Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Jordens Søjler by Ken Follett

10 reviews

lbewley's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Antisemitism, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

directorpurry's review against another edition

informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Antisemitism, and War

Minor: Infidelity, Xenophobia, and Islamophobia

themdash's review against another edition

I gave up after the hot forest outlaw raped the main dude who was lowkey dying of exposure/starvation next to his sleeping children literal hours they had just buried their mother and left the infant whose birth killed her to die

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Infidelity, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

expandingmybookshelf's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder

cultbyproxy's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

“Build a beautiful cathedral for me.”

It is not every day that I pick up a book of this volume, but the title immediately caught my eye. Though deathly slow, akin to the ennui of a long dreadful winter, I found it rather fascinating. 

The trials and tribulations of a monastery prior, an outlawed woman and a widowed carpenter do not sound like the makings of an interesting plot, but set in the 1100s, we see the church and its pillars rise, fall, and rise again within these pages. 

I must say, after the first 800 pages I began skimming, simply skipping to the dialogue to try bulldoze through what remained but as I reached the sixth, and final, part of the book I became immediately invested again. For all its vulgarity, and violence, and frustration, it is a well written book and I cannot take that away from Follett. I feel rather optimistic with the idea of finishing the trilogy (something I would’ve done regardless, out of pure spite) however I pray that it does not become more graphic. Going into a book starting in 1123 I knew what to expect, historically, however I can’t help but be left with a bad taste in my mouth from all the brutality forced upon the main female character, and the almost lack of regard for her suffering. Though resilient, powerful and graceful to the end, as happy as i was to see Lady Aliena get her justice, I’m of the option that she should’ve never had to seek it to begin with. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and War

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Blood

turtlebucket's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Amazing read (twice) but I cannot give a 5 with the gratuitous and constant violence and sexual assault of women and the overt ways all male characters describe women. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

sapphirelain's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War

meganpbennett's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Pillars of the Earth is far more engaging and compelling than a book about building a cathedral has any right to be. It's a very hard read, as it is one disaster after another, but it's incredibly engaging, to the point that you don't want to put it down, because you have to know what happens next. And it's never good, what happens next. Characters have runs of good luck only to lose everything and have to start over. It has an oddly hopeful ending, and everything is neatly tied together and explained. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Moderate: Infidelity, Antisemitism, and Abandonment

utopiaandmelancholy's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I was wary of this book despite a glowing recommendation as it was longer than anything I've read in years, so I put on a 10-hour Youtube video of medieval-sounding music and braced myself for a long slog. I needn't have worried - I was hooked from the prologue. I found the characters were easy to become familiar with, and whether they were drawn as 'good' or 'bad' archetypes or somewhere in between, their motivations were pretty consistent. I particularly enjoyed the self-assuredness of many of the female characters, and how much smarter than most of the men they are! Like other reviewers, I did find some of the graphic scenes of rape difficult to read, though they certainly serve to make the 'villains' utterly detestable. The plot is tightly woven - the ending ties up loose threads across the numerous characters' storylines. The amount of description was sufficient to establish a sense of place without needing to describe every feature, the pacing was good - I never found myself bored, even in the more sedate sections of the books - and the building of tension before more climactic events was masterful - I frequently found myself wanting to cheat and flick forward a few pages to know what would happen to the characters. The positioning of characters in the book at big historical events allowed these events to be conveyed with more immediacy, rather than always relying on hearing from messengers. I think it also helped to highlight the events at Kingsbridge and the trials of the characters there as a microcosm of the turbulent time it is set in, rather than being singularly exciting individuals. The central fixture of cathedral-building was also a nice insight into the developing architecture of the time. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and will certainly read the sequel soon to find out what happens to Kingsbridge next!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, and Pregnancy

Minor: Antisemitism and Islamophobia

mooncow's review against another edition

adventurous informative mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Blood, and Antisemitism