“Having faith in God didn’t mean sitting back and doing nothing.”

I have never read a book so imbued in the power of faith and its effect on fate. I am not a steadfast believer in “what will be, will be”, but Follett does a masterful job of proving me wrong. It’s strange; certain acts are perpetrated, people make rash decisions, but nothing ever turns out the way they want. FATE
Some of the characters do really well for themselves and then are just constantly shat on FATE some seem to be constantly tested FATE and one man no matter what constantly prays
My emotions haven’t been riled up by a book this much in ages. My poor dear friend had to read a litany of texts from me berating the author on a nightly basis.
One sticking point is the ending wrap-up. I think it plays with history too much. I understand why this plot twist was necessary. But it just rubbed me wrong for some reason. Through the book I felt like the historical aspects were really there as a crutch or slight framework, well except for Bigod, but Bigod was made to be the perfect villain. The ending was thrown in my face.
Regardless this was an excellent book. I just can’t read Book Two yet. My blood pressure is still high.

https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

Iga Świątek made me do it

The Pillars Of The Earth is a curious beast. Before writing this review, I read a few reviews others have posted, specially those who had rated it one star. This book made me miserable and provided me with a fleeting enjoyment, probably a feeling associated with junkies. Unlike most long books, I can't fault Follet for stretching out his story with filler and padding. In fact, most of my decision for rating the book 4 stars comes from the fact that most chapters feel integral to the book.

The major divergence with many fans is what is balefully called the collateral damage generally, in the book. There is too much suffering. The numbers are only partly the reason for my distaste. It's not also that true justice and ample revenge was late in coming - in my opinion it never did - it's also the senselessness of the violence. The fact that we're supposed to shrug this off and put our onus on the main characters' particular saga against William Hamleigh intensified this malaise. This reminded me of bloody books of the YA genre that I've read. Exampli Gratia would be the 5th Wave, where most of humanity was wiped out in days and civilization was uprooted like that. To temper the blow of savagery, maybe, the character Jack, in the presence of the monk Phillip is made to wonder about reality in the future, where everything would be better. Allow me to scoff.

This book possesses flaws from both the grimmest of realistic books, and the fluffiest of escapist ones. The suffering goes on and on, more than the hanging scenes - or rather scenery - in the Game Of Thrones books. But the invincibility of the main characters in such a feral environment, the serendipitous pairing of the two major personages, Jack and Aliena, the fulfillment of a desperate oath, the selective trait whereby most of the good guys have a high IQ, the parable like twist where the wicked are undone by the very victims they helped populate, all of this result in a book that I don't like. The reasons of my respect for this book are themselves quite unsound. The ease of the writing, the uncomplicated, two dimensional characters, and the suspenseful exposure to danger between such characters are what made me feel hypocritical to rate the book 2 stars. That's a rating I would give, but I cannot ignore the reluctant pleasure the book gave me. It's a book I will never ever touch, as it's one in a long line of disillusionment and disappointments in my recent experiences as a reader. I celebrate, hail, and acknowledge the reviews of people who have rated the book one star, and I envy their immunity to the rural and cynical charms of it.

First thing to say....Richard E Grant is a fantastic narrator. There was not a single squirmingly awful accent....Derek Jacobi take note. His women characters were not voiced by men doing silly soppy voices as if that communicated woman but were voiced in such a way that you believed the characterization and it did not jar as inane, patronizing or laughable. He communicated tension and horror, sadness and despair, injustice and vengeance, adoration and admiration, grief and fear and frustration and so many other emotions and all without over dramatizing. Full marks Richard.

The story itself is fascinating. In a nutshell, it is the story of the building of a Cathedral in Kingsbridge and the way the village clustered around the small priory there gradually grows into a town and then a small city and then a thriving urban centre and the way the fortunes of the town and its inhabitants wax and wane through the long disastrous reign of the usurper king Stephen and his battle with the rightful but ignored monarch Matilda or Maud on into the reign of her son King Henry II and his battles with the ecclesiastical powers of the Medieaval Church and Thomas a Becket. Alongside these national and more historically significant encounters, we have the ebb and flow of the lives of any number of people ranging from the Prior of the Monastery from which the Cathedral grows and his rival Bishop, an underhanded shite if ever there was one, through the aristocrats both great and small who buzz and twitch around the story down the various levels of society grazing past Master Builders and Merchants, Troubadours and Artists to the lowly serf-like peasantry and even touching upon a robber or two. The cast of characters is impressive and yet Follett manages to keep every plate spinning quite wonderfully.

