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A review by diana_eveline
The Spire by William Golding
4.0
“At the moment of vision, the eyes see nothing."
Jocelin, the Dean of a cathedral in 14th century England was given a vision by God that his cathedral should have a spire. He eagerly recruits Roger Mason and his 'army' of builders to bring it about. But before the work has even begun, Roger has to break the news that building a spire is impossible, as the cathedral itself nor does it have the structure to support a spire. Jocelin presses on, despite all the challenges of the build. His religious faith in his god-given vision drives him on, as he ruins the many lives of those around him. No one is left untouched by his pressure and some pay a higher price than others.
Before I dive into details of my review, I should say the experience of reading this was made quite a bit more enjoyable by the audiobook by Benedict Cumberbatch. I personally feel the man should switch careers while he is ahead and just record about every single book he can get his hands on. Marvellous voice... Either way, that influenced my review.
The story is awfully depressing, needless to say from the summary of the plot. Golding also has a tendency to write of grimm things. This book did fascinate me. I felt completely drawn in by the total devotion of Jocelin to this ridiculous plan that was doomed from the start. At first, his main reason for the spire seems to be this vision he has but it quickly gets muddled by his own ambitions. Standing on the scaffolds on the beginning of the spire, he realises how far they could truly go, with no regard for the consequences of his ambition. The spire is sort of cursed as well, it corrupts everyone. Pangal and his wife endure the most horrendous things during the time that Roger and his builders work in the cathedral. And Jocelin just lets it all happen, under the infamous motto of "God wills it"... Absolutely terrible but also fascinating to get a glimpse at the mind that drove the madman.
There are some very interesting discussions about the foundations of human thought and our ability to do the right thing, it gets rather philosophical. I quite like that, more of that please. Quite enjoyable, a tad slow but nothing Cumberbatch can't make worth your while. Audiobook is on YouTube, for those interested!
Jocelin, the Dean of a cathedral in 14th century England was given a vision by God that his cathedral should have a spire. He eagerly recruits Roger Mason and his 'army' of builders to bring it about. But before the work has even begun, Roger has to break the news that building a spire is impossible, as the cathedral itself nor does it have the structure to support a spire. Jocelin presses on, despite all the challenges of the build. His religious faith in his god-given vision drives him on, as he ruins the many lives of those around him. No one is left untouched by his pressure and some pay a higher price than others.
Before I dive into details of my review, I should say the experience of reading this was made quite a bit more enjoyable by the audiobook by Benedict Cumberbatch. I personally feel the man should switch careers while he is ahead and just record about every single book he can get his hands on. Marvellous voice... Either way, that influenced my review.
The story is awfully depressing, needless to say from the summary of the plot. Golding also has a tendency to write of grimm things. This book did fascinate me. I felt completely drawn in by the total devotion of Jocelin to this ridiculous plan that was doomed from the start. At first, his main reason for the spire seems to be this vision he has but it quickly gets muddled by his own ambitions. Standing on the scaffolds on the beginning of the spire, he realises how far they could truly go, with no regard for the consequences of his ambition. The spire is sort of cursed as well, it corrupts everyone. Pangal and his wife endure the most horrendous things during the time that Roger and his builders work in the cathedral. And Jocelin just lets it all happen, under the infamous motto of "God wills it"... Absolutely terrible but also fascinating to get a glimpse at the mind that drove the madman.
There are some very interesting discussions about the foundations of human thought and our ability to do the right thing, it gets rather philosophical. I quite like that, more of that please. Quite enjoyable, a tad slow but nothing Cumberbatch can't make worth your while. Audiobook is on YouTube, for those interested!