This book is like a family size bag of Doritos. You know you shouldn't eat the whole bag and you know its not really good for you but you just can't stop! Its a medieval soap opera and Ken Follet had me hooked and I read the whole book in a little over a week. I didn't stop and dwell on the often bad writing and strange mix of ye olde English speak mixed in with 20th century speak.I just wanted to find out if the cathedral would get built and make sure that Prior Philip survived all 1000 page... (show more)

This book is like a family size bag of Doritos. You know you shouldn't eat the whole bag and you know its not really good for you but you just can't stop! Its a medieval soap opera and Ken Follet had me hooked and I read the whole book in a little over a week. I didn't stop and dwell on the often bad writing and strange mix of ye olde English speak mixed in with 20th century speak.I just wanted to find out if the cathedral would get built and make sure that Prior Philip survived all 1000 pages. The tunic lifting bad guys were really really bad and the heroines were really beautiful and brave. It is a timeless classic - no, would I read it again - no. Am I glad that I read it - yes and will I read the sequel - can't wait to get my hands on it! (show less)

f it wasn't for the 973 pages it has, I would've re-read it again as soon as I finished the last word of the last line on page 973. What more, I never thought I would like a book based on the 12th century. But the storyline, characters, and lessons of the book were addictive. New York Daily News review got it right on point: "A towering tale...There's murder, arson, treachery, torture, love, and lust...A good time can be had by all."

I felt everyone of those emotions throughout the... (show more)

f it wasn't for the 973 pages it has, I would've re-read it again as soon as I finished the last word of the last line on page 973. What more, I never thought I would like a book based on the 12th century. But the storyline, characters, and lessons of the book were addictive. New York Daily News review got it right on point: "A towering tale...There's murder, arson, treachery, torture, love, and lust...A good time can be had by all."

I felt everyone of those emotions throughout the book. I even read some passages to my boyfriend because I wanted tos hare the bits and pieces of what I found moving, frustrating, appalling, addictive.

Its an easy-to-read book and the storyline is amazingly impressive and gripping. The characters stir all the human emotions inside of you -- emotions you never knew would come out from mere words on paper. The author portrays the best human lessons and emotions through the characters' dialogue and how he depicts what the character is thinking/feeling.

This is one book I will be keeping on my shelf, and I rarely keep books b/c I barely re-read them and they take up space, and become one more thing to dust. I think when I get the chance, and run out of books to read that are within my reach, I will re-read "The Pillars of the Earth" again. Now go and read it! Learn something about good, evil, love, betrayal, lust, loyalty, human and state transformation, and learn something about yourself -- that you might actually like the book ;) (show less)

Good book. Not great, but good. I had three gripes. Some of the Bad Guys are so truly horrible that they seem to be unbelievable (to the point where I thought to myself "OK. I get it. This guy is evil.") By contrast, the Good Guys are more realistic: you sympathize with them, but they aren't perfect. Second, at times, Follett's writing completely loses the mood of the period (the book is set in the 12th century). For example, he actually uses the phrase "hot body" ... (show more)

Good book. Not great, but good. I had three gripes. Some of the Bad Guys are so truly horrible that they seem to be unbelievable (to the point where I thought to myself "OK. I get it. This guy is evil.") By contrast, the Good Guys are more realistic: you sympathize with them, but they aren't perfect. Second, at times, Follett's writing completely loses the mood of the period (the book is set in the 12th century). For example, he actually uses the phrase "hot body" at one point. That just doesn't seem like a 12th century turn of phrase to me.... Lastly, I felt like the last 50 pages or so of the book were rushed. At almost 1,000 pages, this is a long book already, and I was left with the sense that Follett (or his editor) decided they needed to wrap it up, so it morphs from a detailed almost day-by-day account to summing everything up in the last 30 pages in a very cursory way. Having said all that, it's an engrossing story, and I had fun reading it. (show less)

Well, when I read what this book was about I couldn't believe I could possibly find it interesting. Building a Cathedral in the Middle Ages sounded about as entertaining as watching paint dry. The story of how and why the book was written made me give it a try and I now know I couldn't have been more wrong about it being boring. The story spans many years following a number of very well developed characters that you can't help but care about. The good and bad events keep you turning the pa... (show more)

