A co-worker recommended that our work book group read this and it was probably the best recommendation that we got! The book pulls you in, and when it finally lets go the result is exhausting (stayed up very late to finish!) and yet exhilarating (couldn't go to sleep because I was so pumped up when I got done)! I cried, laughed, fell in love, questioned my sanity, got scared, got angry - but mostly, I identified with many aspects of the characters brought to life on the pages of this book. Carlos Ruiz Zafon is a master! His book is beautifully written. Best book I've read in a long time!