The Wallstreet Book Review vol. III

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Mr Wallstreet
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Post by Mr Wallstreet »

Just to give you guys an update, I've been waiting for Shadow of the Wind to arrive for 2, almost 3 weeks now. I'm supposed to be recieving it soon but so far nada. In the interim I finished reading HALO: Contact Harvest, based off the video game of HALO.

I also requested Sandman's reccomendation: The Stand from my library. Mitch, a question, what is the full name of the author of Magician? The searches I got for "Zeist" and "Magician" were too many to sort through.

Many thanks

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MGM
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Post by MGM »

Presumably because the man's name is Feist. Raymond E. Feist, to be exact.

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CBKA
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Post by CBKA »

I read a book once.

It was called where's wally.

I couldn't find him:e2bummed:
:chewie:

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Mr Wallstreet
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Post by Mr Wallstreet »

MGM wrote:Presumably because the man's name is Feist. Raymond E. Feist, to be exact.
:doh: Guess I had a brain queef of my own. For some reason I kept thinking Zeist and not Feist. Anyho, I'll request that book from my library by this weekend.

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Post by Mr Wallstreet »

Finally, Finally got Shadow of the Wind. I'll crack it open today on my commute back home

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Post by MGM »

Hurrah!

And did you find Feist yet, or what? :D

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Post by Mr Wallstreet »

:mad: :D

Yes I have, but I haven't requested it yet. I'll do it later this week. After Shadow of the Wind I plan on reading the Stand by Stephen King, then Feist's novel.

Back to Shadow of the Wind, I was really surprised to find out how much I'm enjoying it. Despite professing to be open minded about literature, I had a few preconceptions about it; and all of them were negative. I thought it was going to be some boring story about heart stricken and forlorn man trying to find happiness and love and getting trapped in some cheesy love triangle.

Though it is about a love stricken man and the pursuit of happiness, it's not at all lame. It's fascinating and intriguing. The prose is intelligent and thoughtful without coming off as forced or pretentious and the writer does a magnificent job of describing locales with a richness and detail that I haven't read in a very long time.

Great reccomendation Mitch. I look forward to reading the Magician very soon.

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MGM
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Post by MGM »

Isn't it the most fucking awesome book ever? :D I'm love that book. The twists keep coming and coming, and the history of the characters gets more compelling the more you learn. How far are you into the book? I have no idea how long your commute is. And why did you have negative preconceptions about it?

About Magician, apparently that's been released as a two-parter as well. Than you'd need Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master. It's really one story, and was originally released that way, so if you'd get the first part, I highly recommend to read the second part as well. Although, with the game-changing twist as cliffhanger at the end, you'd probably only give up if you'd really hate fantasy.

I also would like to recommend The discovery of Heaven from Harry Mulisch. It's a Dutch book, also a movie these days, but I remember reading it (just started again) and thinking it was one of the best books I've ever read. Wiki: It describes the intense friendship between two men and the mystical journey of another to return to Heaven the stone tablets containing the ten commandments. It's rather huge, though, 900 pages. But in my opinion, every one of them worth it.

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Post by Mr Wallstreet »

I'm not really that far into the book but I'm enjoying the shit out of it. I'm up to chapter 7 "The Empty Plate". My commute is roughly about an hour so I get a good amount of reading done as long as its not too crowded. Also, funny thing, I actually missed my stop yesterday while riding the train. As my stop was approaching I put away SoW and got ready to exit, but before the train came to a complete stop, I started thinking about some of the characters from the book that I forgot to get off. I just stood in front of the doors as they opened then closed. That hasn't happened in a while either. :D

The reason I had some negative preconceptions about it was because it sounded a lot like some of the coming-of-age stories I had read earlier and I did not like them too much; but this was a welcome surprise.

I'll also put Discovery of Heaven on my list, I might get this before Magician, but after The Stand. It sounds more appealing than Magician.

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Post by MGM »

Shiiiit, chapter 7 and you think it's good now? You haven't even gotten to the good parts yet! :D


I think Magician is a really good book, it's of course fantasy (whcih you don't like), but it's unlike a lot of other fantasy. There's swords and macig, sure, and they do play a big part. But it's the characters that make it interesting to me.

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Post by Mr Wallstreet »

I wouldn't say I don't like Fantasy, I just haven't read any Fantasy to date that I have really liked. Also, I don't read Fantasy a lot in general. Perhaps if I had some good authors, I could make a getter go at it.

Also, the first part of chapter 7 had me cringing and feeling pity for the poor boy, I really felt bad for him after that chapter. Kid was head over heels for a girl who seems to be toying with him while dating the pretentious asshole musician who I disliked to begin, but felt nothing but seething hatred for after he gave Daniel a beating. It's now getting a lot more interesting. I've met a few more interesting characters, namely Torres the bum and the arsonist. The games afoot!

