I have just been lent the Cathedral of the Sea (La catedral del mar) by Ildefonso Falcones, and I haven’t been able to put it down since. Magnificent, intoxicating – although simple in style – the story is simply captivating. From the very first chapter you are brutally introduced to the ways of medieval Barcelona and Catalunya. You follow a tale of father and son as they struggle from slavery through diseases, war and noblemen conspiracies,  never loosing hope. Fate, love, money and Inquisition fight each other for power, while in the background the Santa Maria del Mar Cathedral is slowly being built by the ‘people’ of Barcelona.
This book is a keeper.