The Pillars of the Earth

Written by Ken Follett

973 pages

Published by New American Library

Review by Edgar James Rice

Receives:

Oprah’s book club pick The Pillars of the Earth is an historical fiction winner for many reasons. Ken Follett, primarily known for his thrillers, takes a completely different turn in this page-turning novel; and it’s a good thing this is a page-turning novel because there are 973 pages to turn. But the depth of historical information about life in 12th century England, the era of battles for the crown and the building of cathedrals, is alone worth the price of the book. We learn brick by brick how cathedrals were constructed and what life was like in the villages and towns for lay people, builders, and monks as we see characters come to life in this epic novel.

I admit that the novel started slowly for me and I was not entirely enraptured with the first hundred pages or so, which is why I give the novel four quills instead of five. The story begins following the character Tom Builder, a man who struggles to find work as a builder (hence his surname) while he continues to dream of creating a cathedral. At first work of any kind eludes him, but finally after much heartache he begins to work towards his dream. But I am a fan of Follett’s thrillers and I trusted his writing enough to stick with the story, and sure enough, as more interesting characters were introduced (the good Prior Phillip and the conniving Hamleighs, among others) the story picked up its pace by adding plot twists and turns on nearly every page and I finished the rest of the novel, all 800 pages of it, in a few short days. In The Pillars of the Earth Follett weaves several intertwining stories together in an unforgettable landscape which seems as true as the world we inhabit in our real lives. With love interests, betrayals, and fascinating intrigues told against the backdrop of 12th century England with simple, straightforward yet descriptive prose, The Pillars of the Earth is a fast-paced, entertaining romp through a time in history we do not read much about. Fans of Ken Follett will enjoy this novel, though I recommend it for anyone who enjoys historical epics rich with period detail, believable characters, and fascinating plot twists. ______________________________________________________________

Edgar James Rice is a writer from Ann Arbor, Michigan. He is currently writing his first historical novel.