La vera protagonista del libro è Barcellona (e i suoi cittadini), orgogliosa e libera dai molti vincoli che le altre città della Spagna sono invece tenute a rispettare.
Le tre stellette sono un riconoscimento all’autore per lo sforzo di rendere la storia di Barcellona (dal 1320 al 1384) appassionante come un romanzo, senza trascurare gli aspetti più quotidiani della società dell’epoca: ho imparato molte più cose con questo libro che sui libri di scuola, dove invece sono appena accennate. Questo More...

É uma leitura bonita mas depois de se ler 'O' livro sobre este assunto ("Os Pilares da Terra", de Ken Follett) e como não tem uma tão grande densidade de pormenores como esse, sentimos que ficamos um pouco aquém do que queríamos.
É assim como se fosse uma versão mais simplificada. Talvez esta opinião não se sustenha se fôr lido em primeiro lugar.
De qualquer forma, não deixa de ser um livro com muito interesse porque, ao contrário do que acontece nos 'pilares', a Catedral do Mar existe mesmo, é u More...

I read the book in English and perhaps it was not that good in translation. However, as a person who absolutely loved "The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett, I thought that this was just a poor copy of the epic novel. "Cathedral of the Sea" is worth a read if you like historical fiction, but that's pretty much about it.

Arnau Estanyol, el protagonista de esta novela de ficción histórica, se erige como la epítome del héroe, o en su defecto del súperhombre, con la integridad, el valor, la bondad, y todas las cualidades que desearíamos que definieran al humano: el ser humano ideal.

Aunque esto resulte en un personaje que, en mi opinión, decanta en una idealización extrema y digna de relatos épicos de los autores clásicos, de otra época, es imposible no dejarse atrapar tanto por la simpatía natural que Arnau inspira More...

I know very little about the history of Barcelona. Thus, when I saw this book I eagerly bought it. The book didn't disappoint in telling about the history of the place. It was fascinating to know the economy, culture and people of the setting in the 14th century. The author clearly did a lot of research to present a story that involves almost all the levels of a medieval society - the nobility, the peasants, the merchants and the outcasts. It all revolves around Arnau Estanyol, the son of a serf More...

When the sales person at the local book store recommended Cathedral of the Sea to me, I was reluctant to give in to her high praise. Since one of my favorite books is historical fiction novel, The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett which, like Cathedral of the Sea, is about the building of a cathedral during Medieval times, I thought it would be impossible not to compare the two, and that no book would ever be able to outshine the brilliance of Follett's masterpiece. Well, I should learn to alw More...

I think this is sort of a must read to eveyrbody who enjoys historical fiction, no matter what kind of it. This is the heartbreaking story of a man, that all his loves were taken away from him - his wife, his son, his freedom, his city and his social status - after spending his whole life working for them. A man whose sad stories you will hear, along with a building of a great cathedral - the cathedral of the Sea - the story of this man is part of a beautiful city and you will love the writing. More...

Students of the history of European political and economic systems might find the description of how Catalan nationhood evolved from feudal to syndicated mercantilism; free men might escape an existence as a vassal under an exploitative feudal lord by fleeing to a free city, like Barcelona, and joining a guild as an apprentice to become a potter, carpenter, or a stevedore. The king of Catalonia negotiates his checks and balances: the needs of his nobles, so that they don't seek the protection of More...

I gave up on this book at page 252 of 600. The very beginning was pretty interesting, and I found the character of a young man essentially raising his baby alone (with his remote wife) as a successful medieval serf in pastoral Spain very compelling. I liked the stuff through the pottery workshop, too, but after that? It felt to me like the story dropped off for the sake of cramming a historical setting with stock characters to represent different aspects of life in 14th Century Barcelona. There More...

My parents gave me this Spanish-language book for my birthday, and I have to hand it to them for gifting me such a great combination of two of my favorite interests: fiction and history. The novel is set in 14th century Catalunia, in Barcelona in particular, and though driven by strong characters and a twisting plot that quickly drew me in, the history of the Catalans and their premier city on the sea plays a great role in this work. The author, obviously a Catalan proud of his people's history More...

No leí este libro, lo viví... fue mientras trabajaba en la galería de arte y en los ratos libres adelantaba mi lectura en plenas calles del Barrio Gótico. Una forma muy didáctica, interesante e inteligente de conocer historia sobre Cataluña. Al principio no quería animarme a leerlo porque creí que era una especie de Código Da Vinci, pero resulto ser una excelente adquisición. Tanto que me animé a cargar el tabique desde Barcelona hasta México!. Altamente recomendable... lo terminé de leer en una More...

