The Pillars of the Earth

The most expensive part of building is the mistakes.

[b:The Pillars of the Earth|5043|The Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge, #1)|Ken Follett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388193707l/5043._SY75_.jpg|3359698] is not what I expected. As the blurb said, it's a book full of intrigue, action, and romance, but it's also a giant of a book, set in the twelfth century, following the life and times of several families in a Middle Age English town through everything from daily life to the decades long building of a cathedral to a civil war.

It's a brutal book at times, with vicious depictions of violence, war, and rape. Bad things happen to good people--and bad people; and just everyday people. If you're show more looking for a happy book, this is not it. If you're a younger reader, this is probably not the best to read. But if you want a book every bit as beautiful and intricate and impressive as the cathedrals described therein? Give it a try.

The characters really do make the book. You have a whole host of religious men, from good but powerless, to good but flawed, to power hungry but trying to do the right thing, to downright corrupt. You have earls and kings, little worried with the little people--until they lose everything. You have poor poor, some narrow minded and afraid, some willing to help in what little way you can. And they all feel real. For better or, often, for worse.

I very rarely read books set in the 'real' world, strongly preferring science fiction and fantasy. But every once in a while, I'm reminded that perhaps the real world can be every bit as real and magical as a fantasy.

Aside: It's interesting how polarized the top reviews for this book are. And often loving or hating it for the same reasons. For each their own. Personally, I'd say give it a try. show less

TW: Rape and gore and violence en masse.

I finally read the 1000 page book about the building of a cathedral! And I can see why there is no other way to describe it. While the driving force of the pot is the attempt to build the Kingsbridge cathedral, what makes this book truly epic is what happens because of it. This book is about grit and determination during a civil war. It is about the humble, everyday people and lords, both affected by the wars of kings and empresses. It's about political manipulation and determination. But most of all it is about all the years spent building the Kingsbridge cathedral, the lives and loves and horrors that went into it.

Like Tom and Jack's attempt to build a vast cathedral that will last until the Day show more of Judgement, Ken Follet as written a novel of epic proportions. This book was brilliant, complex and everything but boring. There were so many levels to it, from the building of the cathedral to monestarean (is that a word) politics to a romance so sweet and well-developed that it was impossible not to root for. There are an unparallel range and depth to them, and these subplots are brought to like the vast cast of characters. There are vile villains, cunning men of power, strong, independent women and more. The characters were fleshed out and strong and could stand independent of each other, but make the best soup when all poured together. Many of these characters earned my respect as I read, for they were cunning and unafraid, but not flawless.

Follet's writing was so compelling. It hooked me from the beginning, with its very necessary prologue (well I guess you could read the book without reading the prologue, but this is one of those rare books where the prologue becomes important to the plot later on). There was n filler content. Surprising, I know. This book is a literal brick and could be used a weapon if the paperback weren't so floppy (and thus easier to hold and read). Every sentence Follet wrote in the book carried some weight to it, advancing either the main plot or the sub-plots.

Some might argue that the sub-plots outshone the real plots, but I don't believe this. In fact, they drove the main plot forwards. There are many instances where the building of the cathedral would have halted and never been continued if there hadn't been an alternative made possible by a sub-plot. A character that stuck around, or a favour owed. Everything and everyone was important to the progression of the story. Take a minor character away and the whole thing will just fall short. It's like a card house: if you take away a supporting character, it tumbles, if you remove the top cards, it's not complete.

Sometimes I find that men aren't very good at writing from the female perspective, but Follet has that mastered too. His female lead, the Lady Aliena, is easily one of my favourite characters. William Hamleigh puts it marvellously on page 907 "He had ruined her father, raped her, taken her castle, burned her wool, and exiled her brother, but every time he thought he had crushed her she came back up again, rising from defeat to new heights of power and wealth." Aliena is a smart, logical character, unlike her childish brother. She is bound to oath the swore to her father and worked tirelessly to achieve it. She doesn't let her gender get in the way of what she is capable of. But Aliena is still flawed. She's a bit too headstrong and too selfless when it comes to the oath. She can be rash and cold, lashing out at those around her. But she acknowledges her mistakes as well, which in my mind is much more admirable than someone who never slips.

