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Emily May's Reviews > The Pillars of the Earth
The Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge, #1)
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Look, it's difficult to explain exactly why I liked this book. Seriously, if you take a look at the blurb, note the 973 pages, and the fact it's a very long story about building a cathedral in Medieval England, you might think I've been smoking something. But for me - and I'm assuming for a large number of other readers - it was so damn compelling.
I'm going to get the crap out of the way first - if you are sensitive to scenes of rape, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK. Medieval England is a shitfest of misogyny, violence, accusations of witchcraft and, yes, rape. One of the scenes is especially disturbing and graphic; I actually had to take a break from the book after reading it.
I should say that it is not portrayed as a positive, or even a normal, thing. Scenes of rape and brutal violence in the book largely serve to make us despise William Hamleigh with a ferocious passion. It turns out that a deep, seething hatred can really keep you turning pages, waiting for that bastard to get what he rightly deserves.
Anyway, yes, the main plot is about the building of the fictional Kingsbridge cathedral. But, really, it is about all the characters that come into contact with Kingsbridge, its cathedral, and Prior Philip - their loves, desires, ambitions, conflicts and heartbreaks. I was pulled in from the very dramatic prologue when a young woman arrives at a hanging and curses the three men who guaranteed her beloved's execution.
There are love stories in here, as well as tales of ruthless ambition, and betrayal. Follett has created some incredible and unforgettable characters: Tom Builder, Philip, Ellen, Jack, Aliena, and Waleran Bigod. And, of course, that snivelling stain on humanity that is William Hamleigh.
I haven't read any of Follett's other work, but it is not surprising to hear he was a thriller writer before beginning The Pillars of the Earth. He has carried that with him into this story. Just when everything seems to be going right, some catastrophe happens to throw a spanner in the works. Just when it looks like Philip is going to succeed, some more shit happens. But it was an effective way to keep me looking over my shoulder.
It's a strange book because it's a bloody, heart-pounding page-turner wrapped up in a 900-page, serious-looking, cathedral-building package. Strange, and yet I find myself wanting more. I guess I'll have to read World Without End.
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by
“The most expensive part of building is the mistakes.”
Look, it's difficult to explain exactly why I liked this book. Seriously, if you take a look at the blurb, note the 973 pages, and the fact it's a very long story about building a cathedral in Medieval England, you might think I've been smoking something. But for me - and I'm assuming for a large number of other readers - it was so damn compelling.
I'm going to get the crap out of the way first - if you are sensitive to scenes of rape, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK. Medieval England is a shitfest of misogyny, violence, accusations of witchcraft and, yes, rape. One of the scenes is especially disturbing and graphic; I actually had to take a break from the book after reading it.
I should say that it is not portrayed as a positive, or even a normal, thing. Scenes of rape and brutal violence in the book largely serve to make us despise William Hamleigh with a ferocious passion. It turns out that a deep, seething hatred can really keep you turning pages, waiting for that bastard to get what he rightly deserves.
Anyway, yes, the main plot is about the building of the fictional Kingsbridge cathedral. But, really, it is about all the characters that come into contact with Kingsbridge, its cathedral, and Prior Philip - their loves, desires, ambitions, conflicts and heartbreaks. I was pulled in from the very dramatic prologue when a young woman arrives at a hanging and curses the three men who guaranteed her beloved's execution.
There are love stories in here, as well as tales of ruthless ambition, and betrayal. Follett has created some incredible and unforgettable characters: Tom Builder, Philip, Ellen, Jack, Aliena, and Waleran Bigod. And, of course, that snivelling stain on humanity that is William Hamleigh.
I haven't read any of Follett's other work, but it is not surprising to hear he was a thriller writer before beginning The Pillars of the Earth. He has carried that with him into this story. Just when everything seems to be going right, some catastrophe happens to throw a spanner in the works. Just when it looks like Philip is going to succeed, some more shit happens. But it was an effective way to keep me looking over my shoulder.
It's a strange book because it's a bloody, heart-pounding page-turner wrapped up in a 900-page, serious-looking, cathedral-building package. Strange, and yet I find myself wanting more. I guess I'll have to read World Without End.
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Comments Showing 1-50 of 73 (73 new)
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Daniel
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rated it 4 stars
Jun 11, 2017 06:01AM
I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this long, long book!!
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I just finished it. Curious about what you thought!
I love that you've tried a Follett book! I haven't read any of his thrillers, but I want to. Fall of Giants, about WWI, is my favorite historical fiction by him.
Oh, that book is so much fun!! You even forgive Follett for making his characters play football before it was invented! (seriously, with everything else that's going on, who cares?) World Without End was less compelling but still fun.
Don't miss the mini series!It's perfect!
I was seriously wondering about the football references near the end.
Squee, someone else I follow who loves this! Awesome!! :D It's still 112 on my TBR, but hopefully that means not too long now...! :D
World without End...the second book of the trilogy also awesome. The third one wasn't as captivating however it was still good.
I really enjoyed Follett's Century Trilogy and I'm excited to add this series to my TBR list! Great review!
Silvia wrote: "Oh, that book is so much fun!! You even forgive Follett for making his characters play football before it was invented! (seriously, with everything else that's going on, who cares?) World Without E..."Football was around in the middle ages! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieva... It was even around before that, but it wasn't called football.
Rachel wrote: "I love that you've tried a Follett book! I haven't read any of his thrillers, but I want to. Fall of Giants, about WWI, is my favorite historical fiction by him."Thanks for the rec! I'll add that too :)
I can certainly believe that the game, or at the very least, something like it was around.The term 'football' jarred me out of the setting for some reason.
It is probably silly, I just found it interesting that someone else noticed it too :)
Ginger wrote: "I can certainly believe that the game, or at the very least, something like it was around.The term 'football' jarred me out of the setting for some reason."