Impresionante obra narrativa, en la que se puede encarnizar la vida de Arnau Estanyol, una vida llena de altibajos y aventuras trepidantes te mantienen atado al libro hasta que terminas la ultima pagina.
Durante todo ese tiempo la historia de trasfondo es la construccion de la catedral de Barcelona, a mi parecer mas bien es la historia de la construccion y su relacion con Arnau pero bueno esa es otra historia.
La maestria con la que Falcones describe cada detallle, cada momento de la historia hac More...

I had to read this because it's set in Barcelona where Marc is from and his brother and mother have already read it in spanish and said it was worth reading.

It is set in 12th century Catalonia and follows the story of Arnau born to a runaway landless serf who becomes a port worker hauling stones for the building of a cathedral in Barcelona and ends up as a money changer - a saga kind of book spanning 2-3 generations with lots of history, plot and some page-turning suspense in the second half of More...

One of the great canards of medieval life that have been promoted to outraged titillation in the world of entertainment is the putative droit du seigneur, the right of a feudal lord to bed the wives of his serfs on their wedding night. There is almost no evidence that such a right ever existed in law, though it is undeniable that serfs were abused and their wives very likely forced into granting sexual favours. Still, this is a favourite trope among writers of historical fiction (equally, direct More...

‘De kathedraal van de zee’ - met deze historische roman debuteerde de Spaanse advocaat Ildefonso Falcones in 2006. Gelijk de opbouw van de kathedraal wordt de levensloop van Arnau beschreven, die maatschappelijk gezien steeds hogerop opklimt en hierbij de nodige tegenslagen moet verwerken.

Het verhaal speelt zich af in en rondom Barcelona tussen 1320 en 1384: een trotse handelsstad, die zich met succes staande houdt in de woelige politieke wereld van de Middellandse Zee.

De Catalaanse boer Bernat More...

If I could give the book a two and a half star rating, I would. The story takes place in the 1300s, mainly in Barcelona,and centers around Arnau Estanyol.He is taken to Barcleona by his father as a small child where he meets Joan (a boy) a couple of years younger than himself, whom he befriends. Arnau, lacking a mother's love, turns to the statue of the Virgin Mary, in the church of Santa Maria, for cumfort. This church is being rebuilt into a cathedral, through the labour of the working people More...

This is everything I love about historical novels and family sagas: big, sweeping, panoramic, enough history to understand the context, enough detail to put me in that time and place, characters that I care about, a little romance, a lot of adventure, and a satisfying ending. This caught my attention in connection with my Moby-Dick project because it had the word "sea" in the title. Other than that, there is no connection. It is not a sea story. For information and pictures of the cathdral see h More...

This long (18 CD) book is a gripping tale that follows the lives Bernard Estanyol and his son Arnau. Bernard was born a serf, and when his father dies his lord takes advantage of numerous rights that enrage and frustrate Bernard.
As a last resort he and his infant son Arnau escape to Barcelona, where they take refuge with Bernard's sisters family, a family that Bernard and his father helped to be successful as potter artisans. The city is just beginning two large building projects, a cathedral an More...

La catedral del mar de Ildefonso Falcones de Sierra:
Siglo XIV. La ciudad de Barcelona se encuentra en su momento de mayor prosperidad; ha crecido hacia la Ribera, el humilde barrio de los pescadores, cuyos habitantes deciden construir, con el dinero de unos y el esfuerzo de otros, el mayor templo mariano jamás conocido: Santa María de la Mar. Una construcción que es paralela a la azarosa historia de Arnau, un siervo de la tierra que huye de los abusos de su señor feudal y se refugia en Barcelona More...

When I started reading this book, the abundant critics about it that I had received were the cause of creating great expectations for it, and as it often happens when you have great expectations for something, you start readin hoping that your expectations won't be betrayed.

And they were'nt. Slowly, I started to pay more and more attention to what I was reading - forgetting that the Catalan writer had written the story in Spanish instead of his rightful language (which I felt as an insult to hi More...

This book started off so powerfully, I wondered how the pace and intensity would be kept up. I should not have worried about that, because the complete lack of plot in the second half of the book erased all memory of what went before.

