prowess is a genre unto itself."--USA Today
"[A] rip-roaring Gothic mystery. . . . Will keep you glued to your deck chair."--Seattle Times
"A wickedly clever tale."--Miami Herald
"Ruiz Zaf�n's narrative twists and soars, part dream and part slippery reality brought to live in vivid detail.... A book for story lovers: expansive, rich and slow to digest."--Denver Post
"Zaf�n can write up a storm. . . . A dream from which it would be imprudent to awake."--The Washington Post
"Absorbing.... Offers not only plenty of plot intricacies and mystery but also a lyrical style of writing.... A literary centaur in which a meditation on the craft of writing is combined with a thriller." --Los Angeles Times
"A love letter to all things literary, and a paean to the power of the written word. . . . Zaf�n is a storyteller with vast gifts."--The Onion
"A thriller laden with Gothic elements. . . . A pleasure to read."--The Christian Science Monitor
"Zaf�n, a master of mood and emotional manipulation, guides us through Barcelona's backstreets. . . . Readers who enjoy losing themselves completely in a grand scary story that is at once epic and intimate will find themselves spellbound."--San Antonio Express-News
"Zafon keeps the twists coming, right down to the last page."--The Oregonian
"As in The Shadow of the Wind, [Zaf�n] spins a fantastically elaborate plot."--New York Times
"Zafon is a superb and often witty weaver of suspense."--Cleveland Plain Dealer
"A love letter to all things literary, and a paean to the power of the written word. . . . Zaf�n is a storyteller with vast gifts."--The Onion
"Zafon takes us into sinful corners, indulging fantasies that are erotic, magical or violent. In the end Zaf�n is the tempter. Many will fall for his vigorous and exhaustingly relentless story-telling."--The Guardian
"Gothic, fantastical and lushly atmospheric."--Wall Street Journal
"Irresistible. . . . Writhes and twists. . . . We can compare Zafon to Dickens or Poe, but his brilliant writing puts him in a league of his own. . . . Exquisite."--Bookreporter
"Endearing and addictive."--Financial Times
