This book has been a bestseller here in Spain for quite some time now.  In fact, I believe [...]]]> It’s been a while since I’ve written a book review on the site and I thought it was about time.  So, today I’d like to tell you about “La Sombra del Viento” by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. 

This book has been a bestseller here in Spain for quite some time now.  In fact, I believe it was released around 2001 or 2002, and since that time it has been pretty popular in bookstores.  It’s no surprise to me that it’s popular here — this book is one of the best fictional novels that I’ve ever read.

The book is about a child named Daniel who one day discovers a forgotten book on the dusty shelves of the “Forgotten Book Cemetery” — a place that his father, who owns a bookstore, frequents.  Daniel becomes so intrigued by the forgotten book that he decides to investigate into the life of its author: Julián Carax.  Of course, there is a problem: Carax’s life turns out to be very obscure and takes many twists and turns.  Daniel soon becomes obsessed with finding out more about Carax’s life and this novel basically tells the story of Daniel’s search for information.

I really enjoyed reading this book because it is set in Barcelona, Spain right after the Spanish Civil War and is written in a way that makes you feel as if you really are in the city of Barcelona.  It describes the buildings there, it describes the things the people do on the street there — it basically transcends you to the Barcelona of the early twentieth century.  Another thing that I found very interesting about this book is that it is full of details and is told through several overlapping stories of love, hatred, mystery, and intrigue.  These intertwined stories make the book extremely interesting to read and come together perfectly at the end of the novel to form a very well-executed closing. 

The book is written in Spanish and the level is a little high.  I would recommend reading the translated English version or using a dictionary for the Spanish version if you don’t read Spanish at an advanced level.  In any event, the book is wonderful and worth reading.  If you don’t believe me, check it out on Amazon and read the five-star reviews for yourself. 

Have you read this book?  Do you have something to add to this post?  Leave a comment below. 

Hasta luego,
Chris
http://abroadinspain.com

A lot of my regular readers have asked me to recommend some books/tools that they may be able to use to help them hone and practice their Spanish skills. It is for that reason that I’d like to tell you about a great book entitled “The Ultimate Spanish Review and Practice” by Ronni [...]]]>

A lot of my regular readers have asked me to recommend some books/tools that they may be able to use to help them hone and practice their Spanish skills. It is for that reason that I’d like to tell you about a great book entitled “The Ultimate Spanish Review and Practice” by Ronni L. Gordon and David M. Stillman.

I purchased this book after completing four years of high school Spanish to review what I had learned over the past four years. I more or less felt as though I already had a good understanding of basic grammar; however, I wanted to “revisit” some of the things that I had learned and go more “in-depth” with the language. Over the summer between my high school graduation and my first year at college, I read this book cover-to-cover and, by the time I entered college in the fall as a Spanish major, this book had put me light-years ahead of my peers.  Don’t get me wrong, I attribute much of my Spanish success in college to my high school teacher; however, I feel as though this book really did help out quite a bit as well.

Just so you know, this book is not for those of you who do not speak much Spanish at all; instead, it’s for those of you who already know the basics of the language and want some review of what you already know as well as an introduction to some of the more complex parts of the language. The cover of the book actually says it’s for “intermediate and advanced learners” and I’d agree with that.

The book is laid out in chapters and each chapter presents some grammatical points and then gives you some exercises in which you can practice what you’re learning. The answers to all the exercises are found at the end of the book. One nice thing about the grammar explanations is that they’re clear and concise – the authors tell you what you need to know and show you how the rules work without going into too much detail and boggling your mind. I’m told that the newest edition of the book also comes with an Audio CD that includes practice exercises. Since I bought my edition a few years ago, I do not have that CD. Still, I’d be willing to bet that it compliments the written practice in the book nicely and probably even helps with pronunciation and listening comprehension.

Whether you want to read this book cover-to-cover like I did or prefer to have it as a simple reference for when you forget a rule, I think that “The Ultimate Spanish Review and Practice” would probably be beneficial for those of you who have an intermediate level in Spanish. The book gives you a good amount of grammar practice without going too deeply into the more obscure aspects of the language.

I hope sharing my opinion has helped someone. Feel free to leave your comments about this book (or any other similar one you’d like people to know about) on this post. I have linked to this book on Amazon throughout this post so that you can go there and read more about it.

Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com