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Fiction. Suspense. Thriller. Historical Fiction. HTML:If you liked the Century Trilogy, youll love the extraordinary . . . monumental masterpiece.Booklist, that changed the course of Ken Folletts already phenomenal career. Follett risks all and comes out a clear winner, extolled Publishers Weekly on the release of The Pillars of the Earth. A departure for the bestselling thriller writer, the historical epic stunned readers and critics alike with its ambitious scope and gripping humanity. Today, it stands as a testament to Folletts unassailable command of the written word and to his universal appeal. The Pillars of the Earth tells the story of Philip, prior of Kingsbridge, a devout and resourceful monk driven to build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has known . . . of Tom, the mason who becomes his architecta man divided in his soul . . . of the beautiful, elusive Lady Aliena, haunted by a secret shame . . . and of a struggle between good and evil that will turn church against state, and brother against brother. A spellbinding epic tale of ambition, anarchy, and absolute power set against the sprawling medieval canvas of twelfth-century England, this is Ken Folletts historical masterpiece.… (more)
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My utter disdain for the book comes from many a source:
A) It's 900 pages. Mind you, I'll read 900 pages, even 1,500 pages, if it's amazing. But it has to be a crackerjack of a book. This was not.
B) Here's where this book and I really parted ways: Tom Builder's beloved wife, Agnes, dies in childbirth on the side of the road. Only hours later, Tom's rolling in the leaves with an attractive forest wench in a sex scene so ridiculous I could practically hear the "bow-chicka-wow-wow" music in the background. Poor Agnes' body isn't even cold yet and Tom's getting it on with a woman he had a 15 minute conversation with earlier in the book.
C) It's hard to believe this is medieval England, what with all the modern sensibilities and modern vernacular.
C) It could have been whittled down by about 500 pages if the scenes of people eating had been omitted.
E) The women, oh, the women. Witches or whores or victims of tag team rape.
Here's the basic rundown of the plot:
--Building a church, building a church, building a church . . .
--Oh, crap, a plot complication! We might not be able to build the church.
--Crafty Phillip overcomes the complication.
--Insert licentious sex scene.
--Building a church, building a church, building a church . . .
--Oh, crap, a plot complication! We might not be able to build the church.
--Crafty Phillip overcomes the complication.
--Now insert gratuitous sex scene.
Lather. Rinse. Repeat. For 900 pages.
I am seriously BLOWN AWAY.
I feel like I did when I read The Mists of Avalon for the first time: then, it was the discovery of Adult Fiction and suddenly, the world was opened up before me. This time, I found what I have been looking for for years...and not even known exactly what
NO women with mysteriously 20th century mannerisms (biggest historical fiction pet peeve EVAR)!!! Characters that are NOT all kings and queens and knights! IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTIONS! Pages upon pages on Cathedral design! Characters that develop over the span of 50 years! Love stories that aren't sappy! Language that is believably medieval - not sounding like a bunch of folks at the Renaissance Festival! Religion without being heavy-handed! Viewing a topic or event from many points of view without favoring one over the other! Evil villains, brilliant craftsmen, strong women whose mannerisms are fitting with the times! And LOTS AND LOTS OF ARCHITECTURE!!!!
Seriously, folks, it's been a long time since I've read something so completely engrossing and satisfying. I spent several hours a day relishing this book. I dreamt about it. I hid it behind the Reference Desk and stole peeks at pages while at work. The prologue sucked me in and this book didn't let me go until the very end, which came too quickly.
We begin (well, after the sucking-in prologue) with Tom. He, his wife Agnes, and his children Alfred and Martha are walking from town to town, looking for work. Tom is a builder, and his greatest dream is to build a cathedral. He shares this dream (but doesn't know it yet) with Philip, a young prior of a monastery. Their paths cross a few times before they're able to get moving on it. The other players are Ellen Witch and her son Jack; Bishops, Fathers, Brothers and Friars; the deposed Earl's son and daughter; the new Earl and his miserable son William; and hundreds of townspeople, religious folk, royalty, and people of the woods.
These people make and break alliances more often than the folks in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Oh MAN it's good though. Beautifully written and expertly plotted. My only sadness is that this is not Ken Follett's usual writing fare. I'll have to do some research to find other historical novels like this one. Hell, I don't care if they're about the Tang Dynasty or Great Zimbabwe or the Aztecs or the Greeks or whatever. So long as they're written in this style, with this level of depth and planning...I would LOVE to give it a chance.
