false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165517379m/5043.jpg 5043 99 Ken Follett had long been a staple of the bestseller lists for his novels of intrigue and espionage. Then came The Pillars of the Earth, a grand novel of epic storytelling that readers and critics quickly hailed as his crowning achievement. Now, The Pillars of the Earth is available for the first time to a new audience of readers, in this attractive new trade paperback edition. In 12th-century England, the building of a mighty Gothic cathedral signals the dawn of a new age. This majestic creation will bond clergy and kings, knights and peasants together in a story of toil, faith, ambition and rivalry. A sweeping tale of the turbulent middle ages, The Pillars of the Earth is a masterpiece from one of the world's most popular authors. "A novel of majesty and power...Will hold you, fascinate you, surround you." --Chicago Sun-Times "A towering tale...There's murder, arson, treachery, torture, love, and lust...A good time can be had by all." --New York Daily News "Touches all human emotions...truly a novel to get lost in." --Cosmopolitan An enjoyable historic thriller, well told. A mystifying puzzle involving the execution of an innocent man, the erection of a magnificent cathedral, romance, rivalry, murder, arson, lust, and love. Set in 1135 England. Tells the story of Philip, prior of Kingsbridge, a devout and resourceful monk driven to build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has known... of Tom, the mason who becomes his architect - a man divided in his soul...of the beautiful, elusive Lady Aliena, haunted by a secret shame...and of a struggle between good and evil that will turn church against state and brother against brother. 3359698 book 1989 The Pillars of the Earth total:35412|5:15808|4:11694|3:5387|2:1679|1:844| 35412 146179 52594 8373 1 52 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Sun Nov 18 12:03:30 -0800 2007 Sun Nov 18 12:12:37 -0800 2007
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 even...more...]]> 4 32 false false Tue Mar 04 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Mar 17 10:05:35 -0700 2008 Sat May 10 19:39:21 -0700 2008 "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...more...]]> 1 34 false false Wed Jul 30 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Dec 27 11:49:37 -0800 2007 Thu Jul 31 15:45:03 -0700 2008 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 ke...more...]]> 5 34 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 28 09:56:52 -0700 2008 Wed Feb 25 02:32:59 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 15 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Nov 12 18:19:46 -0800 2007 Fri Nov 16 08:48:45 -0800 2007 more...]]> 1 23 true false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Jul 11 19:11:31 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 11 19:24:10 -0700 2008 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...more...]]> 0 13 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Mar 15 16:24:01 -0700 2008 Sat Mar 15 16:35:24 -0700 2008
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 b...more...]]> 5 11 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jan 28 06:57:06 -0800 2008 Wed May 28 14:34:23 -0700 2008
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...more...]]> 1 12 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 28 11:18:50 -0700 2008 Mon Jan 19 21:37:19 -0800 2009
So what's it about? A master builder wanders medieval England looking for work. He's with his family--pregna...more...]]> 5 14 false false Fri Jan 09 11:43:06 -0800 2009 Thu Jun 26 06:47:13 -0700 2008 Fri Jan 09 11:43:06 -0800 2009 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...more...]]> 2 10 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 22 19:52:19 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 19 20:06:37 -0800 2009
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. ...more...]]> 4 6 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Jul 03 18:53:53 -0700 2007 Sun Aug 05 01:14:57 -0700 2007
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.
...more...]]> 1 11 false false Sat Nov 15 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 10 11:06:21 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 04 10:57:40 -0800 2008
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...more...]]> 1 12 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed Aug 20 14:22:05 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 20 14:22:56 -0700 2008
The characte...more...]]> 3 6 false false Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2001 Sat Oct 20 15:30:56 -0700 2007 Sat Oct 20 15:53:35 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 5 false false Mon Apr 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Dec 07 13:36:44 -0800 2008 Sun Apr 26 21:52:44 -0700 2009 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 w...more...]]> 5 7 false false Tue Apr 14 11:11:50 -0700 2009 Wed Nov 19 10:39:02 -0800 2008 Tue Apr 14 11:11:50 -0700 2009 2 more...]]> 3 5 false false Fri May 30 07:07:33 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 03 08:16:49 -0700 2008
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....more...]]> 4 4 false false Thu Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Wed Apr 30 02:52:12 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 30 22:50:32 -0700 2008 more...]]> 1 8 false false Sat May 03 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Feb 15 11:36:39 -0800 2008 Tue May 06 13:42:59 -0700 2008 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=5043