It can be rather nerve racking when you've suggested a book and you wait for other people's comments. As you look around the room you're never too sure who will rate it and who will slate it. I suggested this book after being in Madrid and seeing so many people reading it on the subway. I later received the book as a gift from a friend who had really enjoyed it, so it seemed a good idea to suggest it for the group. I was relieved that some people clearly had enjoyed the book. I felt it was a good yarn and enjoyed the plot, character of Daniel and the idea of a book having such an impact on a young boy. I found it engaging, enjoyable and very readable. It's obviously not going to make it on any literary list but that was never this book's aim. It would make a good holiday read.
The most striking feature about the discussion for Shadow was the gender division. Largely, though not exclusively, the women spoke positively about the book, the plot, the characters, the descriptions. The menfolk, on the other hand, were uniformly negative and criticised the book for its lack of believable characterisation, for being too wordy and for being predictable.
Most people agreed the start was engaging and set up a good mystery. Some felt that this was maintained throughout, whereas others felt it fell apart and that the plot was too transparent. I'm not one to predict plots in books or in films so I was not disappointed. Other people are a bit cannier and predicted a lot of the development early on.
I really liked the image of Laín Coubert and his leathery skin. I was always really pleased when he appeared in the novel and I love the idea of a character in a book appearing in real life. I think these were the more memorable images and scenes.
One criticism I have of the book is the lack of historical and cultural references. It was commented that this was not the Barcelona members of the group have experienced. The weather seemed decidedly British at times with rain, mist, fog, cold. Were there ever moments of sunshine and brightness? Rather surprisingly, the relatively new dictatorship and mentions of the civil war were also absent. I don't recall Franco getting much of a mention, yet surely during this time he would be a presence? It was felt for a lot of the group that this was a missed opportunity to explore Spain's recent past.
Many people did feel that the book had been written with the intention of becoming a film. The author has written screenplays before so perhaps this has affected his writing style. It was agreed that the title was meaningless but there was instead a suggestion of a new title, 'A flicker of a light'. Let's hope Ruiz Zafón reads this blog and gets the title right next time.