Oprah really surprised me with this one. I've read some of her other book club selections - lots of gentle reads about women's lives and other things that make my eyes roll back in my head as I fall bored to the floor. This one blew me away, and I'd recommend it to anyone who is looking for an in-depth, vast historical novel.
The characters were
I also noticed comments about the historical accuracy and research that must have been involved in writing this book. If that is so, it must only be in regards to the building of the cathedral and the civil war between Stephen and Maud. As for the rest, I must disagree, I have read many well written and researched books of medieval times (thank you Sharon Kay Penman and Elizabeth Chadwick for such awesome reads), and I was infuriated on numerous discrepancies in this book. Examples and anyone may correct me if I'm mistaken as I am not a history major:
* Aliena is frequently described as having long, curling loose flowing hair. Women in those days wore their hair braided and covered, it being quite scandalous for any man other than her husband or lover to see it loose.
* After the attack on the castle, and the imprisonment of their father Aliena and Richard are allowed to live alone in the castle with only the steward? I doubt that the king would punish the children so for the sins of their fathers, and most likely would have been made wards of the king until they reached their majority. This was most desirable as the king could then skim the proceeds off the estates and funnel them to the crown's use. Sometimes a king would give ward ship to another party as a reward for service, etc.
* Young boys of the noble class were typically sent to another noble household to be raised and educated, first as squires and then trained in that household as a knight. What on earth was a teenaged Richard doing living at home?
* Much was made of William's warhorse. These were formidable beasts that were not easily handled by strangers. Yet Aliena and Richard were able to not only saddle the warhorse, but to get right on and ride it? I don't think so.
* The English nobility of that period were Norman French and did not speak the language of the peasant class. So how did Aliena manage to not only communicate with them, but could set up a successful business in that atmosphere?
I could go on with more examples if I had remembered to take notes, but there were many similar instances to this throughout the book.
Ken Follett brings all these together in a fast-paced, absorbing narration that covers four decades. Holding the narration together and this giving it great continuity is the fictional figure of Phillip, prior of the Benedictine monastery at Kingsbridge in south England. Phillip, a genuinely devout man, is determined to build a magnificent cathedral for the greater glory of God. Throughout the 40 years of the narration, it is Phillip’s drive, Phillip’s determination and intelligence—and his compassionate, genuine concern for the people around him—that moves the cathedral building forward, despite numerous obstacles. Poor design and subsequent collapse, political intrigue both secular and within the church itself, famine, or near despair, nothing ever really stops Phillip from trying to realize his dream.
Throughout it all is the cathedral itself, which becomes a character in its own right.
Follett does a brilliant job of illuminating the history of the time through the building of this cathedral. While Phillip is the main protagonist, there are others. Bishop Walderon Bigod, a devout but ambitious clergyman; William Hamleigh, Earl of Shiring, who is the personification of the ruthless, arrogant nobility; Ellen, a strange woman who plays a major role in the development of the story; Aliena, the daughter of a dispossessed earl who becomes one of the most important wool merchants in England; Jack, a master builder who first sees the new cathedral designs in Europe and uses them to pursue his dream of building the most beautiful cathedral in the world; Richard, Aliena’s brother who is good for nothing else except fighting and killing. These provide the motive force behind the plot, and Follett does an outstanding job of blending them to create a believable story with convincing characters, yet one that illuminates the effects of a turbulent period in history on the ordinary people of England. I loved it both for the way Follett incorporated both the political and history of the Church at the time (although the two are hardly separable) with a story that is told from the common people’s point of view. You really get an excellent feel for what it was like to live at that time—the way the houses were built, the food, the effects of all-too-common war and famine on everyday life, commerce, monastic life and its influence (usually for the better) on the surrounding villages, and the major innovations of the day, such as horse plowing! Follett incorporates at all levels strong women, illustrating the fact that though a minority, women were craftsmen and merchants, who worked in the same trades as men at that time.
One intriguing sidelight is the way in which last names were slowly established among ordinary people: Tom Builder, Randolph Brewster, Maude Silver, Jack Baker—all from the trades in which these people worked.
Follett also gives a fascinating up-close look at how the cathedrals were built, seen through the eyes of Tom Builder and his stepson, Jack Jackson: stone cutting and shaping, cathedral design so as to support the massive structures, and the innovations that permitted the building of the much lighter, more beautiful gothic cathedrals.
