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Smiling Shelves

Shiver Language in The Shadow of the Wind

9/11/2014

4 Comments

 
I love the phrase "shiver language." It so aptly describes what it is - languages, words, phrases that send a shiver down your spine because they are so well-written or because they show the world in a way that you would otherwise never have seen it. (The traditional phrase for this is "figurative language", but that doesn't strike me as particularly descriptive. Figurative language makes you do what - figurate?)

Occasionally, I run across a book that is full of shiver language. When that happens, I highlight (if the book is mine) or scribble down page numbers (if it isn't). My copy of The Book Thief is covered in purple highlighter. (If you want to read my shiver language post, you can find it here.)

I recently discovered another book full of shiver language - The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. These are just some of the quotes I found that sent a shiver down my spine. I hope you enjoy reading them.
"That is how Clara read, with borrowed eyes."
"We were always two fugitives riding on the spine of a book, eager to escape into worlds of fiction and secondhand dreams."
"Dusk fell almost surreptitiously, with a cold breeze and a mantle of purple light that slid between the gaps in the streets."
"The city was asleep, and the bookshop felt like a boat adrift in a sea of silence and shadows."
"I remained glued to the fire, watching the steam rise from my clothes like a fleeing soul."
"I lost sight of the car that was taking Bea away, two dots of light sinking into a well of darkness."
"He continued to pursue the shadow of his own words."
"It had started to snow, and the sky was melting into slow tears of light that seemed to lie on my breath before fading away."
"The art of reading is an intimate ritual; a book is a mirror that offers us only what we already carry inside us; when we read, we do it with all our heart and mind."
"I leafed through the pages, inhaling the enchanted scent of promise that comes with all new books."
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4 Comments
Jade @ Bits & Bobs link
9/12/2014 02:38:13 am

I really enjoy these kinds of posts - I love snippets from books. The last two sentences that you featured are my favourites!
:-)

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Julie @ Smiling Shelves link
9/14/2014 10:30:56 am

I agree. Snippets from books are great - and even better if they are about books!

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Introverted Jen link
9/15/2014 02:15:27 pm

Oh, The Shadow of the Wind is just gorgeous! I loved it. Unfortunately his other books haven't lived up to this one for me, even with the "shiver language." I tend to call it the "warm fuzzies" and apply it to books, music, whatever. I picked it up from my high school band director. We knew we were good when he told us we gave him the warm fuzzies. :-)

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Julie @ Smiling Shelves link
9/17/2014 01:49:14 pm

The warm fuzzies is a great name for it! I really enjoyed The Shadow of the Wind, but I haven't decided if I'll keep reading the series. I hear mixed messages about the other books. It's hard to avoid an author with lots of shiver language, though!

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    My name is Julie, and I own a lot of books. As in, they are stacked on the floor because I've run out of room on the shelves. And those shelves? There are so many books on them that they smile -- not sag; smile. This blog will cover book reviews and all manner of other bookish things.

    You can contact me at julie@smilingshelves.com.

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