And the antagonists were just wow. Despicable and vile, yet full characters in their own rights. Some are just cunning, power-hungry folk with unyielding goals and a lot of power or plain bullies. But then there's William Hamleigh, the cause of many of Kingsbridge's problems. A man obsessed with honour and fame and has a lethal streak. He is in love with violence and war, loves to exert power over the helpless. William's perspectives were both utterly despicable and oddly interesting to read. He is filled with such hate and loathing that one could practically smell it in the air.

Prior Phillip is that last character to stand out to me amongst the masses. He was so determined and level-headed. His cunningness could almost, at some times, be taken as innocence, luck, and smarts. He so seamlessly manipulated the events to his favour that the characters did not know that they were being manipulated until it was too late. But the Prior is not the enemy here. He is the smart Prior of Kingsbridge, doing his absolute best to make something of the poor town while men like William Hamliegh oppose him at every turn. His quiet way of working events and thinking things through made him one of the most compelling characters out there, and his good nature and love of Kingsbridge and all its people made him loveable and I couldn't help but root for him.

And let's just have a moment of silence for one of the best romances ever. I can't believe the story is over. Another plus for it being so long. I got so immersed in it, in all of it. The lust, the passions, the desire. Both romantically and other. This book is one wild ride through 12th century England.

There are so many more characters and so many more aspects to this book. I can not possibly touch on them all, I'm afraid. You'll just have to take my word for it. The 1000 page book about the building of a cathedral is one of the best things you'll ever read. It appeals to the history buff, but fans of epic fantasy will find this medieval-set epic an absolute gem. Anyone who loves a good political story or a good romance will find something desirable in this brick of a novel. Just try it, you'll love it. If you couldn't tell from this review, I do. show less

Why have I never discovered this book before? When I mentioned to friends I was reading it I was told ‘oh yes, it’s fantastic’. And fantastic it is. ‘The Pillars of the Earth’ by Ken Follett holds up a mirror to modern times. It is a historical thriller about the building of a twelfth century cathedral. The politics, governmental and religious, civil war, families torn asunder, romance, loss, courage and hope. It left me with a yearning to walk around a cathedral and study its architecture, better to understand the feat accomplished at Kingsbridge.
‘The Pillars of the Earth’ tells the story of stonemason Tom Builder and his family, who in 1135 are on the verge of starvation. When they meet Philip, prior of Kingsbridge, so show more begins a relationship which lasts all their lives. Philip is a pragmatic monk. He knows his poor town must find a way to survive and decides to build a cathedral. Tom becomes his master builder. But there are enemies who want to thwart this ambition, greedy, ruthless men who change political sides with will, who pillage and rape, who store riches while their peasants starve. The differences are not just political and royal, they are between brothers too.
This is a long novel and for not one moment did that matter. If you like novels that create a world for you to lose yourself in, then this will suit you. This is the medieval world; when the crown is disputed by King Stephen and Maud, when a father abandons a baby because he cannot feed it, when outlaws live wild in the forests, when the wealthy and titled can rape and steal and get away with it. Through this morally thin time, there are beacons of light. Prior Philip is quiet, gentle and Machiavellian. Determined not to be beaten by bullies, that his town and citizens shall not lose their livelihoods, he motivates his villagers so they have the belief to stand up for their rights.
Don’t be put off because this book is about a cathedral. The cathedral is the glue that holds the community of Kingsbridge together, it gives the book its narrative drive. Ken Follett packs in so much historical detail and it is all relevant to the plot; despite its 1104 pages, this is a quick read. Highly recommended.
This is the first of the Kingsbridge trilogy, next is ‘World Without End’.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/ show less

I was totally engrossed by this book while I was reading it and the 1000 or so pages just flew by. I was especially fascinated by the detailed description of the building process. Somehow I was also eager to see the plot develop and wanted to find out what would happen to the characters.

However, after I had finished the book I was horrified to find that what stuck in my head the most were the overly explicit rape and murder scenes. I am certainly not squeamish and usually not bothered by violence in literature or film. But after reading the book I realized that the explicitness was there for shock value and did not serve any other purpose. And I was outright angry that these images remained so much clearer in my memory than those of show more having "witnessed" the building of a cathedral across centuries.

