About the Book:

In the tradition of Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth, here is a thrilling historical novel of friendship and revenge, plague and hope, love and war, set in the golden age of 14th-century Barcelona. Arnau Estanyol arrives in Barcelona and joins the powerful guild of stone-workers building the magnificent cathedral of Santa Maria del Mar, while his adoptive brother Joan studies to become a priest. As Arnau prospers, he secretly falls in love with a forbidden woman. When he is betrayed and hauled before the Inquisitor, he finds himself face-to-face with his own brother. Will he lose his life just as his beloved cathedral is finally completed, or will his brother spare him?

Book Review:  ★★★★★★

WOW!  What a read.  I was a little hesitant to start this book because I made the mistake of looking at some of the recommendations on Goodreads, before starting.  The recommendations there were not the best, and in a six hundred page book — I just hate to get into it, and not like the story.  Or worse yet, find that the writing is so bad, it is painful to continue.  Boy, am I glad I started it anyway.  This is one amazing story.

Many of the reviews that I have looked at compared this book, (unfavorably), to Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth. I, however, found that comparison a little unfounded.  For me, the only book I would compare this one to is Alexander Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo, and even favorably so, at that.

The story is beautifully written, and the characters are so real, that I just could not put this book down.  All through the holiday weekend, while everyone else was eating dinners, and watching fireworks shows — I was buried in this book.  (We even went to an antique car show that I saw nothing of, because I was so engrossed in  the book.)

The story has many of the same themes that Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo does.  Love and hate, greed, envy, justice and mercy, loyalty and honor.  And always in the background is the comparison of the building of this incredible cathedral — and how it not only affects the lives of the people building it, but also how their lives and actions compare to it.

Arnau is as intense a character as I have ever read, and he provides the reader with much to think about.  He is sympathetic and easy to love, but he is also real in his presentation.  As he struggles throughout his life to follow the dictates of his own consciences — he demonstrates the struggles that one encounters when his ideals run counter to the society in which he lives.  From his first great struggle with not having a mother — to his last great battle of having been denounced before the Holy Inquisition, Arnau is a character that the reader not only identifies with — but in essence becomes.

The historical presentation of the background is beautifully written, and I was amazed at the struggles presented in this story.  Not only the difficulties of class, but also the struggles between the different cultural elements that make up this great society. Everything of historical significance, of the time period, is found in this book.  The plague, the inquisition, the miracle of building cathedrals that took generations to complete, war and peace, and the struggle to survive.  I have studied very little about Barcelona, and Spain’s history — but this book has certainly made me want to learn more.

Mr. Falcones’ writing is beautiful in its simplicity.  And he is very talented in getting the readers attention, and keeping them involved in the story all the way to the end.  He is gifted in his writing, and he is an amazing story teller.

I consider this book a must read. There is so much in this book to recommend, that a simple recommendation can hardly do it justice.

Tags: Family, Friendship, Government, Historical Fiction, Love, Murder

Category: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Philosophy, Religious