My edition of the book carries an Introduction by Ken Follett that is fascinating in itself. In it, he describes how he first became intrigued by the great cathedrals, and then later, after becoming famous for writing World War II thrillers, in the main, he decided to write something completely different—The Pillars of the Earth. Do try to get an edition that has this Introduction, as it is very well worth reading.
For those lovers of historical fiction, this is a book that is not to be missed. Highly recommended.
Melodrama - A dramatic presentation characterized by heavy use of suspense, sensational episodes, romantic sentiment, and a conventionally happy ending.
That is a pretty good description of Pillars Of The Earth. And in some ways there is nothing
There is a man who gets hung in the first 5 pages of the book. On page 624 we learn that he was being kept in a dungeon before the hanging. His wife/girlfriend miraculously found a way for him to escape from the dungeon. He doesn't escape because he didn't know the way home or speak English. His wife/girlfriend does speak English. The hanging was known about for several days, yet he doesn't escape. Twenty years later - on page 624 - his son is placed in the same dungeon cell. His mother swims in and tells him about his father and shows him the way to escape. Like any sensible person, within 2 minutes of finding out there is a way out of the dungeon, he swims to freedom. But not the father 20 years earlier, he stayed in the dungeon cell and impregnated his wife/girlfriend with their only child - who is now in the dungeon cell.
What passes for true love and supreme sacrifice occurs 2 pages later. I won't describe it but from page 624 to 639 you have the nadir of this book and a perfect definition of "sensational episode". In some ways it is a beauty to read. As the World Turns never did it better. The 15 pages defy logic and is both romantically sentimental while at the same time being soft-core pornograhic. Anything that can cause you to put the book down for over a month should be acknowldeged for what it is, a thing of beauty, even if it is the silliest crap you have ever read.
There is another part of the book worth mentioning. For all the melodramatic sentiments that drive this plot, the building of the cathedral is the opposite. It is clear from the very beginning that the author has heart-felt love for all the old cathedrals and the passion he feels for the building of his fictional cathedral in the book is in stark contrast to all the melodrama around it. Some of the passages regarding the cathedral are even boring to a degree, but the passion that the writer feels comes through even during these parts of the book. When you finish the book you will be glad the book is over, but you will also be glad the cathedral got built.
But nevertheless, I proceeded to read the first 100 pages, then the second 100, and then I eventually continued to plow through, unamused but determined to finish it. This novel is unnecessarily long, wordy, graphic, and self-indulgent. The scenes of violence and rape are so over the top, it made me want to vomit. The detail that Follett goes into about the cathedral is tedious and downright boring - I found myself skipping over these parts, which were numerous and lengthy. Additionally, Follett's writing is simplistic, dull, and choppy. While the story behind this novel wasn't horrible on its own, it's this poor writing that really made it terrible for me.
I know that many people love this book, and I'm really disappointed that I couldn't see what others find to be so wonderful about it. This is the second novel of Follett's that I've read, and from what I can tell, while he has a remarkable imagination and ability to create stories, he really needs work in the writing department.
Was I in for a shock! This book was actually the BEST beach read ever. It's not boring at all. In high school, I spent a good deal of time re-reading all the good parts in The Clan of the Cave Bear and my mom's Harlequins. I should have been reading this - it had good parts all through it. It was like a raunchy soap opera set in 1100s England.
The characters sprang to life on the pages - I rooted for strong Aliena, hated psychotic William, admired intelligent Jack and wanted to punch out stupid Alfred. In fact, I even rooted for the dusty cathedral.
The only thing I didn't like was the rampant use of the C-word. I realize it has a historic context, but I just think the word is gross. (Like moist - that's another gross word.)
I can't attest to the historical accuracy of this book. But, I can promise you a fascinating read that you won't be able to put down (even on your honeymoon - sorry honey!)
If I was to criticise it would be that at some moments the cycle of progress to threat of defeat to overcoming hurdle is ever so slighlty overplayed - perhaps one to many.
Other than that there is very little not to enjoy. It is also one of those books that makes you want to research outside of your reading. I found myself looking up various types of church architecture, discovering more about the monarchy and it's relationship with the church, and wanting to see pictures of the places where the story takes place.
I would not hesitate in recommending this book, and look forward to reading the sequel "World Without End".
But now the years
But the book, “The Pillars of the Earth,” is really big.
I started by reading the introduction by the author, and was fascinated to learn that the book became popular first in Germany, which, of course, is where the board game was designed. I learned the author had spent long years researching cathedrals, so I was ready to trust his knowledge. What I wasn’t so sure of was how that knowledge would translate into a story, or how the story would relate to the game.
