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Jul 25, 2011

DeLaina rated it:

I devour books. That is my euphemism for being so OCD that I can't put it down and live my life until I finish it. For shorter books, that's generally not a problem, but for the 974 page Pillars of the Earth...well, let's just say we ran out of food, my children clung to my legs asking for food, and the floors did not get vacuumed for a good five days while I whittled away at this book.

CLIFF HANGER: This book is not a cliff-hanger at the end of every chapter kind of book, which makes i More...

23 comments like (145 people liked it)

Jan 15, 2011

Francine rated it:

I did not hate this book (hate would be too strong a word, and I can't hate it because I applaud the fact that Ken Follett attempted to write an epic novel). But I did not like it. I didn't like it from the start; his writing style hit me like a brick, but Jim thoroughly enjoyed the book that I kept trying to convince myself that I ought to give it a chance, hoping it would get better. When I was about 500 pages in, he saw how miserable I was and asked why I didn't just stop reading it, but a More...

25 comments like (111 people liked it)

Nov 18, 2007

amelia rated it:

This is seriously one of the worst books I've ever read. The only reason I finished the book is because I cannot put a book down once I start.

The writing is terrible. The plotting may be dramatic, but I had almost zero interest in any of the characters; they seem to exist merely for events to happen to them, like actors in a disaster movie. Beyond that there seemed to be three characters in the book: Bad guy, good guy, and good victimized-yet-able-to -overcome girl.

What g More...

62 comments like (124 people liked it)

May 10, 2008

Troy rated it:

Ahem.
"Pillars of the Earth" is a very long book. It's got a lot of soap-opera-like twists and turns - no amnesia, but just about everything else, including mistaken identities, illicit marriages, illicit lack of marriage, illegitimate children, questionable parentage, love triangles, revenge, greed, power, a few murders, rape, witches, politics, knights, swords and horsies. OK, that last bit is not so soap-opera-like. There's also lots and lots of architecture. And it's a ver More...

6 comments like (53 people liked it)

May 26, 2011

Michael rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

14 comments like (23 people liked it)

Nov 16, 2007

Patricia rated it:

Hmmm... a family relation lent me this book. I was mostly interested in what kind of books my particular relation was into. I think you can learn a lot about a person by reading their favorite books. I am actually a little disturbed. Yes you may call me a prude, but there was sex in it. I know what your thinking... thats not a shocker. But its not just sex... it is violent sex. It has several graphic rape scenes. And I have to admit violence to women frightens me.
I don't need that graphi More...

23 comments like (31 people liked it)

Mar 29, 2011

Fiona rated it:

Phew, finished!

I put this book of for so long that I'm angry I deprived myself of a good read for so many months. This is a book you can sit down, wrap yourself up in and exclude the rest of the world for a bit.

Follett is not a historical author, he usually writes thillers and this reflects in his style of writing. The sentences are short and almost clumsy, which after a while can be grating on your nerves. He has this habit of explaining everything to you as if you could More...

12 comments like (16 people liked it)

Jul 11, 2008

Jax rated it:

A massive tome with a spine thicker than Arnold Schwartzenegger’s forearm, Pillars looks intimidating enough to make even the most avid readers wary; its 973 pages are densely packed with unforgiving walls of 8-point text with nary a line break in sight. Before I was more than a hundred pages in, however, it became apparent that length was among the least of this behemoth of a book’s problems.

Follett's concept—a medieval, generation-spanning epic built around the construction of More...

12 comments like (56 people liked it)

Jul 27, 2010

Danny rated it:

(one minor spoiler ahead, reader beware...)

I started this book without too much expectation but between the self-congratulatory introduction that the author gave to his book and learning part way through that it had become an Oprah pick I must admit that I mentally raised the bar a bit.

Unfortunately, I found the book fell short...

I was very interested through about the first half of the book, it is clear that Follett writes thrillers in his other life and some More...

2 comments like (16 people liked it)

Mar 15, 2008

Kira added it

i can't stress enough how not good this book was. (everett says he likes it that i pan books, so he will be pleased with this review.)

where does one start when explaining what makes a piece of shit unpleasant? is it the smell? is it the origins? is it its inherent turdness?

this book is inherently a turd.

mr follett's preface says that people have told him it is the best book they have ever read, and i have to seriously question what they're comparing it to. sweet val More...

7 comments like (23 people liked it)

May 28, 2008

Tina rated it:

I finally finished this book and I loved it!!

