la sombra del viento the shadow of the wind

'It's not that unusual, not in times like these,' my father put in. 'A book in Spanish, first published in France?' From what I can see, the text must be the original one.' The first edition came out in November 1935 but was printed in Paris.Published by Galiano & Neuval. 'It says here that this copy is part of an edition of twenty-five hundred printed in Barcelona by Cabestany Editores, in June 1936.' Intrigued, he examined the printing history on the back of the title page for clues. To my surprise, I discovered that my father, a natural-born librarian and a walking lexicon of publishers' catalogs and oddities, had never heard of The Shadow of the Wind or Julián Carax. My plan was to get my hands on his complete works and read them all by the end of the week. At noon I approached my father to quiz him about the book and about Julián Carax-both world famous, I assumed. Who better than Tomás to share my secret? Then, remembering my promise, I decided that circumstances advised me to adopt what in detective novels is termed a different modus operandi.

I pictured us both, equipped with flashlights and compasses, uncovering the mysteries of those bibliographic catacombs. Tomás Aguilar was a classmate who devoted his free time and his talent to the invention of wonderfully ingenious contraptions of dubious practicality, like the aerostatic dart or the dynamo spinning top. My first thought on waking was to tell my best friend about the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. A secret's worth depends on the people from whom it must be kept.

La sombra del viento the shadow of the wind