He seems to time perfectly when to bring a minor character back into the frame to keep our sense of the wider life of Kingsbridge bustling on. The enormity of the battles and alliances happening on the wider stage are cleverly interweaved and the dramatic use of a Forrest Gumplike appearance by Prior Philip, and one of the other main characters, at the murder of Thomas a Becket is clever and not in any way as annoying as Gump.

He teeters along the tightrope of OTT love interests but, IMHO, never quite falls off either side whether into the river of vomit-making sentimentality or into embarrassingly badly written porn. It is a story that sweeps you along, characters are real and believable, and here I feel i ought to almost put in a spoiler alert of some kind because i am straying into major cliche territory, but the Cathedral itself, in its long journey to completion, stands as a major character in the whole work. Follett describes magnificently the way the Church is built, the influences on its design and describes in a truly fascinating way the development of different techniques and actions which enabled the various artisans and architects to build this incredible Chucrh.

One little caveat in my hymn of praise might be that coincidence and overly convenient incidents have a tendency to feature perhaps a tad too much. This enables the story to move on, for characters to re-enter the story they appeared to have left for good but dare i say it smacked a little of lazy writing.

Having mentioned that little whinge I would say this was a wonderful read and I have already begun listening in the car to the next story of kingsbridge. This one is set 200 years later so none of the characters remain the same except, of course, for the Cathedral.

✅ Fleshed-out characters
✅ Complex storyline
✅ Villains (Oh how I hate William Hamleigh!)
✅ World-building
✅ Details
✅ So many things happened!

n  n    “Having faith in God did not mean sitting back and doing nothing. It meant believing you would find success if you did your best honestly and energetically.”n  n

The year is 1123, as a red-haired man is accused of thievery and condemned to death by a knight, a monk, and a priest, his pregnant lover curses the three accusers. The consequences of their actions might not occur right this moment, but their children will hang, their enemy will prosper, and after that, they will spend the rest of their life with sorrow and regrets and only themselves to blame.

Well, Ken Follet made me fall in love with a 974 pages book about the building of a medieval cathedral... I'm not sure how it happened, but I'm glad I gave this book a chance!

While the pace is quite slow for most of the book and it's quite a long book, I couldn't stop reading it! It is a roller coaster of emotions, I felt hatred for some characters, joy, and sadness, it was truly a delightful read. There are love stories in this book, as well as betrayal, revenge, and ambitious projects moved forward by great minds.

Character development is most definitely one of Follet's strengths and it is amazingly done in this book. The characters are fleshed out with their very own personality, motivations, and flaws. Since the book is long we get the chance to really know them and to get attached to them, even the evil ones, I just love to hate them. I like that no character is all good and pious, they're all a mix of good and bad (or good and less good) as we all are in real life. There is a very good representation of rich and poor, narrow-minded and openly loving, big hearts and small minds. I really LOVED the cast of this book.

The backstories of the characters are well integrated into the flow of the book, there is no info-dump, and the foreshadowing is also very well done. There are hints that are dropped as the story goes on, but it's never too obvious as if the reader needed everything to be very very well explained in detail to understand what's coming. Eventually, everything connects and we can see the bigger picture, and see how the characters all seem to be connected to each other, even the ones that appeared to have nothing in common and no connection at all. It's all about the actions and consequences of their actions and decisions.

n  n    Nevertheless, the book gave Jack a feeling he had never had before, that the past was like a story, in which one thing led to another, and the world was not a boundless mystery, but a finite thing that could be comprehended. n  n

The beautiful thing about this book is that EVERYTHING has a purpose. Something that happened in the third chapter can have repercussions at p.850. The storyline is so complex, it is amazing that it feels so smooth and that it flows so well.

n  n    “You never know," Jack said speculatively. "There may come a time when savages like William Hamleigh aren't in power; when the laws protect the ordinary people instead of enslaving them; when the king makes peace instead of war. Think of that - a time when towns in England don't need walls!”n  n

Even though this book is dark and full of frustration, misery, and even despair sometimes, I absolutely loved it, and I felt that through everything, the characters still held hope. Hope for a better future, hope because, in the end, some of the good characters triumphed, hope because they chose to keep believing and to keep hoping.


