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Cathedral of the Sea

By Ildefonso Falcones

(19)

| Hardcover | 9780525950486

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Critics

Book review: Ildefonso Falcones' *Cathedral of the Sea*

Cathedral of the Sea Ildefonso Falcones Dutton Hardcover 624 pages May 2008 Even before his birth, Arnau Estanyol’s life is one marked by hardship and heartache. As an infant, his mother lost to him, his father flees the tyranny of the ruthless noble ... (read full critics)

curledup published on Tue, 7 Sep 2010

1 Review

To be quite honest, I wasn’t overly keen on it. It’s a family saga epic journey set in the years 1320 – 1384. The beginning of the book’s “prima nocta” reminds me very much of the movie Braveheart. Whilst the book covers interesting topics like the inquisition and persecution of the Jews, and despit ... (continue)

To be quite honest, I wasn’t overly keen on it. It’s a family saga epic journey set in the years 1320 – 1384. The beginning of the book’s “prima nocta” reminds me very much of the movie Braveheart. Whilst the book covers interesting topics like the inquisition and persecution of the Jews, and despite the fact that the author demonstrates a very empathetic style, the storyline sometimes doesn’t always seem to flow… Maybe it was just my attention span that drifted…
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Synopsis
14th-century Spain, the medieval city of Barcelona is enjoying a golden age of prosperity. Its humblest inhabitants are building, stone by stone, a magnificent church to overlook their harbour. This is the Cathedral of the Sea: a church to be built for the people by the people.
In its shadow, Arnau, a young serf on the run from his feudal lord, struggles to earn his freedom. After famine, plague and thwarted love, Arnau’s fortunes begin to turn when King Pedro makes him a baron as a reward for his courage in battle. But he is also forced to marry Eleonor, a ward of the King whom he does not love. His newfound status excites jealousy from his friends who plot his downfall with devastating consequences. Arnau’s journey from slave to nobleman is the story of a struggle between good and evil that will turn Church against State and brother against brother …

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