One thing that seems somewhat confusing, and maybe you can shed some light on this, is the nature of the dialogue. When describing objects, locations, and people Daniel uses words that have vivid and rich imagery. But when speaking to other characters, or when other characters are speaking to him or one another, the dialogue sounds remarkably similar to that of current speech.

I don't know how people in Spain spoke to one another in the 40s and 50s but I'm not entirely sure it sounded like the way we speak to one another now...Or is it?

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Post by MGM »

I'm not entirely sure what you mean, but I'll grab the book and read a random chapter one of these days and see if I can get into your question.

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Post by Mr Wallstreet »

Maybe I made my question more confusing than it had to be.

I just mean that the manner in which the characters speak to each other sounds an awful lot like how people today speak to each other today. A lot of the speech, sounds very casual and is peppered with sarcasm and dirty humor

Having almost no knowledge on Spanish culture from the 40s and 50s, I'm having somehwat of a hard time believing that people living in Spain during the 40s and 50s sounded like us today...

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Post by MGM »

Oh... I suppose they didn't. But would you really want to read a book that has characters speak like that? I think it'd hardly be as enjoyable as it is now.

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Post by Mr Wallstreet »

I finished Shadow of the Wind a few days ago and it was a Fantabulous book.

SoW was a combination mystery, drama and romance story. Although the story was populated with a rich cast of characters and, all whom were scarred tragedy, the star of the book was Fermin Romero de Torres. He was funny, insightful, witty, intelligent,optimistic (despite years of dogged abuse by a corrupt and evil officer) and above all, a romantic.

I give this book 4 Jelly Donuts out of 5. I would highly recommend this book to other people.

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Post by MGM »

Agreed. I still have no idea what part I liked better, the 'present' or the whole history of the writer. Glad you liked it!

Any chance on a more in depth review? :D

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Post by Mr Wallstreet »

Sure, just give me a couple of days.

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Post by Mr Wallstreet »

Shadow of the Wind takes place just after the Spanish Civil War in Barcelona, Spain between 1945_ and 1966. The story begins in 1945; we are introduced to our protagonist, a young boy named Daniel Sempre. Daniel lives with his father, who is a widower, in an apartment and together they manage a book store. Daniel’s mother had died many years ago and Daniel can now, no longer remembers what she looks like while Daniel’s father seems to be in perpetual mourning for his lost wife.

Daniel’s life changes for better and for worse (the worse always coming before the better) when his father takes him to a very special place when he is 10 years old. This place is called “The Cemetery of Forgotten Books”. It’s location and existence are a secret except for those whose love for the written word knows no bounds. There, Daniel finds a book called Shadow of the Wind by an author named Julian Carax. Daniel is instantly captivated by the story and tries in vain to find other books written by Julian Carax. While searching for other books by Carax, Daniel meets woman many years older than him named Clara Barcelo whom he strikes up a friendship with and simultaneously falls in love with her. Though he is too young to properly understand what he is feeling for her, it is plain to everyone around him what is happening (especially Clara) but Daniel’s friends and family, for the most part, let it continue. Daniel spends several long years quietly pining for Clara, during which time he gives her his copy of Shadow of the Wind and hoping against hope that he can be with her despite Clara having several boyfriends (which she somewhat cruelly flaunts in his face). Daniel’s “friendship” with Clara continues until things come to a head and end disastrously for Daniel.

Late one night, just before Daniel’s “relationship” (hehe) with Clara is euthanized, he is approached by a man who wishes to buy his copy of SoW. The man is named after a character in one of Carax’s books and is horribly disfigured. When Daniel refuses to sell it, the man makes several veiled threats against Daniel and his loved ones. Daniel, afraid but not (really) showing it still refuses but the man says he will continue to be in touch. Daniel then hides the book and continues a task he had abandoned long ago: to learn what happened to the rest of Carax’s novels. Daniel soon learns that they were systematically destroyed by an unknown person (though we can guess who the culprit was) and that there are almost none left.

