From the Bookshelf of The Dusty Bookshelf…

The Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge, #1)

Ken Follett

Start date: February 14, 2012

Why we're reading this: I've seen this book around & been wanting to read it for a very long time. The idea of a book based aroun…more
[close] I've seen this book around & been wanting to read it for a very long time. The idea of a book based around the building of a cathedral really intrigues me, having two main cathedrals that I've always loved to walk around and admire (in a purely architectural admiration).

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

No group discussions for this book yet.

What Members Thought

Jan 04, 2012 Hayley Stewart rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, hayley-dusty-bookshelf

Full review can be seen here

This book was first described to me as a soap opera with a cathedral being the main character, and that person was spot on. This is mainly set in a fictional town of Kingsbridge (there are several towns of that name in Britain but none in the location described) and it's surrounding areas.

Set in the 12th Century the prologue opens with the disastrous sinking of the White Ship, carrying King Henry I's only son, William along with a large entourage of the royal court. T Full review can be seen here

This book was first described to me as a soap opera with a cathedral being the main character, and that person was spot on. This is mainly set in a fictional town of Kingsbridge (there are several towns of that name in Britain but none in the location described) and it's surrounding areas.

Set in the 12th Century the prologue opens with the disastrous sinking of the White Ship, carrying King Henry I's only son, William along with a large entourage of the royal court. This death eventually threw the question of succession into dispute and led to years of civil war between two cousins, Stephen and Matilda, as the idea of Henry's daughter, Matilda, ruling was not yet accepted by the ruling lords and barons.

After the prologue we are introduced to Tom Builder and his family and immediately we are shown that he is a man of principle - for himself and the people who work for him. This may not be the best thing, a peasant standing up to the son of an Earl, but it helps show the character of both Tom and the Earl's son William Hamleigh and introduces the reader to the way this novel is going to go.

Follett introduces us to characters slowly and through chapters written in their own point of view, taking his time to weave all the separate stories together until you suddenly see it connect with a flash of realisation. This slow build up may seem tiresome at first and encourage you to put the book down and walk away but please don't as it builds up, connects together and I found the switch between the points of view as a good thing, it kept me reading through the slower parts.

With the obvious distinction between good and bad it is difficult for the reader to make their own mind up about the characters as Follett doesn't seem to believe in shades of grey too much, if a good person does something bad it is always justified and a bad person only does something good if it's an accidental repercussion of an attempt at a bad deed. Now, with a book like this, I don't mind that too much as the story itself allows this to flow into the background whilst the turbulent storylines and plot twists take centre stage.

This book is definitely an epic and I would suggest putting aside a full week or two so that you can really get into the descriptions and character depths. It isn't the sort of thing you can pick up, flick through a couple of pages and then move on to do something else but it is well worth the time to pick up. ...more

Like · see review