The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett

Ken Follett's epic historical novel was a departure from my usual reading habits for two primary reasons; firstly that it was a historical novel, and secondly that it was a book of longer than two hundred or so pages. This is a monumental work, the scope of which entirely justifies its length as Follett paints a vivid, detailed picture of life in a twelfth century English town with a core cast of characters who are remarkable in their ordinariness. The briefest summary of 'The Pillars of the Earth' would state that it's about the building of a cathedral, but really this is only the central core around which the events and life stories circle at various ...  Read the complete review

After reading several recommendations of "The Pillars of the Earth" I thought that I would pick it up when I saw it in the library recently. All I knew about it was that it was about the building of a cathedral in twelfth-century England and that it was long. Having never read Ken Follett before I had no preconceptions about his writing style and didn't know what to expect. This book was written in 1989 and went on to become Follett's best-selling work. It was listed no. 33 out of 200 books in the BBC's "Big Read" in 2003, which was a survey looking for the nation's most popular books. The book begins with a short prologue about ...  Read the complete review

This was bought for me by a friend who knew of my love for history and I'm glad they did as I loved it. Written by Ken Follett in 1989, this hugely successful book is ostensibly about the building of a cathedral and is set during the period of lawlessness that followed the death of Henry I. However, as crucial as it is to the plot this is all a backdrop, in front of which we have a huge cast of characters that live out their entire lives over the course of the 1000+ pages. Yes, this is a huge novel that takes place over decades but it never feels like it is dragging, largely due to Follett's writing style, which is very simple and unpretentious ...  Read the complete review

With work and life getting in the way, i usualy don't have time to read that many fictional books, but when i decided that i would read this epic historical novel i am glad. This is probably my favourite book of all time, although i am currently reading the 'sequel' to this and i am enjoying it thoroughly. The book begins with a brief part about a hanging before the beginning of the main book that sets the context of the book and comes back into the story later on. The books then continues to describe the plight of a small family trying to make ends meet in an england where the peasant is considered worthless. The family is cast out of a city, and ...  Read the complete review

My review won't compare to the two other Brill ones on here but I just thought I'd add my tuppence worth. Normally, I read crime novels and forensic type stuff as i find it really interesting although, because I know a bit about medicine, any innacuracies really annoy me and spoil the story. I only read this book because it was given to me for my Birthday, I absolutely loved it. The attention to detail is just superb, the few parts that I didn't understand (some of the architectural terms) I googled and they were perfect, absolutely spot on. There were so many intricately woven plotlines, I found it hard to put down at times. ...  Read the complete review