Cathedral of the Sea
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Review
An exciting, very readable adventure novel, enriched by realistic descriptions of medieval life, work, finance and politics. --Independent
Review
The international bestseller...now in an impressively graceful translation which captures beautifully the archaic and lyrical tone of the narrative.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good and bad, but not good enough,
By Rivercassini "Rivercassini" (London) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Cathedral of the Sea (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
Cathedral of the Sea by Ildefonso Falcones
There are lots of good things about Cathedral of the Sea: It's engaging, but not engrossing, readable and atmospheric, creating a sense of medieval Spain, and Barcelona in particular, with the first few chapters, a sense which is sustained to final page. But there are lots of bad things about this book too which, for me, detracted so much from the reading experience as to undermine the whole. The narrative is plot driven, relating the life story of Arnau, son of a runaway serf made good, but the detailed descriptions of battles in particular and the lecture-like accounts of Spanish histories which pepper the novel are so turgid that the plot falls flat at times. Most of the characters are so under-developed that at times it is hard to understand their motivations or emotions, and Arnau, the central character, who is likeable enough, seems to suffer from having things done to him rather than having any sense of taking control, or responsibility, for his own life: strange in one who's professed desires include freedom and justice. While the author is at pains to display his intimate knowledge of medieval Barcelona, he seems to know very little of ways in which the renaissance, the reformation or industrialisation have changed the human psyche. Thus, we seem to have a series of characters who, with the exception of Arnau, seem more like 21st century inhabiting a time past, rather than being part of the fabric of their context. And yet, and yet, the relationship which Arnau forges with the Cathedral of the Sea - the church of Santa Maria de lar Mer, the building of which takes place during his lifetime, is fascinating - and even more so is the range of emotions he feels towards the Virgin of Sea who becomes his mother, his guide, his strength and his inspiration. And this is the real meat of the novel - delectable and nourishing. Shame there wasn't quite enough of it to mask the taste of the turgid narrative.
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Utter tosh dressed up as "historical" fiction,
By
This review is from: Cathedral of the Sea (Hardcover)
I bought this book on the recommendation of an eager bookshop salesman. I knew it had sold millions of copies in Spain and Italy, and the bookstore in Rome's main railway station is pushing it (in both Italian and English). It is, alas, a novel written by a Catalan lawyer in his spare time, and it reads like it. The prose is pedestrian throughout, with almost no variation in tone; there is little if any character development, and the narrative is of the "A did X, B thought Y, they stared at each other, then were friends for 50 years" school. Wholly without literary imagination. The "story" (details of which you can see in many other reviews) is interesting enough to keep one's attention, but only just. Some of it is simply naive good v. evil stuff; in what seems to be an imposition of 21st Century political correctness on mediaeval Barcelona, one of the most important characters is a Moorish slave of surpassing virtue and generosity, likewise the Jewish characters are entirely sympathetic, treated as paragons. While one can applaud the effort to present Moors and Jews positively for a change, the presentation is so simplistic and kack-handed here that one is immediately aware of what the author is doing with them. Like other reviewers, I had to make several attempts to finish the book. There is a plethora of historical "detail" but I found myself just skimming this, presented as it is in laundry-list fashion. In an effort to achieve verisimilitude, Falcones inserts into the narrative long lists of names of knights or barons of mediaeval Catalonia, never to be mentioned again. He says in his Afterword that the broad historical events (not the details of Arnau's life) are based on chronicles of the time, which presumably were his source for the roll-call of princes, barons etc. I took this book on holiday and so felt a certain compulsion to finish it, but my advice to a potential purchaser would be don't waste your time: there are thousands of other books out there that are far better written, more believable narratives.
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sweeping epic of a book,
By Elaine Simpson-long (Colchester, UK) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Cathedral of the Sea (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
I have had this book since before Christmas and am kicking myself for not picking it up before but its door stop size and length, over 650 pages, waas somewhat daunting and I had a feeling that once I started this story I would not be able to put it down, so had better have plenty of time to devote to it. I have spent the last two weeks reading it in the evening after work as it it too heavy to cart on my daily commute to London, but in the end I took it with me as I could not leave it behind.
The story is set in 14th century Spain and Bernat and his son Arnau are two serfs on the run from their feudal lord who had stolen Bernat's wife on his wedding night and taken his lands. They flee to Barcelona where if they stay hidden for a year and a day, they will become free men. As a young boy Arnau discovers and finds fascinating The Cathedral of the Sea, a wonderful new church being built in honour of the Virgin, for the people by the people. As Arnau grows up, he becomes a bataix, one of a band of men who carry stones from the quarry to the church to help in its building. Here he finds refuge and love and a place which will become central to his life. I am not going to give all the details of the story, it would take too long and this review would go on for ever. Suffice it to say, it is a truly magical book and the story of Arnau's journey from slave to nobleman is written on a truly epic scale. As he becomes successful and rich and loved by his fellow citizens in Barcelona, there are those who are jealous of him and who would bring about his downfall. One of these is his very own wife, Eleonor, given to him by the king as a reward for his bravery in battle and who hates him for his indifference to her. It is the time of the Spanish Inquisition where a denouncement can lead to a supposed heretic hauled before the Inquisitors and find that he loses not only his possessions which are taken by the church, but his life also, and Eleonor is determined to revenge herself on her husband. I felt that a bit of judicious editing would have tightened the book up a bit as I felt it lost momentum about two thirds through, but then it picked up pace and the last third is nail biting stuff. A terrific story and highly recommended. Just make sure you have plenty of free time when you open it at page one that is all I can say
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