Carlos Ruiz Zafon, the author of La sombra del viento, know in English as The Shadow of the Wind, died of colo-rectal cancer at the age of 55. His death barely registered on the international consciousness. Of course, in Spain it was probably big news, given the fact that his La sombra del viento is the second most successful Spanish novel after Cervantes' Don Quijote de la Mancha. It spawned a series of books, including El juego del angel, El prisionero del cielo and El laberinto de los espiritus. And the New York Times noted it in its obituaries, probably one of the few good things the NYT has done in recent memory. His La sombra del viento has been translated into dozen of languages.
Ruiz Zafon was born in Barcelona but moved to Los Angeles to be closer to the Hollywood for which he developed a passion. While there, according to the NYT, he visited a book warehouse, which inspired him to write his master opus. According to Richard Eder (whoever he is), Mr. Ruiz Zafon's work could have been publicized as "Gabriel Garcia Marquez meets Umberto Eco meets Jorge Luis Borges for a sprawling magic show, exasperatingly tricky and mostly wonderful." Being familiar with all three of those authors, I can agree wholeheartedly with that description.
Ruiz Zafon's masterwork begins with eight-year-old Daniel Sempere being at this father's post-war Barcelona bookshop. Daniel's mother had died a few years ago, and Daniel was raised largely by his father. One day Daniel's father tells him he's taking him to what seems like an abandoned warehouse but in reality is The Cemetery of Forgotten Books. There, Daniel is told he can roam throughout the building, which is filled with shelves and shelves of books, and pick out one book, which will then be his responsibility to care for and protect for the rest of his life. This sets in motion the rest of the novel and, indeed, the four books Ruiz Zafon would write.
Just the title itself -- La sombra del viento/The Shadow of the Wind -- is masterful. Then, the first chapter introduces the Cemetery of Forgotten Books! For an admitted bibliophile like me it had, as we say in Spanish, hook (Tener gancho -- to be attractive, irresistible). Ruiz Zafon started his career writing tweener novels, and La sombra starts in that realm, but over the course of the next two books -- I've yet to read El laberinto de los espiritus -- Daniel and his sidekick Fermin grow and age. I'm still shocked that no option on a movie has even been discussed.
Since El laberinto came out, I've been looking anxiously for news that Ruiz Zafon had begun a new series. His skills as a novelist are rare in today's world. Then, the awful news of his passing came while looking at a Spanish site that had this simple notation: Carlos Ruiz Zafon, D.E.P. For English speakers out there, D.E.P, means descanse en paz, or rest in peace. I couldn't locate his obituary fast enough. And then I confirmed the sad news.
It's selfish of me to want this to be untrue, because I want to revel in more of this writer's work. The series, so far -- I've only read the first three volumes -- has been mesmerizing. I read it as I read a trilogy by another author who died far too young: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series, by Stieg Larsson, who died at roughly the same age. Now, I'm left with the final installment of the series and nothing more.
At some point, I have to believe a movie will be made of at least La sombra, if not the entire series. I'm surprised, frankly, that it hasn't happened already, in Spain if not in Hollywood. Perhaps it's in the works. But it would be a shame if this great writer's work weren't exposed to the masses more.
Ruiz Zafon had a gift for turning a phrase, for creating a new world, for setting forth a plot that was indeed irresistible. That he is no longer able to do that is our loss. That he was able to do what he did was our gift.
He will be missed, greatly.
(c) 2020 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles
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