The characters were interesting, flawed, and complex. The storyline was captivating, intricate, and exciting. I think that because the story was told from the point of view of many characters (5 or 6, I think), the author was able to show so much more of what was going on in many different places at the same time. Also, the length of the book allowed for a lot of time to pass (almost 50 years). I love how the author incorporated some a More...

3 comments like (27 people liked it)

Sep 05, 2011

jzhunagev rated it:

Historical Fiction at its Finest!
(A Book review of Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth)

First introduced to me as a 2007 book selection by the Oprah Book Club, The Pillars of the Earth remains of one Ken Follett’s bestselling books (so far) with an estimated 100, 000 copies sold every year in the United States alone, and is one of his works whom hordes of fans consider as his towering masterpiece. The novel has recently received worldwide recognition and has topped the charts More...

8 comments like (8 people liked it)

Jan 09, 2009

Michael rated it:

The duck swallows the worm, the fox kills the duck, the men shoot the fox, and the devil hunts the men.
-William Hamleigh, The Pillars of the Earth

This is probably the fifth review I've started for The Pillars of the Earth. The first thing you'll notice is that it's a long read, 900+ pages. Whenever I've attacked a book with similar length I've usually felt that the author was trying to impress me with his big phallic novel, as though the book were really about the size of the b More...

4 comments like (28 people liked it)

Sep 04, 2010

JG (The Introverted Reader) rated it:

To be very simplistic, The Pillars of the Earth is about building a cathedral in the twelfth century in England. But to say that would be doing this book a huge disservice. The building of the cathedral serves as a cornerstone to explore the lives of an intriguing cast of characters and how life was lived at that point in history.

I wasn't too sure what to expect going into this. I just had a vague idea that it was about building a cathedral, and let's face it: to a dedicated read More...

4 comments like (12 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Ashley rated it:

I loved this book for many reasons.

First, I loved the love stories in it. I loved Tom and Ellen's story most of all. It was sad that it happened so quickly after Agnes but it became so like as if they were meant to be together and it just so happened to fit all at the right time.

I loved Aliena's story too. I didn't like her at first cause she seemed so arrogant and all but after she and Richard lost everything, you started to get to know the real her and she was beauti More...

2 comments like (9 people liked it)

Nov 27, 2011

Daniel rated it:

When a book offers nearly 1,000 pages of story, I expect, at the least, an epic sweep to the proceedings. Characters of interest are nice; characters with depth--even better. Some insight into the world around us and its many complicated workings would get me thinking--and I really like a book that makes me think. A fully-realized literary landscape--one that takes the reader to a place that can only exist in the printed word--would overjoy me. Big books offer a big promise: check out my story, More...

16 comments like (13 people liked it)

Dec 20, 2011

Kay rated it:

How does one review a book that one cannot even describe?

So many times after gushing about how good Pillars was, people ask me, What’s it about?

And I, swirling in the happy cloud that is the aftermath of a mind so blown away that it’s still traveling near the speed of light in zero gravity space, struggle to gather what’s left of conscious analytical thinking and dumbly blurt, “Um, it’s about building this cathedral…”

That, ladies and gentlemen, is More...

9 comments like (8 people liked it)

Dec 04, 2008

Lucy rated it:

I hated this book. Let's just get that out of the way so there is no confusion later on.

Ken Follett describes a gloomy, dismal, nearly barbaric society whose citizens' greatest concerns seem to be their egos and their lust for power and control. He uses the building of the great European cathedrals as the impetus for his story; the magnificent structures were made possible through trickery, lies, greed, criminal acts and selfish ambition. Forget about the Glory of God...that's just h More...

9 comments like (23 people liked it)

Aug 20, 2008

Misfit rated it:

I know I'm going to be in the minority here, but this is truly one of the worst books I have ever read. I came so close to throwing the book across the room on several occasions, and ended up skipping through many pages just to get to the final and not too surprising finish.

The characters were flat and lifeless and seemed to have been transplanted from the 20th century into medieval England. The book was rife with unnecessary profanity that in no way enhanced the storyline and obsce More...

20 comments like (32 people liked it)

Oct 20, 2007

Penny rated it:

A novel set in England in the 12th century, spanning several decades while rival monarchs Stephen and Maud battle for the throne. There were things I really disliked about the book, other things I liked. To start with the negative -- I found the characters not particularly well developed (they tend to be either Good or Bad, little shading) and I just can't believe that society was quite so fluid as Follett would claim. The daughter of an Earl, even one in disrepute, is just not going to find her More...

