Ken Follett's worldwide bestselling epic masterpiece
The Pillars of the Earth
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'It's such a great read...I got to 800 pages, and I slowed myself down because I didn't want it to end.' -- Oprah Winfrey
Book Description
The Pillars of the Earth 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. A spellbinding epic tale of ambition, anarchy, and absolute power set against the sprawling medieval canvas of twelfth-century England, this is Ken Follett's historical materpiece. 'Enormous and brilliant . . . this mammoth tale seems to touch all human emotion - love and hate, loyalty and treachery, hope and despair. This is truly a novel to get lost in' Cosmopolitan 'A historical saga of such breadth and density . . . Follett succeeds brilliantly in combining hugeness and detail to create a novel imbued with the rawness, violence and blind faith of the era' Sunday Express
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
264 of 278 people found the following review helpful
Format:MP3 CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
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!
57 of 60 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
98 of 104 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
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.
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4.3 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
REVIEW OF THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH
I liked the style of writing( it was my first Follet book) good story line, strong characters but it could have done with a little less architectual detail concerning the building... Read more
Published 7 hours ago by THOMAS RYAN
4.0 out of 5 stars
Long but great
AN epic tale, not really my cup of tea but I persevered. Well researched and written..Will read Follett again though
Published 10 hours ago by Mrs S Cawthorne
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good read.
I've read it as a paperback. It was given to me by a friend. I could not put it down. Looking forward to reading it again.
Published 2 days ago by Helen Ward
5.0 out of 5 stars
Follett,s triumph
A brilliant book, with a fascinating mixture of fact and fiction. Give us another please,but don't wait to long this time
Published 2 days ago by Anthony Birch
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent
Great book, full of wonderful descriptions and twists and turns, really takes you into the timeline and makes you want to turn the pages quicker
Published 3 days ago by Grandeyamon
5.0 out of 5 stars
A superb read
I have almost finished now and it is a perfect page turner. A book that all aspiring authors should read as well as all people who enjoy a good book.
Published 4 days ago by Mr. Paul Hurley
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pillars of the Earth
Brilliant book. I could not leave this book although it is nearly 1000 pages long..It never gets boring and you must read it to the end
Published 5 days ago by Dennis I
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fabulous
I absolutely loved this book. This is not my usual genre but I recommended this book to everyone. I'm already reading the sequel.
Published 7 days ago by Angela
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pillars of the Earth
An excellent read. Covers a lot of ground in early history. Looking out for some of this author's earlier work.
Published 8 days ago by Peter Macleod
5.0 out of 5 stars
Couldn't put it down
A fascinating dark period of history, not taught much in schools sadly. Politics and religion made unexpectedly exciting, I will be reading the sequel.
Published 9 days ago by R. Crook
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