Yeah, it does feel like a modern term. At least he didn't use "soccer" XD
Lars wrote: "Great review."Thank you! :)
Excellent review! I read it years ago and couldn't put it down. The mini series is pretty good. He keeps the reader engaged and makes you forget the length which takes much skill.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it - I loved Pillars of the Earth, it was just so well written. Are you planning on reading World without end? It's a follow on to POTE, and is (in my opinion) really good as well. There's also a third book coming out at the end of the year.
Well the rape scenes really disturbed me... Because my teacher forced me to read this fucking book when I was 15 !!!!!! I didn't knew about the sex scenes, otherwise I wouldn't have read it. It's not that I don't like sex in books, but I wasn't mature enough for this.
Such a compelling review! I have had this on my shelves for a while, but I will sincerely give it a try this time. Thanks for your review Emily!
i don't think there's anything wrong with liking big books about building cathedrals though...
my mom has been telling me to read this for years don't i was completely uninterested, but i trust you so i might actually read it now...
Emily, I can see why you like the book so much. I haven't read it, but in 2010 I saw the Starz mini-series based on the book and I was hooked. I'll have to add the book to my need to read collection.
Oh boy, I've gone through a Ken Follet binge read some years ago - your compelling argument is on point! I don't really remember this series except that I've liked both books and was pretty stunned about it, lol. I enjoyed his historical series too (I've yet to read the last one, though) - we follow several families through WW1 and then WW2, and I've a thing for family sagas, so^^ Great review! Pretty curious to see what you will think of the others :)
Sounds like a book I read about a cathedral being built, but without all the drama that yours has.
Oh my gosh, my 9th grade Honors English teacher convinced me to read this when I was 13 and I was instantly blown away! I've read it a few times since then in my 20s and it never fails to be just as compelling as that first time! Such a crazy book and absolutely beautifully written. I think it's about time for another reread!
And by the way, World Without End is veeery similar to Pillars in many ways, but is great on its own merits also!
You have to read World without end!!! Loved both books!
I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book too - towards the beginning there's a detailed chapter on the politics of the monastery and it was just fascinating! The mini-series is excellent too, I'd recommend it if you get a chance. I enjoyed World Without End (book and mini-series) just as much, it's definitely worth checking out. There's a third one out soon which I'm very excited about!
Emily frankly saying i have not read anyone over here, you are the first one.. m reading..
Yes! I loved this book!! It's exactly as you describe. I have World Without End on my to-read-stack for a few years now, but I want to take my time reading it :)
I loved the miniseries! Is the book just as good or is it better?
Totally agree. This book is great!
Damn. I was totally looking forward to reading this book, but rape is a huge trigger for me. Damn.
I am 13 and I adore this book! I read World Without End age 12 and thought is was incredible and almost prefer it to TPOTE but I love them both. Quite graphic at some points but they don’t take away the immense joy of the rest of the novel! Read these books!!!!
Always appreciate your reviews. This was already in my to-read but I have so much for motivation to move it up to the top of the list now!!
I have become a real Ken Follett fan. Although some of his books I have read have been exceptionally violent, including rape, I choose to skip those passages as much as possible. That takes away something I know but works for me. I’ve read several of his books and plan to read all of them eventually. I find many of them long and deep so I intersperse other writers along the way. This is my first post so I don’t know if I’ve done it correctly. Someone please let me know if I’ve done something wrong, or better yet, correctly. Thanks
This is my 2nd Ken Follet read. Frankly, this one is getting a tad bit slow as a read. I personally think that the drama is getting a bit too prolonged and taking away from the joy of a fast paced read. William and his seething violence sometimes gets unnecessary attention and is slowing down the storyline. I am a little over the mid way mark and now facing Princess Maud, waiting to see how this eventually unfolds. At this point of the read I wish we could loose some pages... 😌 having said that, I have the next in the series lined up and really excited to devour the book. A column of fire so far has been my best read of Follet. Got to see how Fall of Giants paces up. As for The Pillars of the Earth, I am having to motivate myself to complete the read!
My bad - World without End - and not Fall of Giants! 😳
Suhael wrote: "This is my 2nd Ken Follet read. Frankly, this one is getting a tad bit slow as a read. I personally think that the drama is getting a bit too prolonged and taking away from the joy of a fast paced ..."That's interesting-- I actually had the opposite experience! :) The Pillars of the Earth was my favourite and I thought Column of Fire was just okay. But I noted how Follett's style changed a lot between PotE and CofF, so I can definitely see how someone could love one and be disappointed in the other. They feel like works of different authors.
This book looks excellent I can't wait to read! Thankss for the reviews, Em!^¬^ They are always extremely helpful whhenn deciding what to read. ^_^
I loved Follett all through High School. One of my favorite of his books is The Eye of the Needle. You should check it out.
Perfectly said review! Yes, compelling is the right word.
I'm reading this now and I think your review got me even more excited! Also, loving the writing style so far :)
1. Glad to see i wasn't the only one who wondered about the football reference. I imagined a game of soccer, kicking the ball around, but... still. Seemed like an anachronism. 2. The hanging at the end was not satisfying/fulfilling. It should have lasted as long as the first rape scene, at least.
I second everything in your review 🙋😊
Hey dude, thanks for warning about the rape scenes. I really wanted to read this but it’s best if I don’t. You totally saved me right there! 👍
I feel the same!!!! This book is so brilliant. Iam our hunting for world without end
Thanks for the warning to sensitive readers. You saved me some heartache.
Oh-and if we’re talking about disturbing scenes, I just had to skip over several pages of animal abuse. Yea, it happened; still is. It’s still worth every second of the book. Just skip these parts! It’s not going to leave you wondering what happened.
