The Postnational Reception of Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s La sombra del viento

Since the 1980s, the Spanish novel has become a constant presence in the international literary arena. This chapter deals with the degree in which contemporary Spanish literature tends to be received in a postnational frame of reference. The author focuses on the international reception of La sombra del viento (2001), Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s towering bestseller. The plot stands out for its strong heteronomous context—Barcelona before and after the Spanish Civil War—which makes Ruiz Zafón’s novel an interesting case study to test the postnational status of contemporary Spanish literature. The chapter focuses on four countries that hold an important or even central position in the world republic of letters: Germany, France, the U.S., and England.