Carlos Ruiz Zafon biography

Author Biography  | Interview  | Books by this Author  | Read-Alikes

Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Carlos Ruiz Zafon Biography

Carlos Ruiz Zafon, author of two critically acclaimed and internationally bestselling novels, The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game, was one of the world's most-read and best-loved writers. His work, which also includes prizewinning young adult novels, has been translated into more than fifty languages and published around the world, garnering numerous international prizes and reaching millions of readers. He died from colon cancer in June 2020 aged 55.

Carlos Ruiz Zafon's website

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Interview

Carlos Ruiz Zafón discusses the premise and promise of The Shadow of the Wind, his sixth novel which has been published in at least twenty countries.

This is your sixth novel, and it has been sold in twenty countries and translated into several languages. What do you think accounts for its worldwide appeal? Do you find that readers here in the States respond differently from Spanish readers?

I think it is all about the story, the characters, the pleasure of the language and of the imagination, the experience of the read. American readers respond to The Shadow of the Wind in the very same way as Italian, Spanish, Norwegian, Australian, French, British, or German readers do. The pleasure of reading a great story and to experience the characters' adventures is universal.


Daniel promises to show Bea a Barcelona that she's never seen. From the paintings of Joan Miro to the imaginative architecture of Antoni Gaudí, what is it about Barcelona that lends itself to fantasy? Do you believe, as Daniel says to Bea, that "the memory of this city will pursue you and you'll die of sadness"?

Barcelona provides an enchanting, mysterious, and romantic setting for the story because many things about the place, its streets, its history, and its people are unique. It is also my hometown, a place I know like the palm of my hand, and I wanted to...

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Books by this Author

Books by Carlos Ruiz Zafon at BookBrowse
The Labyrinth of the Spirits jacket Marina jacket The Prince of Mist jacket The Angel's Game jacket
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Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for Carlos Ruiz Zafon but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • Rabih Alameddine

    Rabih Alameddine

    Rabih Alameddine is the author of the novels An Unnecessary Woman; I, the Divine; Koolaids; The Hakawati; The Wrong End of the Telescope; and the story collection, The Perv. In 2019, he won the Dos Passos Prize. (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Shadow of the Wind

    Try:
    The Hakawati
    by Rabih Alameddine

  • Roberto Ampuero

    Roberto Ampuero

    Roberto Ampuero is an internationally bestselling, award-winning author. He has published eleven novels in Spanish and his works have been translated around the world. The Neruda Case is his first novel published in English. ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Shadow of the Wind

    Try:
    The Neruda Case
    by Roberto Ampuero

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