The Spire

A superb book that dares to explore the biggest questions - is humanity good or evil? What are these things anyway? how do they interact? And a cracking story, AND you get to learn how church spires were built in medieval times.

a book about dreams, will, faith that borders on obsession...a Man of God perseveres and gets a 400 foot spire added to the Cathedral he serves. My favorite quote:

...the folly isn't mine. It's God's Folly. Even in the old days He never asked men to do
what was reasonable. Men can do that for themselves. They can buy and sell, heal and govern. But then out of some deep place comes the command to do what makes no sense at all--to build a ship on dry land; to sit among the dunghills; to marry a whore; to set their son on the altar of sacrifice. Then,
if men have faith, a new thing comes.

This book has stuck with me for many reasons other than the obvious obsessive and sexual paths of the novel. The despair of faith is a heavy burden that can crush a person when those expectations are not met. Heaven is a far reach, and much of life may feel as cold as Jocelin's sparse room with a scratch of sun.

Religion, especially monotheistic religion, is a sad manifestation of Man's overweening Vanity. This novel is about the vanity of one such man, Jocelyn, dean of a cathedral, who, blinded to all reason, oversees the building of a spire which, at 400 feet tall, is too high for his cathedral's foundations to support. His vision (in both senses of the word) is at one and the same time heightened and clouded by the realities of his tormented body, which is full of sickness and sexual desire. A masterpiece!

Thrilling story of a man and his gravity-defying obsession. I'm becoming a bigger fan of W. Golding with every book.

What an intriguing story. Clearly about Salisbury Cathedral and it's interesting to watch the Dean go slowly bonkers...like most clergy?!!

I'm half way through...and I have decided that it is time to start skim-reading until something interesting happens. I "get" the obsession...good job, Golding...but it is far too repetitive for my tastes. We'll see how I feel after the climax. :/

**Update**: Yeah...still didn't like it. I feel like it never lived up to my expectations of what it would be. Oh well, you can't please everybody.

We all know Lord of the Flies, but this one I discovered myself and enjoyed. Check it out - you will be in-spired.

Re-reading this after 35 years I can see why my AP English teacher saw the novel as complementary to the more classical tragedies she also had us read, but how she though 17 year old kids however bright could cope with much of what is going on in the head of Golding's remarkable protagonist is a mystery to me. Not a book for people without much life experience but worthwhile for those of us who have been a bit more seasoned by time...

Una excelente novela histórica que nos muestra el oficio del arquitecto en el Gótico, y cómo osadamente -y con la gracias de Dios- las catedrales fueron erigidas... Genial!!