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Pillars of the Earth
 
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Pillars of the Earth (Mass Market Paperback)

by Ken Follett (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (187 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 983 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc; Reissue edition (29 Aug 2002)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0451166892
  • ISBN-13: 978-0451166890
  • Product Dimensions: 17.3 x 10.7 x 4.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (187 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 18,607 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #9 in  Books > Crime, Thrillers & Mystery > Authors, A-Z > F > Follett, Ken

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 the Paperback edition.

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85% buy the item featured on this page:
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Customer Reviews

187 Reviews
5 star:
 (136)
4 star:
 (25)
3 star:
 (8)
2 star:
 (11)
1 star:
 (7)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (187 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
65 of 67 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars loved it loved it loved it, 31 Jul 2006
By Laura Phillipson "Pern Fan" (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Pillars of the Earth (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!
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71 of 75 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars My all time favourite novel., 15 Feb 2005
I found a copy of the pillars of the earth whilst scanning the shelves of my local bookshop. I hadn't come across Ken Follett before then, but as an avid reader of historical fiction, it seemed a safe bet. WOW! From the very first page I couldnt put it down. I hardly ate or slept for the duration. I felt I knew the characters personally and laughed and cried with them throughout the years we were together. I feld such grief when someone died, I sobbed openly. I lived in the middle ages and could hardly bear to drag myself back into the 20th century when I put the book down. I cried buckets when I finished the book and wanted to just open the front page and start again. I frequently recommend this book and all my family in australia were sent copies, such was my passion. I read the book quite a few years ago now but nothing I have read since, has grabbed me in quite the same way. It is still my all time favourite historical novel, I just cant rate it highly enough.
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43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars I've never looked at a cathedral in the same way again, 7 April 1999
By A Customer
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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Time Travel? Who needs it!
If you have ever wondered how life would have been in the middle ages then read this book and wonder no more, with finely drawn characters this book takes you on a journey into... Read more
Published 3 days ago by polly

5.0 out of 5 stars Will capture you....
This book is simply amazing. It is not often I come across a book that I can not seem to put down again. Read more
Published 4 days ago by M. Thorsen

5.0 out of 5 stars Bet you cannot put it down !
This is one of the best historical and human drama novels ever - learnt so much about the 13th century and enjoyed every page. Read more
Published 13 days ago by Tommo

2.0 out of 5 stars Very wearying...
Fascinating in terms of how early cathedrals were built and making you look at them in a new way - hence the extra star. Read more
Published 19 days ago by Applespider

5.0 out of 5 stars I really enjoyed this book at time unput downable
I really enjoyed the process of this book, yes some of the more technical building descriptions were lost on me but that didn't stop the enjoyment of the story. Read more
Published 19 days ago by C. Dew

5.0 out of 5 stars The Pillars of the Earth
I have not yet had a chance to read this book but it came highly recommended by a very good friend. It would appear tp be the type of saga that I really like to read. Read more
Published 28 days ago by Sylvia West

5.0 out of 5 stars Pillars of the Earth
A stunning book in three respects: Firstly it was a very well told story with plenty of twists in the plot, secondly the fiction was well woven with actual historical events and... Read more
Published 1 month ago by M. J. Parsons

2.0 out of 5 stars Architecture good, characters bad
The book springs from the author's interest in medieval building, techniques and materials and these were fascinating as were the church politics. Read more
Published 1 month ago by A. J. M. Bourne

5.0 out of 5 stars Soaring, majestic, incredible
The historical accuracy may not be there, but this is ana ambitious tale, told well, with characters you find yourself caring about. Read more
Published 1 month ago by David Munro

5.0 out of 5 stars The Pillars of the earth
A really good read .One of those books you can't put down.Historical facts,characters that live for you. Read more
Published 1 month ago by V. Ruggles

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