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Un Influencer real, un transgresor, alguien que hace y habrá hecho mucho por la humanidad y el conocimiento. Ken Follett es uno de los autores MERECIDAMENTE más exitosos del mundo. Más de 170 millones de copias de los 36 libros que ha escrito se han vendido en más de 80 países y en 33 idiomas.

Madre mía….

El libro trata el tema de la intriga, las conspiraciones, algo de esoterismo (en mi opinión) y las particularidades técnicas y secretismos de ciertos gremios/hermandades. Explora el desarrollo de la arquitectura medieval, la guerra civil, los conflictos seculares / religiosos y las lealtades y alianzas políticas cambiantes y en detrimento de la vida y las necesidades de los pobres.

Sí, querido amigo/a, siempre ha sido así y lo seguirá siendo, dejémonos de romanticismo, idealismos y sus derivados subjetivos.

Esta historia se lee con “comodidad” ya que la prosa del autor es fácil, ligera y sencilla y llanamente, bella. Te teletransporta a la etapa medieval en un chasquido de dedos, y aunque la caracterización de los personajes no es profunda ni especiales en demasía, es lo suficiente como para que les conozcas y les pongas la cara. Así que no te pongas a buscar la “caracterización” de los personajes, como tal.

El libro me enganchó, y aunque sea un tocho y cuando lo miras asusta, se lee rápido. Tb los hay más extensos.

Si deseas conocer un poco más allá de lo que te muestra la belleza arquitectónica de una catedral, lo que se oculta detrás de cada piedra, muro, arco ojival, puerta, ornamentación, etc, “échale un ojo” a las páginas de este libro… merece la pena.

Set in twelfth-century England, The Pillars of Earth is an epic tale of remarkably unforgettable characters in pursuit of building the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has ever known. As simple as the plot may sound, the novel offered more than what it appeared to have.

This is the best Historical Fiction I've read as of today. This gigantic piece of treasure didn't seem that huge while I was reading it. I'm serious when I say that this even felt shorter than some 300+ pages novel I've read. The whole novel was compelling, and if I weren't in my final week of exams, I would've finished this in 2 days the longest. I didn't want to put this amazing thing down, even during the time wherein I had to study for my Organic Chemistry finals. I chose to read a few more chapters of this instead of studying. I've never made that sacrifice before, so that says a lot about this novel.

So the biggest question is, what's there to love about The Pillars of the Earth? All I can say before you read on would be that obviously this review will be opinionated. If you hated the novel, then too bad for you. I didn't go around and bash people who gave a negative review of this just because they voiced out their opinion. Now, on to the review.

Am I seriously the only one who felt like I was sort of reading A Game of Thrones? Yes, they're both epics, and maybe that's why they're similar in some ways. I'm not saying anything about copying and all, what I'm trying to say is that I enjoyed this as much as A Game of Thrones. Both books were gigantic, yet once you started reading them, you won't even notice that you're halfway done with it. and that's a sign of an amazing novel.

Characters
ALL   of the characters were unforgettable in their own ways, in this novel. No matter how much I hated them, I will always remember them because each character played a role to make this novel amazing.

Let's talk about the bad characters.

William Hamleigh just made it to my list of hated characters of all time. Not hated in a way that I hated the novel, but in a way that he was an awful character, and that contributed to the greatness of the novel. Who would like this piece of shit who did nothing but rape women, and try to cheat his way to the throne? All I'm saying is, the author surely wanted to make him look bad, and he really did. He started as a really strong asshole, but in some parts we see that he's afraid of damnation in hell? He can rape and murder with no guilt, but a few holy words spurted at him made him weak? That's doesn't seem consistent. Once again I'm not saying it was a bad thing, all I'm saying is that William's a fucking pig.

