Book Review: The Pillars of the Earth

Historical fiction novel by Ken Follett, published 1989

Transports You Back in Time

I'm obviously several decades behind here, but I'm glad that I finally sat down to read Ken Follett's popular tome. Filled with everything that makes a historical fiction novel juicy, Follett easily transported me back to the 1100's with his beautifully crafted descriptions of the era.

Set in the fictional town of Kingsbridge, main characters Prior Phillip, Tom and Ellen, Jack and Aliena, and William and Bishop Waleran (and more!) are so well developed that I could picture them as clearly as if they were standing right in front of me. For example, “She was wilful, maddening, quarrelsome and intolerant, but somehow these things were trifling: there was a passion inside her that burned like a candle in a lantern, and it lit up his life.”

Their stories are wrought with the normal strife of the time such as starvation, torturous rulers and nearly constant wars between Kings. But there was also much love and growth, cunning, and acts of loyalty. With a story set in a such a tenuous period of history, each character's story provides depth to the plotline, while illustrating both the good and bad of humanity.

3 out of 5 Stars

Long novels have never bothered me, so at 1176 pages, The Pillars of the Earth didn't daunt me; however, my one real complaint is that Follett did indeed make this book too long. The overarching plotline that ties everyone together is the construction of the Kingsbridge Cathedral. I'm always interested to learn new things, so at first I was intrigued by all of the minute details of the architecture of the building. But a few hundred pages in I found myself skimming the paragraphs and even pages long descriptions of the building process and ultimate vision. Kudos to Follett for doing what was clearly an insane amount of research, but I do wish he'd not been so long-winded much of the time. That's the crux of why I am rating this a 3 star book. I'll definitely continue through the series though, but after a bit of a break.