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39 reviews
29 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Worthy of 5
8 Mar 2007
Format:Hardcover
In 14th Century Spain, socially chained to the regimens of nobility and a single faith, a boy is left to die. Rescued, cast off, humiliated, deceived, befriended, the boy and the man he becomes struggles for independence and freedom. Life is starkly brutal, sprinkled by boundless acts of kindness and generosity, and flashes of love. The novel delivers a gut wrenching blow time and time again. Ideal for readers with a passion for history and well schemed human drama.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Contrived plot in 14th century Barcelona
6 Jun 2007
Format:Paperback
(Spoiler) This is a historical novel set in 14th century Barcelona. Since I like historical novels as well as Spain and Barcelona, I was quickly attracted by this book and read the Dutch translation as soon as it came out. It relates the life of Arnau from his lowly birth on his father's farm, his subsequent flight to Barcelona after being pursued by the landlord and his rapid career from carrying stone to the building site of the Santa Maria del Mar to joining the local nobility as a baron. Arnau is the hero of the story; he is portrayed as a humble man without any ambitions, who yet somehow manages to become the richest man in Catalan. This discrepancy makes the plot seem a bit contrived; the author needs a rich Jewish merchant (whose daughter's life is saved by Arnau) to set Arnau up as moneylender by providing him with capital and a Moorish slave who is a financial expert. Therefore it seems as if life is happening to Arnau, rather than being lived by him. The plot lacks credibility in more places, ranging from a character's rebuke of Arnau being filthy and smelly after a stint in jail (nobody washed in the Middle Ages and everybody smelled like hell) to the romantic love between Arnau and his stepdaughter Mar (which teenage girl wants to marry her stepfather who she lived with since her childhood?), to Arnau applying 21st century morals in Medieval times. Also I found the style of writing and dialogues a bit clumsy here and there (although this could have been the Dutch translation) and the characters one-dimensional. The most interesting theme of this book could have been the relationship between Arnau and his brother Joan who joins the Inquisition; however the author doesn't go very deep in elaborating the conflict between the two brothers. Some good things worth mentioning are the descriptions of the historical and cultural background, the workings of trade and finance and the treatment of Jews in Medieval Europe. Some reviewers of this book wrote that this is the best book they've read; they probable haven't read Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, which is a much better historical novel set in Barcelona.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Great historical detail -- Review based on Brazilian edition.
25 Nov 2007
Format:Paperback
The recent translation from Spanish into Portuguese of La Catedral del Mar, by Ildefonso Falcones, a Catalonian lawyer in his first venture in the literary world, has been well received here in Rio de Janeiro, and it became the topic for my November book club's discussion.
The book is set in Catalonia in the 14th c. and has as its subject the building of the Gothic Cathedral mentioned in the title. It also relates the importance of this building to Barcelona and how society, from noble to serfs, was affected by the construction of the church. In the meanwhile we are given what I would call one of the best series of history lectures describing life in the middle ages. To give a solid structure to the text we follow the life of Arnau Estanyol who was born a serf and ended a baron. In this manner we can understand the daily duties of serfs, free men, to merchants and money lenders. We see the beginning of the Church's Inquisition, the life in the Juderia [ Jewish neighborhood], the life and concerns of religious men, of free men, the way a mercantile city worked and the rights and obligations both of nobles and free citizens. Prejudices and values of all social layers are brought to the foreground.
And yet, despite so much information, this is an interesting, fast-paced and easy to read book with only a couple of passages that could have been more succinct. I am referring here to a few explanatory dialogs that were chosen in a clear attempt to give the reader the necessary information about the era and its manners. This is no way diminshes the pleasure of reading this novel, which was a true best seller in Spain, and responsible for the appearance of new tour routes covering Barcelona and the Catalonian areas mentioned in the book.
The real surprise was to discover how different Barcelona was in relation to its companion merchant sea ports, with a large population of free men.
Surprising also is the depth of knowledge demonstrated by Mr. Falcones, and his ability to carry through this almost 600 page novel, with such diverse topics.
I'll gladly wait for Mr. Falcones' next novel. And I know that millions of other people will also have great expectations for his next work.
The book is set in Catalonia in the 14th c. and has as its subject the building of the Gothic Cathedral mentioned in the title. It also relates the importance of this building to Barcelona and how society, from noble to serfs, was affected by the construction of the church. In the meanwhile we are given what I would call one of the best series of history lectures describing life in the middle ages. To give a solid structure to the text we follow the life of Arnau Estanyol who was born a serf and ended a baron. In this manner we can understand the daily duties of serfs, free men, to merchants and money lenders. We see the beginning of the Church's Inquisition, the life in the Juderia [ Jewish neighborhood], the life and concerns of religious men, of free men, the way a mercantile city worked and the rights and obligations both of nobles and free citizens. Prejudices and values of all social layers are brought to the foreground.
And yet, despite so much information, this is an interesting, fast-paced and easy to read book with only a couple of passages that could have been more succinct. I am referring here to a few explanatory dialogs that were chosen in a clear attempt to give the reader the necessary information about the era and its manners. This is no way diminshes the pleasure of reading this novel, which was a true best seller in Spain, and responsible for the appearance of new tour routes covering Barcelona and the Catalonian areas mentioned in the book.
The real surprise was to discover how different Barcelona was in relation to its companion merchant sea ports, with a large population of free men.
Surprising also is the depth of knowledge demonstrated by Mr. Falcones, and his ability to carry through this almost 600 page novel, with such diverse topics.
I'll gladly wait for Mr. Falcones' next novel. And I know that millions of other people will also have great expectations for his next work.
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