Reviews tagging 'Classism'

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

13 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

lbarber1's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

twonky's review against another edition

dark hopeful informative sad medium-paced

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

4.0

It’s hard for me to imagine holding on to hatred as long as these characters do.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Classism

Moderate: Chronic illness, Blood, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Antisemitism, Pregnancy, and War

There’s a LOT of violence, bit it’s the Middle Ages.

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

rideauriverreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Antisemitism

basbleu_dans_labiblioteque's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

1.0

im a huge fan of historical fiction, especially medieval historical fiction. I was really excited for this book, because it was in a setting I find fascinating and was clearly accurate and well-researched, but this guy did not pull it off. Some of the book was boring, and there was quite a bit that was downright painful to read.

Also, that bearbaiting scene absolutely did not need to take around 5 pages!

I couldn’t care about any of the characters, and the book was so. Repetitive.

The “good guys”(Aliena, Jack, Phillip, etc.) would do something good, Waleran Bigod would make a plan, Hamleigh would show up, murder some people and rape somebody, and we’d be back to the beginning.

For 975 pages. All in all, I ended up reading it out of obligation: I felt like I was already into it so I might as well finish.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Alcoholism, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Antisemitism, Alcohol, and Classism

aether_seawo1f's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Glacial pacing for the first 600 pages, the last 400 are decent. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

motobart's review against another edition

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

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

5.0

This is a long read, but it flows well and the verse is economical and simple in the best ways. Folletts writing style is very minimal, but used to great effect. It took me a bit before I realized how brilliant it was. This book is unlike anything I've read before, and has many elements that make it a  remarkable achievement in modern literature.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, War, and Classism

This book takes place in the 1100s, and some things that were commonplace then will seem abhorrent by today's standards. It is best to be open-minded reading this as historical fiction, with the understanding that the world was a different, though often similar, place.

sonygaystation's review against another edition

So many parts of it are boring and when they’re not boring they’re exceedingly graphic. Sex scenes are wholly unnecessary and always written with the male gaze so the woman’s perspective is so unrealistic. I can’t deal with the graphic rape, assault, and abuse; the graphic descriptions of stoning cats; the unrealistic and boring “love” between Tom and Ellen; and the weirdo random anti-semitism sprinkled here and there throughout. I LOVE fantasy but I don’t understand how people can stomach this book and find it not only read-able but actively enjoyable. Y’all have suspect taste

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Rape, Antisemitism, and Religious bigotry

siniandi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I understand that this is one of Follett's most beloved works. It is a densely packed work spanning several decades; the plot is nicely interwoven with historical elements and makes one reflect on power structures and injustices that in some form persist to this day. I honestly loved most of the characters and the way the flaws of even the "good" characters reflect in the story. Follett makes sure to create a strong female protagonist, which I love. She seems believable and strong and wields power in ways realistic for the era.

The description of women and sex scenes are a quite male gaze-y though (as is usually the case in Follett's work) and the ending comes a little abrupt and too neatly, as if he really wanted to finish after 1000 pages.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Antisemitism, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Classism