The Shadow of the Wind
by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Daniel Sempere
The narrator, Daniel Sempere, lost his mother when he was four. He is close to his father, a second hand book merchant. The Shadow of the Wind is a book Daniel discovered a day his dad to him to a book store “The Cemetery of Forgotten Books”. From a very young age he has helped his father in the shop and was told to keep it a secret from anyone he knew.
Daniel doesn't have very many friends. His only true friend is Tomás Aguilar and later Fermín.
Many years later he goes on an expedition is search of Julian Carax, writer of his favorite novel.
In the end the reader notices how Daniel and Julian are very similar.
Isaac Monfort
Keeper of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books.
Tomas Aguilar
Daniel’s dearest friend from the very beginning of the novel. A tough and strong character, very protective of his sister Bea, and also a rather intelligent inventor.
Beatriz
Love interest of Daniel Sempere and sister of Tomas. A very pretty young woman, Bea is still in school. It is due to her that Daniel and Tomas became friends in the first place. Bea's father and brother are very protective of her and she has been for several years engaged to marry an army officer, a staunch upholder of the Franco dictatorship.
Gustavo Barcelo
Expert on Julian Carax. Makes an attempt to buy the book from Daniel, but given Daniel’s loyalty to Carax he doesn’t budge.
Clara Barcelo
Blind niece of Gustavo Barcelo. At ten Daniel falls in love with her. Daniel tries to spend all the time he possibly can with her. He enjoys her thorough descriptions in all her stories and is marveled by the depth of them because she is blind. She is also a lover of Julian Carax and attempted to search for his books after reading The Shadow of the Wind.
Lain Coubert
An actual character from Julian's book, he approaches Daniel in order to take the copy of the book. He’s the one that over the years has been trying to get rid of all of Julian Carax’s books.
Fermin Romero de Torres
A homeless man whom Daniel's father hires off the street to work in his bookshop. Later becomes Daniel’s best friend with which he goes roaming through Barcelona with. They go looking for people who may have known Julian Carax. Later on throughout the expedition he is framed for the crime. A former Republican agent hideously tortured by Fumero.
Nuria Monfort
daughter of the keeper of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, who knows more about Julián than anyone else still alive. Later she marries Miquel. Like her husband, she too would become obsessed with Julian. It was she who secreted Carax’s books in her father’s hiding place away from the destructive clutch of Lian Coubert.
Miquel Molliner
He is the son of a wealthy arms manufacturer and a German mother who died three years before he went into private school. After her death he became obsessed with death. He develops a deep friendship with Julian.
Penelope Aldaya
Daughter of Don Ricardo. A love letter turns up revealing a romance between her and Daniel back in the 1920's.At the time Don Ricardo had been mentioring Daniel so he became very upset by it. Due to his anger both Daniel and Penelope decide to elope to Paris.dies horribly, locked in a room and giving birth unattended.
Francisco Javier Fumero,
Becomes Daniel’s friends in private school. Of the group of friend he is the most distant. After learning that Penelope is in love with Daniel, Francisco is on a rage to kill Daniel because he was obsessed with Penelope. Becomes a torturer and assassin, first on the Republican side and then chief inspector of the Barcelona Police.
Don Ricardo Aldaya
Patriarch of The Angel of Mist at 32 Avenida del Tibidabo. Runs into Julian at the hat maker’s store and gets along with him because of their love of books. Don Ricardo enrolls him into San Gabriel, the private school, and pays for it. It is the same school his son Jorge attends.
Jorge Aldaya
Don Ricardo’s son.
Father Fernando Ramos
A school friend of Julián Carax who later becomes a priest at their old school. He assists Daniel in his quest for the truth about Julián Carax.
Jacinta Coronado
The devoted former governess of Penélope, now living in a retirement home. She also helps Daniel on his quest.