Well, when I read what this book was about I couldn't believe I could possibly find it interesting. Building a Cathedral in the Middle Ages sounded about as entertaining as watching paint dry. The story of how and why the book was written made me give it a try and I now know I couldn't have been more wrong about it being boring. The story spans many years following a number of very well developed characters that you can't help but care about. The good and bad events keep you turning the pages and by the time the story ended, I wished it could have gone on even longer. I have read a few of Mr. Follett's other novels which are a much different genre and enjoyed most of them. This book was utterly amazing. The sequel, World Without End, is also something you should check out if you find yourself wanting more as I did. (show less)

Pillars of the Earth" is a very long book. It's got a lot of soap-opera-like twists and turns - no amnesia, but just about everything else, including mistaken identities, illicit marriages, illicit lack of marriage, illegitimate children, questionable parentage, love triangles, revenge, greed, power, a few murders, rape, witches, politics, knights, swords and horsies. OK, that last bit is not so soap-opera-like. There's also lots and lots of architecture. And it's a very long book.

M... (show more)

Pillars of the Earth" is a very long book. It's got a lot of soap-opera-like twists and turns - no amnesia, but just about everything else, including mistaken identities, illicit marriages, illicit lack of marriage, illegitimate children, questionable parentage, love triangles, revenge, greed, power, a few murders, rape, witches, politics, knights, swords and horsies. OK, that last bit is not so soap-opera-like. There's also lots and lots of architecture. And it's a very long book.

Main story follows a single family of stone masons for (roughly) three generations, and the extended families associated with re-marrying, etc. Around this family revolves an aspiring monk/prior, a powerful but morally questionable bishop, a ruthless Earl (title, not name), and several kings. The thing is, even with all the re-marrying and such, there are so many evolving inter-relationships between these main characters as the struggle for political power unfolds, and of course everybody grows up, has children, etc - that EVERYTHING seems to happen to this small group of people. And just when you think things have settled down for a while, something else happens, or attempts to happen. And these things keep happening for approximately 980 pages.

Along the way, you learn a lot about medieval culture - particularly the role of religion, the political power of a monestary, priory, or diocese - how life is funded, and just how much it sucks to be a serf. There's also quite a bit of focus on the reason for, and the means to, building cathedrals - Follett muses in his Foreward that one of the things he never could understand is why people in such destitute times would have put so much energy into buildings of such scale, and this book addresses that. You also learn a lot about architecture and the evolution of cathedral-building. I can also now tell you the difference between a nave, chancel, transept, cloister, and clerestory. Oh, and probably 7 different words for "horse".

Really though, I very much enjoyed it, despite its very lengthy nature. Very full of words. Long. Not a day went by I didn't read at least 50 pages (note - at that rate, it will still take about 3 weeks to finish).
The building is a constant, its a reason to keep the central family of masons from wandering off and having more illicit marriages, and its a reason for the ongoing political power struggles. It's essential, but it's not distracting, and the cathedral is not the focus. The people are. They're engaging, you feel for them, you assign labels (good, evil) you change labels several times (he's pretty self-serving and conniving for a "good" guy), and you constantly wonder just what more can possibly happen to these people. There's also an underlying mystery that keeps you wondering... right up until 100 pages too soon.

My only complaint is this - the big climax occurs, the mystery is revealed, it all comes together - and there are still 100 pages to go. The last part of the wrap-up, the rise and fall, takes a while, has an interesting but probably unnecessary historically accurate reference to English church vs. king to give the whole novel an air of "this could have really happened in some obscure English medieval village somewhere, I wonder which cathedral this is supposed to be? Can I go see the real thing?" But it loses momentum right at the very end. Loose ends nicely tied up, but it wasn't the gripping page turner it had been in the first 900 pages. By that time, though, you've got so few pages in your right hand you just keep going because the end is in sight. (show less)

I absolutely do not get all the hype about this book. It was far too long for a story line that was that boring. The writing was not particularly inspiring or descriptive, except the cathedral building parts, which were too tedious to be enjoyed. Basically a narrative on the lives of one family over the course of 55 years, and only bad things happen to them. There's no moral to the story, no uplifting truths to be found, no sub-plot to make it more interesting. I do not recommend this bo... (show more)