Alfred is another piece of shit that I hated. He's like a mini version of William, only just as cowardly. He also raped women, and beat his brother I don't wanna end up putting everything in a spoiler tag, so I said brother. I obviously meant step-brother. up, just because he could. He's bigger and stronger, and he felt the urge to show that to everyone. All I can say is Karma will surely bite his fat ass one way or another.

I didn't really hate any other character, but Prior Philip actually faltered off after about 75% of the novel. He wasn't as likeable as he was in the beginning. He started making weird decisions, and I began to question his reputation in the novel.

Good characters
Tom Builder of course. He's sort of the main character here, but this novel being an epic, I believe each character should be considered as a main character. He's the strongest character of all, for me at least. I really liked the decisions he made throughout the novel. The only questionable thing he did was  leaving the baby, Jonathan. Yes, they were out of food and Jonathan would've probably died, but I still don't see it as moral to leave the baby there in the forest. . Tom had a dream of building the best cathedral, and he will do no matter what to build it.  Why the fuck did he have to die? Or, let me rephrase that, why the fuck did he have to die like that? His skull being crushed? The author gave him such a harsh faith.

Aliena and Jack. I really liked both of them a lot. Aliena for looking out for her brother, Richard. Jack on the other hand, for looking out for himself. I honestly can't go into detail without spoiling, so I'll just do several spoiler tags.
Jack defended himself as best as he could from Alfred. Even when he thought Alfred was gone in the latter part of the novel, Alfred still came back and made Jack's life miserable. I mean, Alfred married Aliena for the sole purpose of making Jack furious for pete's sake. William also raped Aliena when she was stilla virgin. Just thought that I should write that as to remember it in the future.

Aliena and Jack's relationship had to be one of the most realistic ones out there. Most relationships in books are very forced, but theirs was not. It felt quite natural, even their hardships were not unbelievable. I really liked that about them.

So I'm not going to go more into detail about the characters because I'm sure I'm gonna spoil something to you guys. To wrap things up about the characters, all of them were amazing. I didn't even made mention of a few notable ones, because if I did I'd have to explain where they came from and I'll be ruining the novel for you guys.

The plot, once again, was supposedly very simple. It's all about building a cathedral, and presenting complications while doing so. Yes, that's what happened in the novel, but once you get attached to the characters, you'll want to know what would happen to them. A lot of shocking things happened in the middle. You'll have to read to experience the amazing ride this novel gave me. All I can ask the author is, why did he give some of the characters such terrible outcomes? Honestly all the rapes that happened didn't really bother me as much as it did to the others. I took it in as something that was really evident in the medieval times. Why curse the author for trying to make the novel as spot on as it should be. I know that it's not something that's moral, but this is a novel, I don't think people should be complaining about it as much. It's not advertising rape, but rather the novel even condemned the shameful act. What happened to those rapists in the novel truly served them right.

This was not really about building the cathedral alone, but rather to what extent could good and evil dominate the people. A lot of wars and political issues were present in this novel. I really wasn't expecting those things, but I'm really glad they were there. Not only did it give depth to the plot, but it also added to the enjoyment I experience while reading the novel. An epic is an epic, and Pillar's is the perfect example of a great one.

n  n    Even the most ruthless people have some scruples, ultimately. n  n

n  n    The pity of his enemies was the most humiliating of all. n  n

To end this review, before I spoil anything, go ahead and read this novel. The size surely is unappealing at first, but once you start reading this, you'll only notice that you haven't been productive because you were too busy finishing it. 5/5 stars, and it possibly claimed the top spot of my favorites list. The best novel I've read as of now, alongside some of the novels of A Song of Ice and Fire. An easy and clear recommendation to anyone.

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!

