In the early summer of 1945, 10-year-old Daniel Sempere’s father takes him to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. His father runs a store for rare, collectible, and used books. He is also one of the keepers of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. The Cemetery is a “sanctuary”—a cavernous, labyrinthine library—containing a monumental book collection, ensuring that no book is ever completely lost and that the soul of each book remains safely in the hands of those who will protect them (5). Daniel, sworn to secrecy about the existence of the library, is allowed to take one book—his own book to save and preserve throughout his life. He chooses a book called The Shadow of the Wind by Julián Carax.

Daniel devours the book in one afternoon and evening, reading late into the night, as the book weaves its magic through his heart and mind.

Daniel’s beloved mother died during a cholera epidemic just after the end of Spain’s Civil War, when Daniel was four years old. However, both Daniel and his father still talk about her and feel her presence in their apartment above the bookstore that Daniel’s father runs, which Daniel will inherit one day.