3 comments like (10 people liked it)

Apr 14, 2009

Lindley rated it:

Ken Follett, best known for his novels of political espionage such as The Hunt for Red October and Patriot Games, steps into a new genre with his epic saga, The Pillars of the Earth. Set in England during the latter part of the 12th century, Pillars presents a sweeping tale of medieval feudal life. The story centers around Prior Philip, a sincere and devoted monk who desires to honor God through the building of a cathedral. The plethora of characters whose lives readers will follow incl More...

6 comments like (14 people liked it)

Jun 03, 2008

murph rated it:

Quality historical fiction. Lots of stonecrafting - with the occasional foray into softcore porn.

Ken Follett does a masterful job of creating a believable setting and populating it with believable male characters. The novel follows the construction of a cathedral in 12th century England.

Being shown how mind bogglingly difficult building a cathedral would have been - as well as its effect on the people who surround it - is the real pleasure of reading this book.

More...

2 comments like (8 people liked it)

Apr 30, 2008

Sajitha rated it:

The Pillars of The Earth is unlike any other book Ken Follett has written. So don’t judge it by the other books you have read. The book has more than 1000 pages (1335 to be exact) and as you start reading you shall understand why! It is an epic tale of love, hatred, friendship, passion, revenge, and human achievement.

There are wonderful characters with outstanding bravery, commitment, and passion. It makes you weep at misfortune and injustice. Sometimes you smile at the happy times an More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

May 06, 2008

Lianna rated it:

Toward the end of this 1000 page book I noticed the ad for the equally non-descript titled SEQUEL released 17 years after Pillars. This raises a lot of questions. What kind of author leaves his fans hanging for 17 years? Can there possibly be anything left unsaid after 1000 pages? Is this why Follett looks so smug on the back cover w/his black turtleneck?

Maybe in the sequel he'll explain why he couldn't find room in the story for Martha after age 6. She was my favorite character More...

7 comments like (19 people liked it)

Jan 10, 2008

Kanawinkie rated it:

Admittedly, I haven’t read any of Follett’s other works. In fact, I can’t say I’ve heard of him as an author before this. And really, I only decided to read this book because my mum practically pushed it into my lap and said “YOU NEED TO READ THIS!”
I do love myself a good piece of historical fiction though, so really, it wasn’t very difficult to convince me to read.

Also unusual for me, I read the forward by the artist that was in the beginning of the book. Usually I’ll skip things More...

0 comments like (9 people liked it)

Dec 26, 2007

Lauren rated it:

Even though Ken Follett's so-called "masterpiece" has received so much popular appraisal (like the sales-boosting membership to Oprah's Book Club), I have to say I don't really see the novel's appeal beyond some decent medieval research and adequate character development. Spanning the length of most of the 12th century, Pillars of the Earth is yet another epic novel that follows several generations of the same families, members of whom seem to be simple reincarnations of their ancesto More...

1 comment like (8 people liked it)

Apr 16, 2011

K.D. rated it:

One of the novels that I will always remember. The hardship that the characters experience got etched in my mind. I have read 4 other Ken Follet novels and no one equals the vivid description of the sceneries as what he did in this novel. I was particularly affected by the scene when Agnes gave birth and died around the snow-filled forest. I will keep this in my bookshelf forever.

3 comments like (7 people liked it)

Feb 27, 2008

Alesha rated it:

I loved this book. Even though it was almost 1,000 pages, it was definitely a page turner and it didn't take me long to get through it. I found myself transfixed with the characters and identifying with them. I wanted them to succeed as if they were real people. This is the best book I have read in a long time. I would highly recommend it to anyone enjoying historical fiction.

1 comment like (8 people liked it)

Aug 22, 2008

Susan rated it:

This book has been the best read I've had in a long time!! The characters are so well defined and the story line is simply amazing the way all the characters are weaved together into an intricate web that spans a generation. I had a difficult time putting this book down!

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

May 29, 2011

Stephen rated it:

6.0 stars. An absolutely amazing reading experience. This one may actually make it on to my "All Time Favorite" list. I listened to the audio version of this book, which means just over 40 hours of content, and when it was finished, I actually believed it should have been LONGER. This book grabbed me from the opening pages and kept me interested and engaged throughout the entire novel (a very rare feet for a 1000 page novel). With as much as I had heard about this book, I went into it More...

3 comments like (14 people liked it)

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