The book of The Cathedral of the Sea It was the first with which the author, Ildefonso Falcones, became known in the literary world, being a success both nationally and internationally. The fact that it mixed loyalty and revenge, love and betrayal, as well as other elements that cancel each other out made it stand out.
But what is it about? Is it as good as they say? Worth? If you are wondering and have not yet seen the adaptation or read the book, what we tell you can help you get rid of doubts.
Who is the author of the book The Cathedral of the Sea
As we have mentioned before, the The author of the book La Catedral del Mar is none other than Ildefonso Falcones. In fact, his full name is Ildefonso María Falcones de Sierra. He is a lawyer, but also a Spanish writer.
His first novel was The Cathedral of the Sea, in 2006, but the truth is that whenever he takes out a book it becomes a literary success.
Falcones is the son of a lawyer and a housewife. At the age of 17 he lost his father, and that implied that he had to give up his sports career, since he was a rider (also a junior champion of Spain in show jumping). His next step was to start studying at the University, and he did it in a big way: studying two degrees: on the one hand, Law; on the other, Economic. However, he soon realized that his vocation was with the Law and he focused on this career while working at a bingo hall.
Graduated as a lawyer, being a writer has not prevented him from continuing his work as a lawyer at his law firm in Barcelona. In fact, try to put it all together. And the fact is that the first novel that he released took about five years to give him the final point. However, in 2019 it became known, with the launch of his latest novel, The Soul Painter, that the author had colon cancer, with three metastases.
That, coupled with the loss of prestige given him by being imputed by the Treasury for his books, caused his success to fall.
What is the book of The Cathedral of the Sea about
The book of The Cathedral of the Sea is set in XNUMXth century Barcelona and its central point is the construction of the church of Santa María del Mar. However, as with another famous book, such as The Pillars of the Earth, It is true that this link is only a context to talk about the relationships of the characters who participate, directly or indirectly, in it.
The book focuses on the inhabitants of a fishing district in the Ribera de Barcelona who try to live with the money and effort of their work. There they make the decision to build a Marian temple, the largest that has been known to date, which they call Santa María del Mar.
While they carry out this feat, the protagonist of the novel, Arnau Estanyol, is evolving, growing and seeing how Barcelona changes. Along with his father, Bernat, he is a man who has been ruined by a feudal lord who took everything from him.
In the novel you can see how they go from being fugitives to nobles, but also how the enemies who want to see him killed at the hands of the Inquisition begin to grow.
Main characters
The Cathedral of the Sea has many characters who, at certain moments in the novel, become protagonists. However, mentioning them all would be practically impossible, so we leave you the ones that we consider most important of the novel.
- Arnau Estanyol: He is the undisputed protagonist of the book. He grows up as an independent citizen of Barcelona but that does not mean that he does not have to fight against the injustices he is witnessing.
- Bernat Estanyol: He is Arnau's father.
- Joan Estanyol: He is Arnay's brother, Bernat's adopted son.
- Father Albert: The priest of the Cathedral. It is the one that gives Arnau a more humble vision of the injustices that occur around him and acts, in some way, as the voice of his conscience.
- Francesca Esteve: Arnau's mother. She ends up raped and that makes her become a prostitute.
- Aledis: It is the great love of the protagonist. However, when they separate for a while, when Arnau returns he discovers that he has become a prostitute under his mother's orders.
- María: She is Arnau's first wife.
- Sahat: This character is very important to Arnau because he is the one who opens his eyes to prosperity. Of course, he is a slave.
- Elionor: Arnau's second wife and ward of the King.
The series that adapts the book
You should know that, in 2018, specifically on May 23, Antena 3 began broadcasting in prime time (from 22 p.m. to midnight) an adaptation of the book The Cathedral of the Sea.
This only consists of 8 episodes of about 50 minutes in length And the truth is that it was a success, because the first chapter alone had about four million viewers.
Now, as is almost always the case, there is many differences between the Antena 3 series and the book. For example, the Puigs in the novel had 4 children, while in the series they only had three. Furthermore, the scene in which Margarida witnesses the whipping of the slave Habiba does not occur in the book either.
There are other scenes that do not happen either, but that they used to give more drama or to further cement the relationships between the characters. In fact, there are some who are still alive when they die in the novel and others who have a very different ending from what Ildefonso Falcones tells.
So, now that you know many of the ins and outs of The Cathedral of the Sea book, it is time for you to make the decision whether to read it or not. Of course, you should know that there is a second part, Heirs of the earth, which was published in 2016. We do not know if the third part will arrive shortly, but they are books that you can read without problem because they have their beginning and their end. Have you read it? What do you think about it?