Books
The narrative of CATHEDRAL unfolds over 50 years in the fictional medieval Rhineland city of Hagenburg, and is narrated by a chorus of 15 different characters. Each narrator has a distinctive voice, lending the novel a variety of literary styles: chatty, colloquial first person narrative, lyrical poetry, vulgar prose. The result is a polyphonic, kaleidoscopic portrait of a time in European history which saw mass migration from the countryside to the burgeoning towns, and a consequent growth in wealth and trade.
Pauper or merchant, administrator or craftsman, young or old, the narrators’ central meeting point is the building site of the Cathedral – a gothic masterpiece whose construction begins in 1229 and which is still being built when the novel ends.
CATHEDRAL is a portrait of the early roots of modern mercantile capitalism. It is a portrait of the tentative emergence of what will later be called “the middle class”. It is a book of historical sweep and detailed, personal stories.
CATHEDRAL CAN BE BOUGHT HERE:
www.europaeditions.com/book/9781609456115/cathedral
AND ALSO ON AMAZON AND OTHER BOOKSELLER WEBSITES
(from Jan 21, 2021)
REVIEWS:
Alexszollo’s Blog
www.forewordreviews.com
www.kirkusreviews.com
www.publishersweekly.com
www.shelf-awareness.com
www.historicalnovelsociety.org
www.newyorker.com
INTERVIEWS:
www.forewordreviews.com
www.lithub.com
In the PROLOGUE we meet two Kings. Kings from very different Kingdoms. One is the King of Gwupygrubynudnyland (pictured) and the other one is from somewhere very far away. The two Kings agree to swap Kingdoms… a decision that will have strange and wonderful consequences for the entire world.
In Book One, THE GREAT MACHINE, we follow the story of the New King of Gwupygrubynudnyland, as he sets his satanic plans in motion. But we also follow the two young lovers, Katrin Sonnenhorn and Kaspian Reinklang (pictured). Both are destined for greatness… Kaspian as Prime Minister of Gwupygrubynudnyland, and Katrin as a spy, revolutionary… and, in the end, Gwupygrubynudnyland’s nemesis.
In Book Two, THE WORLD FAIR, we display the wonders of capitalism, the joys of war in defence of democracy, the sorrows of unhappy love. We see the history of the last two hundred years accelerated into a maddening blur. We follow the evil and yet comic duo, the President of the new Gwupygrubynudnylandian Republic (here shown in balloon form), and his wicked adviser, Mikhail Mukmulbuf (here shown holding the balloon).
Inbetween the books, we have brief INTERLUDES IN HELL, just to keep tabs on the events occurring in that warm and toasty part of the underworld.
We finish with Book Three, DOWNFALL, which is presided over by the terrifying Black Widow (pictured). In the final book, there are many awesome and catastrophic events, culminating in a showstopping vortex finale.
To find out more… read GWUPYGRUBYNUDNYLAND by Ben Hopkins.
“one of the most original novels I’ve seen in a long time”
“infantile”
“quite extraordinary! …extremely witty, and I laughed out loud frequently… something of the Swift about it, pushing its humour and ideas to the extremes, and I just wonder whether there’s a big enough market for this rather literary hybrid of bum-jokes, farce, philosophy and trenchant political satire.”
“arch and irritating… “
“this is, indeed, the most extraordinary debut fiction I’ve read in a long, long time – can only wonder at the author’s chutzpah and the intellectual drive behind the narrative! […] I honestly don’t think this is a novel for us.”