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Jason Koivu's Reviews > The Pillars of the Earth
The Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge, #1)
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A monumental undertaking! An achievement to last the ages!
Want to know how it feels to build a cathedral? Read The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. By the time you're done reading this huge book you will feel as if you've spent the better part of your life hoisting brick and laying mortar.
The details are marvelous and intricate. Follett obviously did a lot of research in order to construct this mammoth book. This is reminiscent of Moby Dick in the minutia of its attention to detail. It acts almost as a blueprint or at least a treatise on the craft of construction.
Then there's the story, too. All around the base of this mammoth project is an intriguing and captivating love story. It's a strange sort of romance that'll sweep up most readers...sweep them up like a broom down a bowling alley lane. For me, it went on and on, and frankly, it dragged, which kinda killed the romance after a while.
The length of The Pillars of the Earth is perhaps a bit too long. I don't mind an epic, like the Russian classics, but this one exhausted me at times. Follett's publisher let him off the leash with this one and he ran with it as far as he could. After writing previous money-making books for his publisher on the promise that he would be allowed to create his baby, this behemoth known as The Pillars of the Earth was that baby, and it's a tubber!
Want to know how it feels to build a cathedral? Read The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. By the time you're done reading this huge book you will feel as if you've spent the better part of your life hoisting brick and laying mortar.
The details are marvelous and intricate. Follett obviously did a lot of research in order to construct this mammoth book. This is reminiscent of Moby Dick in the minutia of its attention to detail. It acts almost as a blueprint or at least a treatise on the craft of construction.
Then there's the story, too. All around the base of this mammoth project is an intriguing and captivating love story. It's a strange sort of romance that'll sweep up most readers...sweep them up like a broom down a bowling alley lane. For me, it went on and on, and frankly, it dragged, which kinda killed the romance after a while.
The length of The Pillars of the Earth is perhaps a bit too long. I don't mind an epic, like the Russian classics, but this one exhausted me at times. Follett's publisher let him off the leash with this one and he ran with it as far as he could. After writing previous money-making books for his publisher on the promise that he would be allowed to create his baby, this behemoth known as The Pillars of the Earth was that baby, and it's a tubber!
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Reading Progress
November 29, 2010
–
Started Reading
November 29, 2010
– Shelved
December 23, 2010
–
Finished Reading
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Matthias
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Sep 28, 2017 09:06AM
I once started this book and it sounded like a novelised soap opera. I should probably try it again and read some deeper into it. Nice review!
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Matthias wrote: "I once started this book and it sounded like a novelised soap opera. I should probably try it again and read some deeper into it. Nice review!"Thanks, Matthias. This is a revision of an old review from back in my snarkier days. I reread the review recently and felt it was too harsh and unbalanced, especially considering I liked the book and gave it 4 stars! But yeah, it does have that soap opera feel to it. But then again, so did Anna Karenina and I liked that well enough.
As far as the actual cathedral-building proper, I find that David Macaulay's Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction makes a fine companion to this book.
Matthias wrote: "I once started this book and it sounded like a novelised soap opera. I should probably try it again and read some deeper into it. Nice review!"No, you probably shouldn't! But I will agree with your last point - nice review, Jason!
Ɗắɳ 2.☊ wrote: "Matthias wrote: "I once started this book and it sounded like a novelised soap opera. I should probably try it again and read some deeper into it. Nice review!"No, you probably shouldn't! But I w..."
Lol, thanks
I encourage you to re-publish your "harsh and unbalanced" review - perhaps as a "downdate" of this one. As "romances" go, this one is indeed "strange". Some of those subplots have outrageous scenes in them. I like the riches-to-rags-to-riches subplot in particular. I was also very interested (and somewhat shocked) in how thuggish certain "nobles" were to others - essentially one could war against another without interference from their common overlord.
Follett obviously did a lot of research
This was my impression as well, but as a relative ignorant, I wondered how much of anachronistic stuff did Follett put in to "appeal" to us moderns. I once send an email about this - but got no reply from him or his minions.
It won't happen but it an illustrated edition came out, I'd get several copies. The architecture left me behind, especially the grand stuff - plans, elevations, renderings - I'd eat that up.
An annotated edition - same thing - especially as pertaining the to the political and the "micro" - how did the powerful and the meek live in the 12th Century.
