“The only thing I can recall is that it rained all day and all night, and that when I asked my father whether heaven was crying, he couldn't bring himself to reply. Six years later my mother's absence remained in the air around us, a deafening silence that I had not yet learned to stifle with words.”

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.