Literary Pick (***)

The Shadow of the Wind
-Carlos Ruiz Zafón 

I hate finding fault in a novel that is so obviously well-loved by so many readers. It took me a long while to get into it because there seemed to be too much of a build-up that went on for well over 250 pages. I did eventually begin to find interest in the story nearing the part of "Nuria Monfort's Remembrance Lost" chapter, but by then I was already a bit skeptical, and not buying a lot of what author intended to project, which was to re-create a classic old-fashioned novel with a modern flair, pretty much like what Barcelona represents. I can't say I loved any of the characters except for Fermín. I don't understand why Daniel fell in love with Bea. I understood his love for Clara, the blind girl, but Bea's character, and their relationship/courtship was so under-developed that it left me wondering why he was so in love with her, and how everyone compared her to Penelope, when I think Clara resembled Penelope more than Bea did.
The entire novel to me felt a bit predictable, like the kind of novel you would enjoy when you first begin reading in your life. I think it's because I'm a avid fan of Latin-American literature, and I've read many great works, by quite a few amazing writers. I'm not trying to take anything away from Zafón , because I can see why many readers enjoy The Shadow of the Wind, and towards the end I rather enjoyed it myself too, but it didn't live up to my expectations.