The first half is a hard hitting, almost Martina Cole like, in the way a very important storyline is woven. I felt uncomfortable reading it, which shows the skill the writer possesses. The story was beautifully described, the research and attention to detail faultle More...

This book is one of the results of my long wandering around the library. Ever since I've read The Shadow of the Wind and then other Zafon's books I wonder around Spanish corner to find something like those books. (No, I haven't succeed yet, but I won't give up.) During that time I somehow started to dream about Barcelona. Spain was never my "dreamland" (that has always been Brazil), but after reading all those beautiful descriptions of Barcelona I have to say If I could choose where to live one More...

Was für ein tolles Hörbuch!

Über 23 Stunden ist man gefangen im Barcelona des Mittelalters und fiebert mit Arnau Estanyol, der Hauptfigur dieses Romans, mit.
Ich habe oft gelesen, dass man Ildefonso Falcones nicht mit Ken Follett vergleichen kann und ich frage mich ehrlich gesagt, wieso? Gut, hier spielt der Bau der Kathedrale nicht den Mittelpunkt, auch wenn sie das Leben Arnaus beeinflusst, aber das Bild, das er vom Mittelalter zeichnet, die Geschehnisse, die Atmosphäre des Buches haben mich gen More...

Het verhaal speelt zich af in het Barcelona (mijn favoriete stad!) van de veertiende eeuw. De periode waarover het zich uitstrekt is zo goed als aansluitend aan dat van Jonkvrouw, dat met name de politieke verwikkelingen 'De kathedraal van de zee' tot een logisch leesvervolg maakten.

Een jonge horige boer, Bernat Estanyol, krijgt op zijn trouwdag onverwacht bezoek van zijn heer. De heer wenst gebruik te maken van zijn recht om de eerste nacht met de jonge bruid Francesca op te eisen. Tot overmaat More...

This historical novel tells the life of a man, Arnau estanyol, which oversaw the construction of the great Cathedral of Santa Maria del Mar in Barcelona. The Cathedral of the people, built by the people and for the people. The character's life begins with his parents, and Francesca Bernart estanyol, peasants in a feudal to Barcelona. The mother is compelled to serve the feudal house and separated from her son, the father escapes to Barcelona with Arnau. In the city looking for his sister to help More...

Devo dire che sono sempre molto affascinato dai libri che si svolgono in archi temporali molto lunghi, mi affascianano perchè portano dei cambiamenti più o meno radicali all'interno dell'opera. Questo libro è bello, bello davvero, anche per chi non è propriamente appassionato del genere "Romanzo Storico" (chi lo è si leccherà i baffi a leggerlo, per non dire chi è appassionato di Medioevo). Il perchè è semplice. Qui c'è secondo me più di ogni altra cosa la Passione, la passione carnale, la passi More...

We bought this book in English ages ago so Malcolm could read it too, and he did. I only picked it up recently after we watched on telly "Pillars of the Earth" and I was in the mood for cathedrals and the middle ages.
It is the story of how a good man, Arnau, who lives in medieval Catalonia, goes from rags to riches aided mostly by his slave Guillem. This slave is such a good financial advisor that I reckon if he came back from the Otherworld today he would solve the global recession in no time!
T More...

Recommend it to anyone who
- appreciates historical novels with a lot of research behind them
- loves medieval type of fantasy (Song of Fire and Ice)
- is particularly interested in Spanish and Catalan history.

Of course, there are lots of references to real historical personalities and events, but there is also knowledge about Catalan traditions, laws and way of life in the 14 century. Barcelona in its bloom, a man seeking freedom for himself and for his son. These are the two things which I found More...

I read it in the german translation, as I borrowed it from a friend, and found it an easy and satisfying read to relax.
It was interesting to see how similar the spanish middle age was to the german and the author tried to show as many facettes as possibly, which sometimes makes for strange transitions but doesn`t hurt in the overall novel.
What one also does see is that he studied law and tried to incorporate as many as possibly law cases from that time but still manages to keep it understandabl More...

This is a historical novel about Spain during the 14th century.

My problem with this Novel is that it is very Anachronistic, while the Novel deals with the problems of the middle ages, The cruel aristocracy, the horrible treatment of women, serfs, slaves and the Jews and the place of the Church in all this, the protagonist himself is a saint in Sodom.

Even when he does wrong, it is the people around him that arrange things and make sure his wrongdoing is kept secret from him.

I guess I would find i More...