- Paperback: 1104 pages
- Publisher: Pan Books; New edition edition (8 Oct 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0330391984
- ISBN-13: 978-0330391986
- Product Dimensions: 17.7 x 11.1 x 5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (407 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 941,619 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Pillars of the Earth
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Product Description
Review
"'A historical saga of such breadth and density... Follett succeeds brilliantly in combining hugeness and detail to create a novel imbued with the rewness, violence and blind faith of the era' Sunday Express"
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Product Description
A timeless story of passion and idealism, "Pillars of the Earth" tells of a group of men and women whose destinies are fatefully linked with the building of a cathedral.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have never read any of Ken Follett's work before but was intrigued by The Pillars of the Earth at is purportedly based on Salisbury Cathedral .It is certainly about cathedral building in 12th century England. The story follows Prior Philip, a monk with ambition to build a great cathedral, allied with architect Tom. It is an epic novel (900 + pages )and took me a considerable time to read. The author's love of the project shine through and he draws a very realistic picture of the period, with strong characters and plot full of the timeless struggle of good versus evil. If you like Epic Classics, this is the book for you.
Anon
The Spire Chronicle
Anon
The Spire Chronicle
79 of 83 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
From the outset, Pillars of the Earth gripped me. My imagination was captured by the day to day lives of some of the most real characters I have met between the pages of a novel. Each character evokes a response: compassion, respect, revulsion or even lust. The story spans many years, yet gives remarkable detail concerning the changing politics, lifestyle and even architectural and building practices of the day. I was given the book by a friend several years ago, and have given copies as gifts several times. My own copy is so battered from being read, reread, lent and returned that I'm now needing a replacement.
219 of 232 people found the following review helpful
Format:MP3 CD
I dont care what the rest of you think, but I loved this book. I am a hardcore fantasy reader and was really loath to start this 1076 page monster. But a 2 week holiday with the kids loomed ever near, and I decided that this was the perfect thing to while away those long evenings.
We went camping in Southern France, it was hot, the van was cramped and we had no food as we were miles from a shop. Every time I felt sorry for myself I started reading about 12th century life and thanked my lucky stars, looked around and felt gratefull that raping and pillaging were no longer a problem and my only real worry was getting 5 kids ready for bed in less than 2 hours!
If you love medieval history, romance, factual events and treachery all woven together with fantastic characterisation, great descriptions and dialogue then this is the book for you. It depicts the life and times of the dark ages in a very real way, nothing is romanticised. The rawness of the descriptions was a refreshing change and I feel I could build a cathedral from scratch thanks to Follets excellent descriptions. (which are not boring but facinating)
It describes the lives of the aristocracy, peasants, royalty and follows the individual lives of about 5 various people including a monk Father Philip (for 63 years of his life_)and about some other very different characters who's lives and destiny's are all irrivocabley interwoven.
The opening paragraph describes a hanging in the most brutal way, and the descriptions of the behaviour and attitude of the observers just had me gripped from the begining.
I was so impressed that the minute I got home I was on the net trying to verify some of the facts therin. And sure enough it was all there. Follett has taken key moments in medieval british history and woven around it 3 dimensional characters which just bring it all to life.
I'm now off to buy some more from this time period!
We went camping in Southern France, it was hot, the van was cramped and we had no food as we were miles from a shop. Every time I felt sorry for myself I started reading about 12th century life and thanked my lucky stars, looked around and felt gratefull that raping and pillaging were no longer a problem and my only real worry was getting 5 kids ready for bed in less than 2 hours!
If you love medieval history, romance, factual events and treachery all woven together with fantastic characterisation, great descriptions and dialogue then this is the book for you. It depicts the life and times of the dark ages in a very real way, nothing is romanticised. The rawness of the descriptions was a refreshing change and I feel I could build a cathedral from scratch thanks to Follets excellent descriptions. (which are not boring but facinating)
It describes the lives of the aristocracy, peasants, royalty and follows the individual lives of about 5 various people including a monk Father Philip (for 63 years of his life_)and about some other very different characters who's lives and destiny's are all irrivocabley interwoven.
The opening paragraph describes a hanging in the most brutal way, and the descriptions of the behaviour and attitude of the observers just had me gripped from the begining.
I was so impressed that the minute I got home I was on the net trying to verify some of the facts therin. And sure enough it was all there. Follett has taken key moments in medieval british history and woven around it 3 dimensional characters which just bring it all to life.
I'm now off to buy some more from this time period!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Pillars of the earth
This book was reccommended by Linda Bellingham in Yours magazine. I read the review on Amazon and decided to try it on my Kindle athough I hadn't read anything by Ken Follett... Read more
Published 9 days ago by ACS
a good historical tale with some unnecessary lengths
The characters have depth, medieval England is well depicted, and the plot is good. I just regret that the plot tends to become very repetitive in the second half, so that the book... Read more
Published 10 days ago by grogguy
Don't do it to yourself
Melodramatic, long and clumsily written - and an inexplicable italicisation of pottage every other page. Read more
Published 16 days ago by ATG
A legend!
I absolutely loved this book. It is a classic in every sense. It higlights the desperation of life in those times, yet gives an insight into the hope and love we all strive to... Read more
Published 19 days ago by Mrs. V. J. Wester
Clumsy, a good story badly written
Maybe I'm spoiled by having recently read Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall and Patrick O'Brien's Aubrey-Maturin Series. These writers breath life into history with feeling and economy. Read more
Published 27 days ago by Chris Rust
Epic
What a saga! I was not really very keen to start this book as the sheer size of it was rather off putting. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Nicola Halliday
One of my all time favourites
A fantastic story which swept me up and carried me along a journey of love, betrayal, violence and redemption. Read more
Published 1 month ago by V. Harrington
I'd give -5 if I had the option
This was the biggest pile of rubbish I've ever read. I had to (and it is no more than 3 books in my lifetime of 36 years that I've done so including this one) stop reading it. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mbr
the pillars of the earth
A riveting read that once you start you cannot put down. This is one of those books that you wish was twice as long!
Published 1 month ago by J. H. hill
AMAZING!
This book is a must read for anyone who likes historical fiction on an epic scale. It follows the lives of several people and families, all interwined around the building of a... Read more
Published 1 month ago by MrsMaccers
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