For the first few chapters I kept annoying family members by asking, “So what does Jack do for you? And Brother Remegius?” But soon I was hooked. It’s not that the writing is the best I’ve ever seen—oh why did I ever learn to read “critically?” It’s such a pain—but the story is deeply compelling. I would never have imagined I’d become so interested in the history of cathedral architecture, the places where new ideas came from, the evolution of light. But these things fascinated the characters, and the characters fascinated me.
At some point I decided to read the back of the book. Yes, I know; most people do that at the start, but you have to remember I thought I knew it all from playing the game. I learned that there was a mystery too, as well just the tale of a cathedral, and I was satisfied since that convinced me the questions I was developing would eventually be answered. They were, with a really very pleasing resolution.
I’m looking forward to playing the game again now, with a little more knowledge of what’s going on and why. I shall probably bore everyone by retelling details from the book. But I provide the food, so they’ll put up with it. And I’ll recommend “The Pillars of the Earth” to anyone willing to try a reasonably long book. It’s a much faster read than it looks, and it’s deeply intriguing and satisfying.
But the writing! Second-rate at best. The stuff of the typical mass-market best-seller essentially, which I should have expected since that's what Ken Follett was known for to begin with. I don't expect every book I read to be a literary masterpiece; I'm able to enjoy a bit of chic lit or a good thriller, and while I love the historical fiction genre and have no doubt many writers work hard to do intensive research and get the details right as well as spin a good story, it's often the case that the poor quality of the writing ruins the experience for me. Sometimes I still give the books a decent rating because while I've been disappointed with the prose, I've enjoyed the overall experience. In this case I couldn't separate the two because there were moments when I was shocked by how badly written certain passages were. And did I say it was much too long?
So there we have it. I've read, I've commented, and I won't likely read the sequel anytime soon.
Fun in small doses but don't expect much intellectual stimulation.
However, this book did not have to be almost a thousand pages. Each major section was a repeat of the plot of the previous one: the same evil bad guys making the same good guys miserable, the good guys bouncing back and forcing the bad guys to hit them again. He did keep me hooked with a mystery introduced in the prologue and spun out over the course of 40+ years. I ultimately enjoyed the book, but felt it would have been much better, about two thirds the length.
It reads like a soap opera (though the flip side is that it's
Oh, and it's trashy. Sometimes I found this gleeful, other times just trying. Sex, gore and cliffhangers. Follett's day job as a thriller writer is starkly apparent.
And don't expect any stunning plot twists, really. If you look at the state of things about a quarter of the way through the book, you'll most likely guess the general way everything comes out.
I'm leaving something out, though: this book is fun to read. It's a good beach or travel grab, and, even though it's 973 pages long, it goes by quickly enough. And if you're as into Medieval European history as I am, you'll enjoy the well-researched elements of it.
What did eventually stop me was the fact that the thing is just shy of 1,000 pages long, and it really, really did not need to be. Follett's writing is not exactly what I'd call good, but it's readable enough, except for one major flaw: his unfortunate tendency to repeat himself. Things happen, and then -- sometimes only a few pages later! -- we'll get a long, dry, utterly unnecessary passage in which character mentally recaps it all while I mutter, "Yeah, I know, I was there" in increasingly impatient tones. Follett does this over and over and over, and while no particular instance of it is too much of a problem, the end result is a book that very much wears out its welcome long before the end. Cut out all that repetition and tighten up some other stuff with a bit of judicious editing, and you'd have a novel that, while it was never going to be a work of art on par with the cathedrals it praises so much, would at least be a pretty decent beach read. As it is, it's a book with a pretty decent beach read buried inside it, trying desperately not to be crushed by the weight of at least 300 unnecessary pages.
Rating: 3/5, although I can only rate it that high if I make an effort to remember how I felt about it before I got to about page 700 and realized I was getting sick of reading it. If it had only managed to finish by that point, it'd be a very solid 3 and a half.
An advantage to the recaps and plot summaries throughout the book is that you can pick it up and put it down frequently.
Also seemed like the author was more interested in telling about medieval life than moving the plot along. For example, there's almost three pages dedicated to a bear-baiting event that has absolutely no relevance on the plot. I skipped it.
Characters have some dimension, but not much. And if one dies, another character quickly fills those shoes so you don't miss the dead person. Certainly this is a book of pop fiction, not literature.