Reviews

Cathedral by Ben Hopkins

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mmenuit's review

emotional informative inspiring sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

This novel traded narrative power for the messiness of real life, and the bargain was not a good one. The characters were rich and realistic, the situations credible, and the stories a credible reflection of what life may well have been like in the 14th century, but in the end there was no story to center the narrative. The result was somewhat unsatisfying in the end.

On a second reading, the result is more satisfying. This takes some attention to mine its worth, but is worthwhile

xschweingehabtx's review

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5.0

Could not stop reading. Never wanted it to end.

ashmalcom's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Content Warnings

kat7321's review

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4.0

Wonderfully narrated audio book with a complex but fascinating story. The interplay between the Jewish community and the Gentiles was particularly interesting, though often sad. Nice historical detail, and I grew to like the structure of the chapters, which switched from character to character in the first person. Well researched and authentic, felt immersed in the 13th century while listening. I really enjoyed this novel and would recommend it to historical fiction fans.

coralreds's review

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5.0

There are no words to describe this book. The prose is exceptional and some of the architectural descriptions had me sobbing. The characters are so dynamic and layered—deeply flawed and human. You love them, you hate them, you hate their decisions, you acknowledge their motives, but above all, you /feel/ for them. I'm still reeling so much just by the sheer beauty of this piece—thus making me incoherent, but I am absolutely certain that this is one of my best reads this year!

gerbilreads's review

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2.0

I had this billed to me as a sweeping epic of human lives akin to Ken Follett, but I found it instead to be lacking the required depth of human emotion to really engage me. Sure, stuff happened but that's kinda where this book ends. Stuff just happens, but the impact of that is lost to me as I never developed any interest or pathos with the characters. The first character we're introduced to, for example, begins the book full of hope and wit and then disappears almost entirely to a life of ignominy, ending in a sudden death far far away from the narrative. Disappointing.
There was also an almost total lack of women who take any kind of first-person narrative (the first rare instance of this covers 3 pages and ends with her being burned at the stake). I find this severely limiting when this is meant to be a sweeping tale of humanity, to ignore 50% of the population.
Saying all this, the book is well written and quite engaging throughout. The two stars comes mostly from how it has left me feeling afterwards. A bit hollow, not having learnt much or felt anything of note.

philipe's review

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challenging informative tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

It was an ok read. When I put it down I wasn’t excited to pick it back up. Follet’s POTE was more enjoyable to read. There were characters in Cathedral I wanted the author to track more of but there were just these snippets of their life. Great book if you have ADHD but if you want characters you get invested in this isn’t for you.