“After a while it occurred to me that between the covers of each of those books lay a boundless universe waiting to be discovered while beyond those walls, in the outside world, people allowed life to pass by in afternoons of football and radio soaps, content to do little more than gaze at their navels.”

Spanish novelist

Carlos Ruiz Zafón was a Spanish novelist. He is known for his 2001 novel La sombra del viento, which brought him wide recognition. The novel sold 15 million copies and won numerous awards. In 2007, it was included in a list of the 100 best books in Spanish of the previous 25 years, compiled by 81 Spanish and Hispanic American writers and critics.