Product Description

Ken Follett had long been a staple of the bestseller lists for his novels of intrigue and espionage. Then came The Pillars of the Earth, a grand novel of epic storytelling that readers and critics quickly hailed as his crowning achievement. Now, The Pillars of the Earth is available for the first time to a new audience of readers, in this attractive new trade paperback edition.

In 12th-century England, the building of a mighty Gothic cathedral signals the dawn of a new age. This majestic creation will bond clergy and kings, knights and peasants together in a story of toil, faith, ambition and rivalry. A sweeping tale of the turbulent middle ages, The Pillars of the Earth is a masterpiece from one of the world's most popular authors.

"A novel of majesty and power...Will hold you, fascinate you, surround you." --Chicago Sun-Times

"A towering tale...There's murder, arson, treachery, torture, love, and lust...A good time can be had by all." --New York Daily News

"Touches all human emotions...truly a novel to get lost in." --Cosmopolitan

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #85 in Books
• Published on: 2002-02-04
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 976 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Set in 12th-century England, the narrative concerns the building of a cathedral in the fictional town of Kingsbridge. The ambitions of three men merge, conflict and collide through 40 years of social and political upheaval as internal church politics affect the progress of the cathedral and the fortunes of the protagonists. "Follett has written a novel that entertains, instructs and satisfies on a grand scale," judged PW.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
A radical departure from Follett's novels of international suspense and intrigue, this chronicles the vicissitudes of a prior, his master builder, and their community as they struggle to build a cathedral and protect themselves during the tumultuous 12th century, when the empress Maud and Stephen are fighting for the crown of England after the death of Henry I. The plot is less tightly controlled than those in Follett's contemporary works, and despite the wealth of historical detail, especially concerning architecture and construction, much of the language as well as the psychology of the characters and their relationships remains firmly rooted in the 20th century. This will appeal more to lovers of exciting adventure stories than true devotees of historical fiction. Literary Guild dual main selection.
- Cynthia Johnson Whealler, Cary Memorial Lib., Lexington, Mass.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
Arguably the best work of an author known for spy thrillers, this is historical fiction at its finest. The hope and despair of several people are tightly woven with the enormous task of cathedral construction in medieval England. Narrator John Lee adds vigor to Follett's descriptions of otherwise mundane matters: the graceful arch of a gothic spire, the innovation of using a mill wheel's power to felt wool. Follett's poignant characters blossom with Lee's reading. Lee reveals level-headed Prior Phillip's rare moments of pride as the church construction flourishes, and his anguish in the face of stolen funding. Phillip's nemesis, an ambitious nobleman, is cunning, and his lack of self-confidence is clear in Lee's capable reading. After 41 hours of listening, readers will yearn for more. N.M.C. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

SPLENDID READ
This book took me to places in my soul that have not been touched in a long time. The intensity and cadence of the stories and characters drove me from the first word till the last. I took my kindle everywhere and literally read non-stop to the end. Then, afterwards I went back again to re-read various parts to satiate my hunger for more. One of the most splendid readings of my life.

Cardboard, one-dimensional, boring
Is it possible for a person to be ALL good or ALL bad? Yes! If you are a character in this boring, silly book. I managed to wade through over 500 pages of this collosal time waster before I finally tossed it in the bin. Ken Follett could really have created a great story if he had invested more energy in developing his characters into real people instead of cardboard personalities. Sheesh. What a stinker!

Not bad at all. I'd read it again.
I finished The Pillars of the Earth today and all in all, I enjoyed it. I'm a big fan of historical fiction and was interested in the details of "everyday" life, although based on some negative reviews here I'll have to research to find out what Follett incorrectly portrayed. No historical novel is perfect.

As others have noted, this is a character-driven novel. Expect to love it if you enjoy books which immerse you in personalities and personal conflicts rather than grander, larger struggles. Each of the main protagonists was well developed and felt believable.

The antagonists were, I must say, a different story. William of Hamleigh was such a cape-swishing, mustache-twirling villain stereotype that I found it difficult to get into hating him at first, he was just SO bad. We do get a peek into the basis for William's terrible personality but it comes so late in the book that one will already have decided to take him as a cardboard cut-out of a bad guy and enjoy the book in spite of his flatness or one will have abandoned the book long before.

In spite of the somewhat flat "bad guys," though, the interactions between the well developed "good guys" really makes this book hard to put down. I found no problem with the few sex scenes - they were tastefully written and highlighted the love between the characters; they were not what I'd call "gratuitous." Nor did I have any issue with the violence. While a lot of violence occurs, it never felt out of place or over the top to me. The rape scenes were hard to read through but did much in establishing the characters involved and as such did not feel gratuitous either.

Like me, the author is an atheist and I think he did an admirable job of portraying many different points of view in his characters, from the utterly faithful to the unbelieving with all stops in between. He never makes mock of religious beliefs, nor does he make his atheist characters more admirable or worthy than the very religious. His characters simply are what they are, and he explores most of them fully and well.

Minus one star because some judicious editing would have been welcome in some areas; and I also found myself wondering frequently, "Is Aliena REALLY worth all this?"