My approach: I read the book on a Kindle in Spanish and highlighted words I didn't know which gave me a definition in Spanish. This was an unexpected bonus since it stretched my ability to understand the word as a native speaker would. Sometimes the definition of an adjective just gave me the verb form and was not helpful so I had to look it up on Google Translate. I inserted the translation as a "note" (highlighted in yellow). I also looked up some expressions but did not look up every word. Instead, I did so for words that I thought key. I had read a few Spanish novels previously but none so literary and descriptive (or as long) as this one. Generally I look up about 3-5 words/phrases per page. I can often guess whether an adjective is positive or negative and if I want to know the exact meaning, then I look it up but if I don't feel like it or think it's some colloquial-type term, I don't.

For the first 100 pages or so, I thought the book interesting but couldn't see how the various characters connected with the ostensible mystery regarding Carax. (I kept wondering,,"where is this going?") The book then added some critical information and became for me a "page-turner" -- i.e., a book in which I was eager to see what happened next and was reading for longer and longer periods of time. For me, this kind of book is ideal for language learning because I became so focused on the plot, forgetting that I was reading it in Spanish. That is, I was reading more as a native speaker would or as children read when they are captivated by the story. This was/is a delightful and new experience for me: the sweet spot of language learning. A big thank you to Robin for suggesting this book as the first for the multi-language book club and for creating Journaly to go along with it.

The results: As many have noted, an author repeats some vocabulary and Zafron certainly did that: "he shrugged, nodded, shook his head, raised his eyes," and other metaphorical usages (spilling, dragging, rolling, sprinkling, sparkling) were repeated with enough frequency that I learned them without effort, which is exactly how children expand their vocabulary. My knowledge of Spanish was already advanced enough that it was easy for me to assimilate new words and expressions in grammatical patterns that I already knew. I did not choose to read the book in Russian, a language in which my skills are at an intermediate level because I thought (rightly) that the descriptions would be way over my head. I am sharing this in English because it appears that there are many who have beginner or low intermediate skills in their target language who wanted to read the book in their target language. To me, this is would be way too difficult and tedious, particularly for a book of this length. Personally, I think some stretch can be motivating, but if I were struggling to understand only a few pages per day, I would put it aside for the future. In my experience, I learn most and retain most when I understand 85% (preferably 90%) of the text precisely because what I already understand carries me forward. It also means that I can engage with the material for longer periods of time precisely because it is not a chore but a pleasure. Thus, no one should feel bad that this was too hard for them.

I also found on Youtube a chapter by chapter audio of the Spanish book which I then listened to after I had read it on Kindle, deliberately not reading the subtitles as listening comprehension. I was amazed at how much new vocabulary I recognized with zero additional practice, merely because of the repetition in the book and the exciting content.

In sum, reading this book in Spanish was a huge boost to my Spanish -- I learned loads and am eager to read another exciting book in Spanish. I should add that the book was especially interesting for me because I had been in Barcelona last January, just before Covid and so the description of the city resonated with me. Reading the book in Spanish has also caused me to reflect about my Russian. I would love to have a similar experience in that language but feel that Zafrón's book would be too difficult for me in Russian, even knowing the plot. I need to find a shorter, less descriptive story and one with audio since Russian pronunciation is not as regular as that of Spanish. Yet the fact that I am enthused about reading novels in both languages, is a new step for me, thanks again to Robin! For those of you who have finished the book, how do you feel that reading it has affected your language learning journey?

TraceyG

The effect of La Sombra del Viento on my language learning