Synopses & Reviews
At last: The international bestseller which has already sold nearly 2 million copies worldwidecomes to America! Cathedral of the Sea, Ildefonso Falconess mesmerizing historical novel about medieval Barcelona, was Spains #1 bestseller for a full year. Rights have sold in thirtytwo countries to date, and comparisons to Ken Folletts The Pillars of the Earth are being made. Who better to bring you this international sensation than Folletts own publisher?
Cathedral of the Sea follows the fortunes of the Estanyol family, from their peasant roots to a son, Arnau, who flees the land only to realize spectacular wealth and devastating problems. During Arnaus lifetime Barcelona becomes a city of light and darkness, dominated by the construction of the citys great pridethe cathedral of Santa Maria del Marand by its shame, the deadly Inquisition. A s a young man, Arnau joins the powerful guild of stone-workers and helps to build the church with his own hands, while his best friend and adopted brother Joan studies to become a priest. When Arnau, who secretly loves a forbidden Jewish woman named Mar, is betrayed and hauled before the Inquisitor, he finds himself faceto- face with his own brother. Will he lose his life just as his beloved Cathedral of the Sea is finally completed?
An unforgettable fresco of a golden age in fourteenth-century Barcelona, Cathedral of the Sea is a story of friendship and revenge, of love and war.
Review
With
Cathedral of the Sea, Ildefonso Falcones dethrones Eduardo Mendoza and Arturo Perez Reverte . . . and has become Spains new Dan Brown.
El Mundo
Synopsis
The “riveting”(The Washington Post) #1 international bestseller—now in paperback in the U.S. 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?
Synopsis
Unabridged CDs ? 18 CDs, 23 hoursAt last: The international bestseller?which has already sold nearly 2 million copies worldwide?comes to America!
About the Author
Ildefonso Falcones works as a lawyer. First published in Spain, where it has become a publishing phenomenon, translation rights for Cathedral of the Sea have been sold in thirty-two countries. It has won many prizes, including the Euskadi de Plata 2006 for the best novel in Spanish, the Qué Leer 2007 Prize for the best book, and the prestigious Italian Giovanni Boccaccio 2007 award for best foreign author. Nick Caistor is an award-winning translator of more than thirty books from Spain and Latin America. He has edited the Faber Book of Contemporary Latin American Fiction and has translated other Barcelona-based writers such as Eduardo Mendoza, Juan Marsé, and Manuel Vázquez Montalban.