I absolutely do not get all the hype about this book. It was far too long for a story line that was that boring. The writing was not particularly inspiring or descriptive, except the cathedral building parts, which were too tedious to be enjoyed. Basically a narrative on the lives of one family over the course of 55 years, and only bad things happen to them. There's no moral to the story, no uplifting truths to be found, no sub-plot to make it more interesting. I do not recommend this book unless you take an extraordinary interest in cathedral building and don't mind being bored stiff during the parts that aren't about consctructing a cathedral. This is only the second Oprah book I haven't enjoyed. I just don't get how it is so wildly popular. People will read anything she says I guess. It can't be word of mouth recommendation because the book isn't good enough for that. (show less)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
You Will Never Forget This Sweeping Epic, April 29, 2009

Many people whose opinion I value have recommended this book to me. I had never read it because all they would say was it's a beautiful story about the building of a Cathedral. I just couldn't imagine how that could be interesting. Furthermore, I thought at the time I had no interest in medieval England, so I never got around to reading this. Recently, however, wh... (show more)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
You Will Never Forget This Sweeping Epic, April 29, 2009

Many people whose opinion I value have recommended this book to me. I had never read it because all they would say was it's a beautiful story about the building of a Cathedral. I just couldn't imagine how that could be interesting. Furthermore, I thought at the time I had no interest in medieval England, so I never got around to reading this. Recently, however, while on a short vacation and having run out of books to read, I ventured into a local book store and this title caught my attention. I am so thankful it did. Now I know why everyone loves it, but finds it so hard to say what it's about. At 983 pages and with dozens of important characters, this book is hard to sum up in 25 words or less. Yes, it is about the building of a cathedral and the details of that will amaze you, especially when you consider that the men themselves who built these magnificent houses of worship lived in wooden huts. But, it is about so much more.

Author Ken Follett takes you to another world, one that will captivate you with its day-to-day living, its violence and brutality, its romances and friendships, its kings and peasants, its dedicated monks and corrupt clergymen. There are so many characters you will treasure: Tom Builder, the desperate father whose dream it is to build a cathedral and who drags his family by foot around the countryside looking for work; Prior Philip who exemplifies civilized values against a backdrop where the nobility lives by the standard that "might makes right"; Aliena, the beautiful princess we meet as a young girl and see her transform in so many ways that gives us courage and hope; Ellen, the "witch" who lives by her wiles and has a life so different from what we are accustomed to but whom we can admire as she changes from young lover to grandmother over the course of the novel. There are many more unforgettable characters, too many to name, but Jonathan, Jack,Alfred, Richard, Regan, and others will stay with you. However, it is William Hamleigh, the abusive and thoroughly evil man whom readers will love to hate. Follett said in an interview that he knew writers should always give the bad guys a good side, but with William he decided to ignore that rule. Completely despicable and like a dreaded illness you cannot get away from, William tortures and taunts his way through this novel leaving a path of destruction that culminates in one final, brilliant scene.

If you're ready to read a book that will completely take over your life, one that is a page-turner in every sense of the word, one that even after nearly a thousand pages will leave you begging for more, this is the book for you. (show less)

Though this is the first Follet novel I have read I can only fathom how he manages to twist his plot when he does. He owes no allegiance to any of his charters and it is impossible to tell who the protagonist who carries the tale along. his writing swiftly whispers into your head the pain of his characters…the joy of life is nowhere near, the sun of life is gone and could care less for a simple life, sending cruel reminders that their only joy emits itself from the brightness a new day. you w... (show more)

Though this is the first Follet novel I have read I can only fathom how he manages to twist his plot when he does. He owes no allegiance to any of his charters and it is impossible to tell who the protagonist who carries the tale along. his writing swiftly whispers into your head the pain of his characters…the joy of life is nowhere near, the sun of life is gone and could care less for a simple life, sending cruel reminders that their only joy emits itself from the brightness a new day. you will find yourself going back and rereading passages, asking yourself what just happened. Did Follet really do that? How can he do that? But regardless you know that even as feigned indifference slips away from you as a reader, and as you admit that his charters' grief is bringing literary joy you will not question how Follet does it. (show less)