A Monumental Human Epic (The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett)

Member Name: Frankingsteins

Product:	The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett
Date:	24/07/08 (129 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Intimidatingly well-researched and well plotted, with lifelike characters.

Disadvantages: Off-putting length leads to inevitable duller sections that won't interest everyone.

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 distances. The construction of Kingsbridge Cathedral is certainly an integral part of the book, and Follett permits his personal enthusiasm for gothic architecture to take over at points through the voices of his characters. While this may cause some readers to skip ahead in boredom, the awe and reverence with which the designs are treated is guaranteed to have a lasting effect on anyone with a passing interest in Medieval history or historical buildings, at the very least causing the reader to stop and look for a little longer in churches and abbeys.

Beyond the practical construction of the cathedral, itself plagued with drama, this is a novel of life, death, war, treachery, politics, love and belief, and Follett's division of the ungainly 1,000 pages into six parts, multiple chapters and further sub-chapters is both handy and an effective narrative method. Readers may be a little thrown off at first by the shifting focus as each group of characters is followed over the course of the years, and by the seemingly restless choice of protagonist. The first part of the novel centres on Tom, an out-of-work builder who wanders the country desperately in a time of recession, intent on feeding his starving family and seeing them through the winter. At some point, the story begins to focus more on Prior Philip's devout and pragmatic accession to ruler of Kingsbridge, and finally the young and brilliant Jack takes over with his innocent love for Aliena and drive to learn the truth about his father's death that forms the real overarching thread of the novel.

Follett's characters and locations are all fleshed out in great detail, creating a real sense of an organic community of fictional characters in a fictional town sandwiched between real historical events. Even the token bad guys in the form of the genuinely despicable William Hamleigh and his corrupt adviser Bishop Waleran avoid seeming too much like stereotypes to spoil the atmosphere, their motives always being explained in a level of detail that only makes them easier to hate. As a historical novel, no concession is made towards fantasy beyond a historically accurate acceptance of curses and religion by the more superstitious characters that are nevertheless dismissed by the more pragmatic individuals such as Jack in particular, and this means that Tolkien fans approaching the novel for its length and historical setting may be disappointed at the lack of spell-casting and flying monsters. The plot is still subject to tasteful outbursts of violence in the form of battles, rapes and executions; it's just that there's much more about men and women going about their everyday lives, which is fascinating in itself.

Written over a longer period than it even takes to read the damn thing, Follett's masterpiece can seem like a bit of a chore at times, though its length is ultimately satisfying, and avoids the need to divide it into further books that would just be annoying. My main issue was one of consistency and balance, as each of the six parts occurs in a slightly different period of the characters' lives, but some of the leaps are too drastic. The sixth part in particular feels somewhat tagged-on and rushed, as twenty years flash past with little explanation outside of later back-references, and it seems that Follett wanted to age the characters to a convenient degree without the hassle of having to chronicle the further adventures of their humdrum lives, an attitude in conflict with the drawn-out style of the first five parts.

This gripe aside, the narrative is otherwise perfectly plotted, allowing the reader to accompany characters through their lives, from birth to death in some instances, and it's clear that Follett's reputation granted him a fair degree of freedom in writing the book he wanted, rather than one demanded by the publishers (the book that would ultimately become his biggest selling and most popularly acclaimed). Many of the events are delightfully mundane, while others are inspiring or horrific in their scope, and the author demonstrates a strong grasp of character psychology without crossing over into first-person indulgence.

This read was certainly a rewarding experience, not least in that I can never look at a cathedral in the same way again (and I'm probably accurate in guessing that I hang around ruins more than the average person). I was a little scared to realise that I'm already considering re-reading it in the future, but even attempting to tackle the recent, similarly intimidating sequel 'World Without End' would require a greater degree of motivation than I'm capable of right now.

Not exactly a light summer read, but a perfect book in which to absorb yourself over a long, harsh, unemployed winter, this was voted #33 by whoever exactly was responsible for the BBC's Big Read.

Summary: Ken Follett's epic historical novel set against the building of Kingsbridge Cathedral (1989).