Synopsis:
XIV century. The city of Barcelona is at its moment of greatest prosperity; has grown towards the Ribera, the humble neighborhood of fishermen, whose inhabitants decide to build, with the money of some and the effort of others, the largest Maria cathedral ever known.
A construction that moves parallel to the hazardous story of Arnau, son of a peasant serf, who flees from the abuses of his feudal lord and takes refuge in Barcelona, where he becomes a citizen and, with it, a free man.
While his best friend and adopted brother Joan studies to become a priest, young Arnau becomes a member of the guild of the stone-workers, soldier and moneychanger. A strenuous life which leads him from the misery of the fugitive to nobility and wealth. But with this privileged position he also gets the envy of his peers, who devise a sordid plot that puts his life in the hands of the Inquisition. He finds himself face-to-face with his own brother. Will he lose his life just as his beloved Cathedral of the Sea is finally completed?
My Review:
“The past doesn't exist. There is nothing to be sorry for. Today is when we start to live. Look... look at the sea. The sea has no past. It is just there. It will never ask us to explain. The stars, the moon are there to light our way, to shine for us. What do they care what might have happened in the past? They are accompanying us, and are happy with that; can you see them shine? The stars are twinkling in the sky; would they do that if the past mattered? Wouldn't there be a huge storm if God wanted to punish us? We are alone, you and I, with no past, no memories, no guilt, nothing that can stand in the way of... our love.”
Set in 14th century Barcelona it covers a spectrum of the medieval traditions and lifestyles of the times. Ildefonso Falcones takes you on a journey with the main character that makes you feel you’ve gone back through time. Often compared to Ken Follett’s ‘Pillars of the Earth’, In my opinion, this book stands uniquely on its own.
It has everything an excellent historical fiction book should have. Good characters, religious persecution, a little plague, a little romance, poverty, class distinctions, some war, revenge, betrayal and a hero.
The novel is filled by the nobles who are self-centred, with no consideration for those in their care, and no thought to the fate. The Inquisitor of the Holy Office, Nicolau Eimerich, is a horrible man but so well written that I could imagine him presiding over the hearings.
Arnau, a hero, is an honorable man and one of the most widely respected of Barcelona’s citizens. From his lowly beginnings offering water to the men who were carrying stones for the cathedral to that of Consulate of the Sea he never forgets sight of his humble birth. He is the man that I want to know.
It is graphic but is a page-turner that shows mankind’s barbarous nature. I found the treatments of the Jews disturbing, though it is precisely retold from historical documents. Author Ildefonso Falcones based the book on a historical event still some liberties were made to accommodate the storyline. At the same time, it tells the story of one man’s life journey, describing each of the pleasures, challenges, and triumphs he encounters as he grows up, and grows with the city of Barcelona, Spain.
A story of treachery, battle, destitution, sickness, death, love, betrayal, hardship; all life circumstances in an era filled with mystery and intrigue. From the moment you read the first chapter to the end ; you will endure the life of a peasant, a baron, a nobleman or noblewoman, a prostitute, a warrior, a witch, a friar, an inquisitor and a king.
My Rating:
✬✬✬✬✬
