The Cathedral: A Journey of Faith and Courage
Catalog Record
Book Title:
The Cathedral
Author:
Cesar MallorquÃ
Editorial:
SM
Collection:
Wide Angle
No of Pages:
203
Index
Plot:
3
Main Characters:
5
Ideas or Topics:
6
Reasoned Criticism:
7
Argument
Telmo and his father worked as day laborers. Telmo’s father rarely rested, even for lunch, because he was very focused on his work.
On the morning of Telmo’s birthday, he woke up later than usual. While his father was already working at the site, his mother killed a chicken and prepared a good breakfast. Telmo had started working on a statue of the Virgin Mary in his spare time. By the afternoon, Telmo’s father approached him and told him that he was going to bring some of his friends from the lodge to see Telmo’s work, despite Telmo’s insistent denials because the figure was not yet finished.
When they reached the lodge, Telmo was very nervous. He placed the Madonna on the workbench, and as the six friends looked at it, his father watched with great tranquility. After calmly examining it, they proceeded to vote. The votes were cast with stones: a white stone meant “yes,” and a black one meant “no.” Telmo was very nervous, but at the end, when they took the bag and the stones, Telmo saw that all six were white. He felt calmed and happy. Telmo took the oath and became a Freemason. The degree of Freemason was very special because, in this way, he became free.
Later, Telmo’s father received news. A cathedral was to be built in Kerloc’h, and they were looking for a good sculptor to create the statue that would be placed on the altar of that cathedral. He would go to Kerloc’h in the company of strangers: Gunnar, Loki, and Eric. Telmo did not think for a moment that these three individuals were Freemasons. They looked mostly like warriors.
When they arrived, they stopped at a bar. Right next to the table where they were, a few people were playing dice and gambling money. They had been there a long time when Loki decided to join the game. Loki was winning almost every game until the leader of the band that was playing accused him of cheating and demanded the money he had won. Telmo was afraid for Loki, but Gunnar reassured him that they were in no danger, and neither was Loki. When they left the bar and were halfway down the road, they ran into the same guy who insisted on reclaiming his money and everything they had on them. They refused flatly, and suddenly archers appeared from everywhere. The three of them dealt with them, leaving no one standing.
They journeyed a long time until they reached Kerloc’h. There they were received by Hugo, his wife, and their daughter, Valentina. As soon as January arrived, Telmo was informed of a contest to choose the sculptor who would create the statue for the high altar of the cathedral. Telmo won this contest and worked on the statue for a long time.
One day they went to the cathedral and found a hideout where they discovered the mark of Thibaud of Orly, a sculptor who had disappeared. A few days later, a Korrigan spoke of a hidden chamber, calling it hell. He said that Thibaud of Orly had died there, that he had been there, and that he would go again. The next morning, they found him dead.
Days later, on a night when Telmo could not sleep very well, the Korrigan appeared. He had the same wounds as when he was found dead and was very angry. He was accusing Telmo of doing nothing to save him.
Telmo jumped up and ran to the cathedral. Scaffolding had been erected along the walls to allow access to the cathedral. When he managed to enter, he saw a door just above the organ. He went there, not knowing what he would face. When he could see a little, he saw many bodies, including those of Thibaud of Orly. Suddenly the light went out, and everything was very dark. Telmo ran as fast as he could. When he reached the village, he told Eric everything. While he was telling him from a distance, he saw a dark shadow; it was Simon of Wallachia. He kidnapped them both and took them to a cell.
Eric and Simon faced off in a fight to the death. Eric finally defeated Simon and escaped from his cell. He went to look for the rest of the townspeople. They found Gunnar and Loki halfway down the road, and they all set out.
Meanwhile, inside the cathedral, a spell was being cast to summon Lucifer and provoke Armageddon. To perform this spell, it was necessary to sacrifice a virgin soul, which in this case would be Valentina.
Telmo was about to witness Valentina’s sacrifice but was able to rescue her and escape with her. When they managed to escape, Telmo could see his enemies watching the sea towards a point that they could not see because the cathedral blocked their view. He went over to see what was happening. There Telmo saw the Beast, Lucifer, the Prince of Darkness. Telmo was seeing what could be Armageddon. But the spell had been broken, and he suddenly realized that Lucifer had been about to come to his glory and that the forces of evil had been defeated. Kerloc’h Cathedral had been destroyed, and the mercenaries of the Order of the Eagle would fight no more.
Telmo stopped to rest for a bit, but Ben Mosse woke him and told him to go to the people. They all wanted to see him because they said he was the hero of everything that had happened.
He left, not knowing where he was going, but although many offered to go with him to Paris, he did not go with any of them and followed his own path.
Main Characters
- Telmo: The protagonist and narrator of this story. He is fourteen years old. His story begins on the day of his fourteenth birthday, on which he becomes a Freemason.
- Gunnar: One of Telmo’s fellow travelers. He is a very tall man with broad shoulders and a lot of muscle. He has very blond hair, so blond it looks white, and he wears it tied back in a long braid. He has an iron ring beard.
- Loki: One of Telmo’s fellow travelers. He is the opposite of Gunnar: short, thin, and dark. He has short hair and wears a sharp beard. He appears wiry and tense, like a trap about to spring, and he is also very clever.
- Eric: One of Telmo’s fellow travelers. He is tall and strong, but not as gigantic as Gunnar. He has brown hair, is almost completely bald, and has a bushy beard cut into a rectangle. He has a scar that crosses his face diagonally from his forehead to his cheekbone.
Ideas or Topics That the Book Addresses
- Overcoming Oneself: When Telmo wants to become a great sculptor and when he enters the contest to design the cathedral.
- Fellowship: When Telmo participates in all the plans that he and his colleagues make.
- Hope: When Kerloc’h falls and Telmo does not know what will become of his future and goes in search of a new life.
- Love: When Valentina falls in love with Telmo when they meet and steadily makes advances throughout the story.
- Cooperation: When they devise the plan to destroy the cathedral with gunpowder.
- Trust Among Comrades: When Loki has a problem in the inn and Gunnar reassures Telmo that he will take care of Loki.
- Tranquility: When Telmo participates in the competition for the cathedral sculptor and does not get nervous, follows his instincts, and when he goes to the beach to rest from his long work.
- Self-Confidence: When Telmo is in the competition for the cathedral sculptor and trusts his instincts to create the figure that he offers to build.
- Courage: When Telmo saves Valentina from death in her sacrifice to summon Lucifer.
Reasoned Criticism
I liked this book very much because it has a lot of intrigue from start to finish. One thing I really liked was the detailed descriptions of the places where the events of the book take place.
The only thing I didn’t like about this book was that there was a part of the book that was very boring, which was at the beginning of the book until they go to Kerloc’h. The rest has been very good.