The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Spanish PM: ‘We have lost one of the world’s most admired writers’
Carlos Ruiz Zafon worked in advertising before becoming the most read Spanish author since Cervantes.
Born in Barcelona, he moved to Los Angeles in the 1990s, thereafter dividing his time between Spain and the USA while he wrote young adult novels for 10 years.
He made his debut as an author with the young adult novel The Prince of Mist in 1993.
But his breakthrough book was 2001’s The Shadow of the Wind, which followed youngster Daniel, who is taken to the Cemetery of Lost Books in Barcelona and becomes fascinated by the author Julian Carax and the shadowy figure trying to eradicate every last copy of Carax’s books.
The novel was translated into English and became an international hit.
American horror writer Stephen King said of the book: “If you thought the true Gothic novel died with the 19th Century, this will change your mind.
“Shadow is the real deal, a novel full of cheesy splendour and creaking trapdoors.”
The author’s eight novels, which also include The Angel’s Game and The Labyrinth of the Spirits, have sold more than 38 million copies worldwide, were translated into more than 40 languages, and won him multiple awards.
Mr Ruiz Zafon died yesterday aged 55 at his home in Los Angeles after a battle with colon cancer.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez led the tributes across social media.
He said: “We have lost one of the world’s most read and most admired Spanish writers.
“Carlos Ruiz Zafon, a key novelist of our epoch, made a significant contribution to modern literature.”
His publisher, Planeta, wrote in a statement: “Today is a very sad day for the entire Planeta team that knew him and worked with him for 20 years, in which a friendship that transcends professionalism has been forged.”