Πριν ξεκινήσω να διαβάζω το βιβλίο αυτό, δυσκολευόμουν να φανταστώ τι το τόσο ιδιαίτερο μπορεί να έχει μια ιστορία που περιστρέφεται γύρω από το χτίσιμο ενός καθεδρικού ναού στη μεσαιωνική Αγγλία, σε σημείο το βιβλίο να αποσπά τόσο διθυραμβικές κριτικές και να έχει κάνει τόσο ντόρο.
Επιπλέον, για μένα, όλα τα βιβλία αυτού του είδους (ιστορική φαντασία στο μεσαίωνα) έχουν και το μειονέκτημα ότι μπαίνουν στη ζυγαριά απέναντι στο ανυπέρβλητο Το όνομα του ρόδου.

Κι όμως...
Η ιστορία είναι συναρπαστική, η γραφή εξαιρετική και οι χαρακτήρες είναι πολύ καλά δομημένοι.
Επίσης, ο τρόπος με τον οποίο εξελίσσεται η πλοκή, κάνει τον αναγνώστη να μην μπορεί να αφήσει το βιβλίο στο τέλος των κεφαλαίων αλλά να θέλει να συνεχίσει και στο επόμενο, ώστε να δει "τι θα γίνει παρακάτω".

Βέβαια, όπως νομίζω ότι έχω ξαναγράψει, η επιτυχία στη "βιομηχανία" του βιβλίου - η οποία δεν διαφέρει σε τίποτα από αντίστοιχες βιομηχανίες θεάματος όπως ο αθλητισμός και ο κινηματογράφος - εξαρτάται από πολλούς παράγοντες, οι περισσότεροι εκ των οποίων δεν μπορούν να ελεγχθούν, με το σημαντικότερο να είναι η τύχη.
Και σίγουρα το βιβλίο αυτό, δεν θα έφτανε στο σημείο να θεωρείται τόσο σημαντικό ανάγνωσμα - ειδικά σε σχέση με άλλα βιβλία του είδους - αν δεν είχε την ώθηση όλου αυτού του συστήματος που ονόμασα βιομηχανία του βιβλίου. Και βέβαια κυρίως αν δεν είχε τύχη.

Σε κάθε περίπτωση, ξαναλέω ότι είναι ένα ανάγνωσμα που αξίζει, ως μια πολύ ωραία ιστορία που καθηλώνει, παρά το μέγεθός της.

n  Watch my video review by clicking here.n

Somehow a book about building a cathedral is one of the best, most thrilling, and darkest books I've ever read.

Nigdy nie bawiłem się lepiej obserwując, jak ktoś stawia cegłę na cegle.
I to przez 40 lat.
Recenzja: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyXH1...

I loved this book! It is one of my favorites.

This really is an EPIC book set in twelfth century England. How can a book about building the largest Gothic cathedral be so goods? Because it is also a story about good vs. evil and brother vs. brother. This book comes down to people. People who build, people with tremendous faith, people who are corrupt, people who love, people who cheat, people who lie, people who tell the truth. In essence it comes down to people being people in a time that was harsh, where harsh rules were in place, where class divided people, where religion was often law, where hard work really was HARD work. I could go on and on.

Tom Builder wants to build a Cathedral. But where will he get the funds? Who will hire him? What hoops must he jump through?

Philip Prior, raised in a Monastery finds himself drawn in and tries to always put the interest of the church first. The politics of it all.

This book is HUGE. Do mot let that stop you from reading it. It is HUGE but rewarding and beautiful. The writing is beautiful and spellbinding. There are a lot of characters. There is a lot going on, but with that, I did not feel overwhelmed or like any part of the story took away from another. It takes a community and lots of people to build such a Cathedral. It does not happen overnight and we see these characters through it all.

I was captivated and engrossed in this book. I feel that my review of this book is not enough. I don't know how to say how much I enjoyed this book. There is a lot of history here and I imagine a lot of research took place prior to writing this book.

In short, this book is 100% worth the effort. I found it did not take me long to finish it. I did not want to put it down. The beauty in this book is the writing, the characters and the character development. Would I have ever thought I would love a book about building a cathedral? NO! But Follett hit it out of the ballpark with this one. Sometimes the right story paired with beautiful writing can make any subject interesting, moving, affecting and a pleasure to read.

Highly recommend.

See my other reviews on www.openbookpost.com