Post number three.
Elrod (@Elrod) wrote about word “ashen” («пепельный»). To be honest I didn't notice this word at first. This word occurs in the third sentence of the novel. But I was hooked as Elrod (@Elrod) wrote: "I have not even used this word in English for at least three months". And now I'm pondering why the author used this word instead of the usual "gray" or "pale".
Then why did the author choose this particular word for the title of the first part of his book "Ash Days 1945-1949". It seemed to me for Daniel these were not entirely gray days, he met a beautiful girl, fell in love for the first time, he was happy.
Or maybe this is a connection, when later in the novel we meet a stranger who burns book paper…
I tried to find a novel in English and Spanish and understand why this word is used. Perhaps this is the point of reading books in the original.
Desgranaban los primeros días del verano de 1945 y caminábamos por las calles de una Barcelona atrapada bajo cielos de ceniza y un sol de vapor que se derramaba sobre la Rambla de Santa Mónica en una guirnalda de cobre líquido.
It was the early summer of 1945, and we walked through the streets of a Barcelona trapped beneath ashen skies as dawn poured over Rambla de Santa Monica in a wreath of liquid copper.
Стояли первые дни лета 1945 года. Мы шли по улицам Барселоны, накрытой пепельным небом, и мутное солнце жидкой медью растекалось по бульвару Санта-Моника
Días de ceniza 1945-1949
DAYS OF ASHES 1945-1949
ПЕПЕЛЬНЫЕ ДНИ 1945–1949
Hi Svetlana, when reading the book, I thought the ashen skies were ashen because of pollution problems back in those times. But I'm not so firm in history to say if this really could have been the case. Maybe the author used this word in a metaphorical way.
Here are the quotes from the German version if anyone is interested: Die ersten Sommertage des Jahres 1945 rieselten dahin, und wir gingen durch die Straßen eines Barcelonas, auf dem ein aschener Himmel lastete und dunstiges Sonnenlicht auf die Rambla de Santa Mónica filterte.
Aschene Tage 1945–1949
Zafón, Carlos Ruiz (2013-03-06T22:58:59). Der Schatten des Windes: Roman (Fischer Taschenbibliothek) (German Edition). FISCHER E-Books. Kindle-Version.
And here's the Portuguese version: Esfiapavam-se os primeiros dias do Verão de 1945 e caminhávamos pelas ruas de uma Barcelona capturada sob céus de cinza e um sol de vapor que se espalhava sobre a Rambla de Santa Mónica numa grinalda de cobre líquido. (p. 5)
Dias de Cinza 1945-1949
Ruiz Zafón, Carlos. A Sombra do Vento. Grupo Planeta. Kindle-Version.
Yes, I can agree that the author wanted to describe the pollution problems in those days.