Carlos Ruiz Zafon.
Carlos Ruiz Zafón was one of the most prominent contemporary writers of the XNUMXst century. Not in vain is he considered one of the most widely read novelists in the world, only after Cervantes; this thanks to his most outstanding work: The wind's shadow (2001). This novel launched the author's career and has been described by critics as: "... one of the great literary revelations of recent times.
The novelist had his own style, in which he brought together different literary genres. He captured in his creations a magnificent essence that made each plot en something unique and incomparable. Throughout his career his works were translated into dozens of languages, with it managed to conquer more than 25 million readers, who constantly looked forward to his extraordinary stories.
Biographical data
On Friday September 25, 1964, the city of Barcelona saw the birth of Carlos Ruiz Zafón. His family group was made up of his father, Justo Ruiz Vigo, an insurance agent; his mother, Fina Zafón, and his older brother, Javier. Since he was a child, he manifested a vocation as a writer and a great imagination. Proof of this were the three-page stories he wrote during his childhood, with themes of terror and Martians.
First studies and literary steps
He completed his initial studies at the Jesuit college: San Ignacio de Sarrià, a structure that encouraged his affinity for the Gothic style. At the age of 15, he completed a 600-page novel based on a Victorian mystery: The Harlequin Labyrinth. The text was sent to various publishers, but it was not published. From that experience, he received valuable advice from the editor of Edhasa: Francisco Porrúa.
University studies and professional experience
He entered the Autonomous University of Barcelona to study Information Sciences. While going through his first year of studies, he applied to work at various advertising agencies. He managed to be hired by Moon, where he rose from contributor to copywriter. Later, worked with other important agencies, such as: Ogilvy, Tandem / DDB y McCann World Group.
Literary race
In 1992,, Ruiz Zafón decided to retire from the advertising field and dedicate himself fully to literature. A) Yes started writing a mystery and fantasy novel, which culminated a year later: The Prince of Mist. On the recommendation of his girlfriend, he presented her to the contest of literature Juvenile from the publisher Edebé, which won. Along with the award, he received what was a large sum of money for the time.
The writer decided to invest the capital of the prize in pursuing other of his passions, the cinema, so moved to the city of Los Angeles. Once settled there, started writing scripts, without abandoning the creation of his novels. Shortly after, he published the sequels of his first work: The midnight palace (1994) and September lights (nineteen ninety five); in order to complete the Fog Trilogy.
In 1999, he presented Marina, novel described by the writer as: “… the most personal of all his works”. A year later, he decided to bet on the adult public and began the tetralogy The cemetery of forgotten books, with the publication of The wind's shadow (2001). Quickly, the work sold more than 15 million of copies, which consolidated the career of the Spanish.
Early death
Carlos Ruiz Zafón died on June 19, 2020 in Los Angeles (USA), at 55 years of age and after fighting for two years with colon cancer.
Novels by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
- Fog Trilogy
- The Prince of Mist (1993)
- The midnight palace (1994)
- September lights (1995)
- Marina (1999)
- Tetralogy The cemetery of forgotten books
- The wind's shadow (2001)
- The game of the angel (2008)
- The Prisoner of Heaven (2011)
- The labyrinth of spirits (2016)
Some books by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
The Prince of Mist (1993)
In the summer of 1943, watchmaker Maximilian carver le informs his wife Andrea and his sons —Alicia, Irina and Max— that they will move to a locality on the shores of the Atlantic, in order to protect them from war. Max is not happy with this decision, as he does not want to leave his home. The night before leaving, his father manages to cheer him up after giving him a silver watch for his birthday.
During the journey, Maximilian begins to tell his children the history of the house, which contains a dark past. Long ago, the son of the former owners had drowned and died in strange circumstances. After the long journey, the Carvers arrive at their new home, a mysterious place and dusty due to long time in disuse; immediately, they begin to unpack.
Together, the family members help with the cleaning tasks, which leaves them exhausted. After a little break, Max, who is very insightful and fearless, begins to observe strange and spooky elements. From there, this young man live dark moments when meeting with an evil being: The prince of the mist, who grants wishes, but at a very high cost.
Marina (1999)
Oscar Drai returns to Barcelona after many years of living tormented by the past, it is there where he decides to start telling his story. It all happened when he was 15 years old and he ran away from boarding school to venture into town. Curiosity led him to enter an old house in Sarriá, where he found an old pocket watch, which he took with him when he had to leave in a hurry.
Oscar, somewhat nervous, decides to return to return the object, but is surprised by Marina, who takes him with his father Germán. He accepts the young man's apology for taking the watch. After a conversation, the boys meet to walk through the streets of Barcelona, and thus get to know each other better. The next day, Marina takes Oscar to the cemetery, where she shows him a particular grave.
The tomb has a tombstone with an engraved black butterfly, no name. The niche is visited once a month by an enigmatic lady, who only leaves a red rose. Intrigued, the youngsters investigate this grim situation, which leads them to an old artificial prosthetic industry. There they discover creepy secrets around the factory owner: Mikhail Kolvenik.
The terrifying journey leads them to become involved in a sinister story, extremely dangerous and that will mark their destinies forever.
The wind's shadow (2001)
In a quiet Barcelona after the end of the armed conflicts, the young Daniel Sempere walks hand in hand with his father to a mysterious place. This one takes it to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books; there he proposes choose a book, which will have to take care as if it were a treasure. Fascinated, Daniel chooses a text called The wind's shadow, written by Julián Carax.
When you get home, quickly read the book and be spellbound by the story, so he decides to look for more information about the author, but hardly anyone knows him. Soon, he runs into Laín Coubert, a mysterious man who wishes to destroy all the works of Carax. This strange being does everything possible to obtain the copy that Daniel owns.
After continuing to investigate, Daniel is involved in a tangle of enigmas that surround the writer. From there —between past and present— several characters involved in the mystery begin to appear. As if they were pieces of a puzzle, every story fits perfectly but also finally solve todas the intrigues surrounding the plot.
