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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
A lot
Multiple murders; the protagonist finds bodies; Gothic violence throughout
Language
Some
Adult language
Sexual Content
Some
Adult romantic relationships
Substance Use
Barely any
Some alcohol in the 1920s Barcelona setting
Emotional Intensity
A lot
The psychological horror of not knowing what is real; a narrator who may be mad or may be making a genuine deal with the devil
What this book is about
David Martín, a struggling writer in 1920s Barcelona, is approached by an enigmatic publisher named Andreas Corelli who offers him a fortune to write a book that will make people believe in anything. As David writes, murders accumulate around him, a woman haunts the house he's inherited, and the nature of his patron becomes increasingly unclear. Zafón's Cemetery of Forgotten Books prequel is darker and more Gothic than The Shadow of the Wind, trading that novel's coming-of-age warmth for something more sinister.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Multiple murders and Gothic violence
A narrator whose grip on reality is increasingly uncertain
Dark theological and psychological themes
Reader Verification
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