Ildofonso Falcones Novel; Catherdreal of the Sea

A masterful epic of love, war, treason, plauge, famine, witchcraft, anti-Semistism and the Inquisition 14th-century Spain, the medieval city of Barcelona is enjoying a golden age prosperity. Its humblest inhabitants are building, stone by stone, a magnificent church to overlook their harbor. 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 forced to marry Eleanor, a ward of the king whom he does not love. His new found 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 sister.

I have just finished reading the “The Shadow of the wind” by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I seemed to have a very surrealistic scenery, it is a kind of story that wouldn’t normally take place, yet I still managed to fall in love with it, even though I prefer especially realistic novels. The Shadow of the wind was mysterious and wise. The writing was beautifully written and bestowed a very vivid imagery.

Quotes:

• “Books are mirrors: you only see in them what you already have inside you.” -Julian Carax
• “Remember: warm heart, cold mind. The seducers code.” -Fermin
• “Sometimes what matters isn’t what one gives but what one gives up.” -Fermin
• “Sometimes it’s easier to talk to a stranger than someone you know…”-Beatriz
  “…because a stranger sees us the way we are, not as they wish us to be.” -Daniel
• “Destiny is usually just around the corner. Like a thief, a hooker, or a lottery vendor: its three most common personifications. But what destiny does not do is home visits. You have to go for it yourself.” -Fermin.
• “Fools talk, Cowards are silent, Wise men listen.” – Bravilio Recolons.
• “Those who really love, love in silent. With deeds and not with words.” -Fermin
• “Death does that: It makes everyone feel sentimental. When we stand in front of a coffin, we see only what is good, or what we want to see.” -Don Gustavo.
• “Never trust he who trusts everyone.” -Barcelo
• “Its funny how we judge others and don’t realize the extents of our own disdain until the one we love are no longer there, until they are taken from us. They’re taken from us because they’ve never really belonged to us…” -Isaac
• “Sometimes we think people are like lottery tickets, that they’re there to make our most absurd dreams come true.” -Isaac.
• Some disappointments honour those who inspire them.” -Miquel
• “Nothing feeds forgetfulness better than war. We all remain silent and they try to convince us that what we’ve seen, what we’ve done, what we’ve learned about ourselves and about others, is an illusion, a nightmare that will pass. Wars have no memory, and nobody has the courage to understand them until there are no voices left to tell what really happened, until the moment comes when we no longer recognize them and they return, with another face and another name, to devour everything they left behind.” -Nuria
• “… coincidences are the scars of fate. There are no coincidences. We are puppets of our subconcious desires.” -Julian Carax
• “There are worse prisoners than words.” -Nuria