Learn more about The Pillars of the Earth miniseries on Starz.
The spellbinding epic set in twelfth-century England, The Pillars of the Earth tells the story of the lives entwined in the building of the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has ever known—and a struggle between good and evil that will turn church against state, and brother against brother.Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.
From Library Journal
- Cynthia Johnson Whealler, Cary Memorial Lib., Lexington, Mass.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
More About the Author
Customer Reviews
His primary strength in the book is his magnificent characters. By the end, Prior Phillip, Aliena, Jack, Richard, "Witch" Ellen, William of Hamleigh, Waleran Bigod, and a host of supporting characters are as real as people you know. Their strengths and weaknesses feel as sound as earth. I've just reached the part where the Cathedral is finished, and its magnificent image, built in love, hardship, and devotion, colors the whole book like light through stained glass. And I suspect the ending will be as immensely "right" as the entire rest of the book in its proportion in spinning out complicated human lives and emotions.
Follett manages to write of an age of religious devotion without tumbling into the two pits - making fun of medieval Christian faith, or uncritically adopting it. An IMMENSELY satisfying read.
I could quibble with what I feel is some gratuitous sex, some slightly contrived plot twists, but that's like complaining about some flotsam in the river as you're going over Niagara.
DO NOT MISS THIS BOOK if you love wonderful story-spinning and history.
Well done, Mr. Follett!
Pillars is complex, moving and informative. The research was excellent, the characters are engaging and the story moves at a surprisingly quick pace for a novel of this length. The descriptions of the scenes, the completeness of the political interplay and the twists of the plot make this one of my favorite books of all time. Normally, I have little patience for historical fiction unless it brings something new or truly engaging to the table. Pillars certainly does that and more.
In other words, while there is no such thing as the perfect book, this one comes very close. My advice is simple...READ THIS BOOK -- YOU'LL LOVE IT!
But do yourself a small favor, go to the used bookstore or the library, this is not a new release and you can enjoy Follett's favorite work for a fraction of the cost. A quick search of Amazon shows dozens of options that don't have the Oprah name or any other bells and whistles that I'm sure are unneeded to enjoy this spectacular piece of fiction
Set in early medieval England, it follows a large cast of characters, some villainous, some good, who surround an attempt to rebuild the... Read more
I learned a part of history that I was unaware of!
- Ken Follett: A Critical Companion (Critical Companions to Popular Contemporary Writers) by Richard C. Turner Ph.D on 8 pages
- Paper Money by Ken Follett on 4 pages
- The Man from St. Petersburg (Signet) by Ken Follett on 4 pages
- Code To Zero by Ken Follett in Front Matter, Back Matter, and Back Matter
- Triple (Signet) by Ken Follett in Front Matter, Front Matter, and Front Matter
|










