Few things leave a deeper mark on a reader than the first book that finds a way into his heart.

More from Carlos Ruiz Zafon

• A secret's worth depends on the people from which it must be kept.
• Some things can only be seen in the shadows.
• Accept loss forever
• A change in the weather is sufficient to recreate the world and ourselves.
• A chief event of life is the day in which we have encountered a mind that startled us.
• A chief event of life is the day in which we have encountered a mind that startled us. Essays, "Character," 1844