false 2 0 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Mar 01 18:48:58 -0800 2009 Wed Jun 17 07:11:58 -0700 2009
Even though I liked most of the characters in this book, I almost put this 900+ page book down in several places starting at about page 500.

Why? The try-fail cycle was almost formulaic. By about the middle of the book I found myself groaning every time something new happened to thwart the people. I think this is because only a couple of the characters ever really grew from the experience. The ensemble cast was interestingly drawn from the beginning, but once figured out they became cardboard characters. We knew, for instance, that good Prior Phillip would always come up with a clever plan. Ellen would always be a beloved heretic living in the forest. Jack would always be driven like Tom to build the cathedral.

The thing that became more and more irritating as the book commenced was the fact that many people had modern behaviors and ideals. And the clincher to make me be really bugged by this book was the unrealistic treatment of women (for the time period) by this book.

A 25 year old young woman is a master stained glass artisan? If there had been any shred of cultural credibility in this book before, this dissolved it. A woman would never have been allowed such work. A man would not have achieved the status of master by that age, unless he was a genius.

Okay, so why do I give this book 3 stars? The cathedral building! It was beautiful and glorious to see the development of cathedral architecture in a narrative.

Update: A while later, I realize that I like all the 3 star books more than this one. So I'm downgrading it. Really don't recommend it. For cool cathedral building, I think I'd rather pick up a good history book. ]]>