Though SoW contains plenty of drama and mystery, to me, it is above all else a love story; a frighteningly unconventional, unorthodox and perverse love story but still a love story. The writer does a marvelous job of interweaving the various genres within the love story. The first portion of SoW is clearly a romance. It bears all the hallmarks of a love that is doomed from the start but tries in vain to succeed. When the romance is briefly set aside the mystery immediately begins. The flow of storytelling (everything from mood, to narration to style) changes so smoothly you don’t even notice it. One minute the character is stewing in his own angry juices and the next minute he’s pulled into a world of danger he neither fully understands or properly equipped to handle (both emotionally, mentally and physically). Another great aspect of SoW is its use of the unexpected. So much in film and literature today tries so hard to be clever and unexpected, that they just wind up making the reader scratch his head and go “wtf” or “where’d that come from?”. That’s not the case here. SoW delivers several great plot twists which the writer properly lays the groundwork for, and if you follow it carefully, can anticipate the twist and see how it fits within the story. The plot devices also serve as strong motivations for several of the characters.

All these things aside, what ultimately makes SoW such a wonderful read is its rich cast of characters. Our protagonist whose eyes we all view the world through: Daniel Sempre. Daniel is a typical boy living in Barcelona during the 30s, he is well mannered (mostly), intelligent, possessed by raging hormones and helps his father in their bookshop. Daniel’s father is a quiet, unassuming man who still has not gotten over the death of his wife but loves his son deeply. Clara Barcelo, Daniel’s first love who lets Daniel fall in love with her with disastrous consequences. Inspector Fumero – a high ranking sadistic, corrupt and dangerous officer of the law. During the Spanish Civil War, his loyalty was open to the highest bidder and he often carried out assassinations, torture and other brutal acts. Once the civil war ended, he betrayed many of his employers and traded in his black ops for the respectability and protection of a police badge. He has not an ounce of remorse or humanity in his body and never hesitates to kill those who hinder him or cease to be useful. He keeps tabs on those he had deposed during the civil war, in the event they ever become useful to him. He is known and feared by just about everyone within Barcelona. Needless to say, he is our primary antagonist. And finally Fermin Romero de Torress.

De Torres is one of the many hundreds of men who had suffered at the hands of Inspector Fumero. A former civil servant who worked in some capacity of intelligence gathering during the civil war; he was captured by Fumero and tortured until he gave up his superior officers. Once the civil war ended and Fumero became an Inspector, De Torres had his livelihood stripped from him and was thrown into the street to live as a beggar. Though recently, life has been unkind to De Torres, he remains an optimist – which is one of his strongest qualities. Torres is witty, intelligent, charming, insightful and hilarious. His thought processes and dialogue are punctuated by so many tangents that it’s almost difficult to keep up. De Torres singlehandedly made the book far better than it was with his humor and wisdom and though he wasn’t the central character, he quickly became the star of the story. All the characters have their own unique quirks and personalities, but De Torres stands head and shoulders above them all.

However, the book isn’t without its faults. One of the biggest things I had a hard time with, was reconciling the dialogue to the time period the story takes place in. Some of the characters spoke in a fashion similar to that of young people in the world today. As SoW is a period piece, I didn’t expect to see the style of dialogue that many people use today, reflected in 40s Barcelona.

Also, what I had a difficult time getting behind was the way Daniel Sempre took the emotional abuse of Clara Barcelo and didn’t utter a single phrase or sound in protest. I’m not saying it’s unheard of for a young person to become infatuated with someone older or that they sometimes say and do things to please them; but Clara played soccer with Daniel’s heart for years by toying with his emotions by telling him of her various boyfriends, he still bore no ill will towards her. I find that just a bit difficult to believe.
There are a few more things which didn’t sit well with me but those more minor nitpicks than anything else. Overall, it was –and is- a wonderful read.

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Mr Wallstreet
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Post by Mr Wallstreet »

I've just now started reading The Stand by Stephen King, as reccomended by Sandman and by the Gods, its a huge book. It's at least twice the size of IT. Not that care how big a book is, but its been damn difficult to fit this monster in my bag along with all my other daily items (lunch, umbrella, papers, etc...). Anywayz, I'm about 100 pages into it, and so far it seems okay.

Once I'm done with The Stand, I'll try for The Magician by Raymond E. Feist :D

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Post by MGM »

Glad you liked it! Now, don't you think, in hindsight, that this was a bit premature? After all, the book gets WAY better past chapter 7. :D
Mr Wallstreet wrote:Back to Shadow of the Wind, I was really surprised to find out how much I'm enjoying it. Despite professing to be open minded about literature, I had a few preconceptions about it; and all of them were negative. I thought it was going to be some boring story about heart stricken and forlorn man trying to find happiness and love and getting trapped in some cheesy love triangle.

Though it is about a love stricken man and the pursuit of happiness, it's not at all lame. It's fascinating and intriguing. The prose is intelligent and thoughtful without coming off as forced or pretentious and the writer does a magnificent job of describing locales with a richness and detail that I haven't read in a very long time.

Great reccomendation Mitch. I look forward to reading the Magician very soon.

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