I haven't bothered with the sequels because this is not something I want out of books. show less

Whoever said that a writer of spy thrillers should not attempt to write a historical fiction piece, especially one of such an epic format at The Pillars of the Earth? According to Follett, his editor, for one. Always nice when a writer goes against the grain. In Pillars of the Earth, Follett relies on the things he knows – how to pace a story to build suspense, how to create multi-faceted characters, and his personal love for cathedrals – to write a highly readable epic tale (spanning 50 years) of political upheaval, corruption, greed, and self-discovery. This story will not appeal to all readers. Follett detailed descriptions of the cathedral build appeals to my love for architecture as do the descriptions of the 12 century English show more feudal system and the strong role of the church and its pageantry. Follett does not present some “cookie cutter” view of medieval England and there really is an awful lot of that time period not to like. Even so, it is the characters that really drew me in and kept me enthralled. Follett’s characters are so “real”. I was also pleasantly surprised to see that Follett has included some very strong, independent women as key characters in this story.

On a downside, I am not sure what exactly was running through Follett’s mind in wrapping up the story - I am guessing that it written as a stand-alone novel and only due to its publication success that it morphed into a trilogy – but the ending came across as just a little to “tidy” for me and ended up ending on a slightly lower note after 900 pages of riveting reading.

Overall, a fabulous story, rich in history, strong on drama and filled with memorable characters. A book I can highly recommend to readers who have enjoyed Hilary Mantel’s Bring Up the Bodies. show less

Ken Follett has written an epic story set in medieval England from 1123-1174. It is rich in the details of minor knights and earls, the struggle of various bishops, deacons, and monks within the catholic church for supremacy over assets, the civil war between Stephen and Maude, the burgeoning art and science of building design and construction, and the evolution of the town as a social unit. The central characters are Phillip, the Prior of Kingsbridge, who wants to honor his God by building a cathedral but who also wants to care for the people of the area, Tom the master builder who wants to support his family and build the cathedral, Albert and Jack , Tom’s son and step-son, William Hamleigh, the sometimes Earl of Shiring (one of the show more villains of the piece who waffles back and forth between supporting Stephen and Maude), Bishop Waleran (another villain who wants the cathedral built in Shiring so he can control William, get one up on Prior Phillip and eventually become Archbishop of Canterbury--if he can ever figure out which claimant to the throne to back ), Aliena (displaced daughter of the previous Earl of Shiring and eventual wife of Jack), her brother Richard, Ellen-Tom’s ‘woman’ and Jack's mother, and a cast of thousands suitable for a Charlton Heston movie.

We are treated to a panoply of scenes of medieval treachery, warfare, and everyday life. We become intimately acquainted with the main characters as they try their darndest to get from morning to night without dying of hunger, fire, or war. We see the influence the church has from the death of King Henry to the time of Thomas à Becket. We see how those glorious cathedral churches were painstakingly built by hand without modern machines, and how the design evolved from the Norman to the Gothic. We root for the good guys, suffer heart-stopping, breath-taking (literally) horror watching the bad guys, and when we finish--after 970 pages of small print--we are looking for more.

The book opens with a scene that sets a mystery to be solved..the answers don’t come until the end, and the suspense is well played out. Throughout the story, Follett’s character development is deep, believable, and touching. We get to know each of the characters and his or her motivations intimately.

I am definitely looking forward to tackling its long awaited sequel World Without End. show less

I first read this my senior year of high school, stolen, of course, from my lovely uncle whose shelves gave me hours and hours of warped bookish fun.

This is not to say this book is warped. It is indeed full of wicked, flawed characters that you seethe over and hate, and you shake your fists and go "oooooooh," in a cartoonish 50's sitcom sort of way. However, you have the handful of characters that you become endeared to such as Jack or Philip, and they save you from weeping in helplessness. This was probably my favorite book ever growing into adulthood, and it still remains near and dear to my heart. Everyone has probably read it by now, thanks to Oprah, but I have the comfort of saying I read this ten years before the fact.

Great stuff.