Reviews with content warning for Rape - The Pillars of the Earth

Epic ensemble drama set over a fifty-or-so-year period around the building of a (fictional) cathedral in the (fictional) town of Kingsbridge in (nonfictional) England. Set between the (nonfictional) sinking of the White Ship and the (nonfictional) killing of Thomas Becket.

The story focuses on Prior Philip, who is helped into the leadership position of Kingsbridge Priory by Waleran Bigod, a scheming priest who soon goes on to become bishop of Kingsbridge and one of the book's main antagonists. The other heroes of the story are Tom Builder, a master mason, his stepson Jack, and Aliena, the dispossessed daughter of a fallen Earle, who becomes a prominent businesswoman in Kingsbridge. The other main villain is William Hamleigh, the son of the family that caused Aliena's downfall.

And I do mean villain here. Follett's heroic characters are interesting and likeable. He goes out of his way to make his villains despicable to the point where it becomes heavyhanded. The only things they ever seem to do is to plot to make the lives of the heroes miserable.

It does not help matters that rape is used repeatedly as a plot device, particularly with William, who spends most of his on-screen time contemplating sexual assault when not actually committing it. Most of this isn't necessary to the plot, as it's pretty clear from the start what sort of man William Hamleigh is.

I don't feel like I'm qualified to make issue of the historical accuracy of the setting. I felt like it worked well, and that Follett's love for cathedral architecture shone brightly through the story. The architectural and economic challenges of getting the cathedral built were fascinating, and the backdrop of historical events generally worked well, although there were a lot of times when the ongoing civil war for the Crown was at a stalemate and Follett had a hard time making that interesting.

The ending, which placed a couple of the main character right into the thick of the Becket murder actually felt a bit rushed, which was weird given the length of the novel, but the resolution was a clever callback to the opening of the story and the final scenes were handled well.

Content Warnings

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad 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

3.0

Recommended by a friend. The main story was interesting but all the sex and rape intertwined was unnecessary and made me want to put the book down. The actual story is spoiled by it popping up every few chapters.

Content Warnings