The Shadow of the Wind-Week 3, Post B

This mystery of Julian Carax is intriguing. Daniel keeps finding more and more clues into Carax’s puzzling life and I love it when he does because it gets him closer to discovering why people are opposed to Carax. Daniel may even be able to find Carax if he gathers enough information. I am baffled has to why some people are so opposed to Carax. I cannot understand why people would want to burn his novels. Everything I’ve heard about his novels has been unmistakably positive. His novels have been described as entrancing, magnificent works of art that deserve to be recognized. As I sit here and try to predict what clue Daniel will discover next in the novel, I can’t help but wonder about the strange man who cornered Daniel and demanded that Daniel give him his Carax novel in order for him to burn it. I am beginning to think that this man could possibly be Carax in disguise. One thing Daniel seems to have learned is that Carax is still alive but nobody knows where he and barely anybody even knows who he is. So it would be quite simple for Carax to disguise himself. However, I have trouble understanding what incentive Carax could possible have to burn his own novel. It may seem that my prediction is poorly backed but I only suggested this because something in my instinct says I may be on the right track. I am anxious to learn more about Carax and see if my prediction is correct.

The Shadow of the Wind-Week 3, Post A

In our society here in the United States, a close friendship between a grown man and a young boy would be considered suspicious. In The Shadow of the Wind Tomas and Fermin develop a very close relationship and they spend quite a lot of time together. Fermin is an older man in possibly his 50s while Tomas is probably 16 years old. I would consider this to be a cultural difference because in the United States close friendships between adults and children usually cause a raised eyebrow if the adult is not related to the child. There seems to be a lot more distrust of adults here in the United States than there was in Barcelona around 1945. I realized this to be a cultural difference because as I was reading of their newfound friendship I felt as though this was rather abnormal when in reality, this was a normal practice in Barcelona. I noticed this unsual close friendship between Daniel and Clara as well. Clara is twice Daniel's age and yet they created a bond that proved itself to be strong enough to break Daniel's heart in the end. I felt uncomfortable with the relationship as it was growing and I knew it was because I am not used to adults and children having relationships this close. It will be interesting to see if any more of these adult/child friendships spark throughout the novel.