Reviews with content warning for Bullying - Los pilares de la tierra 1

This was suuuuuuch a long, but exciting read!!
KEN FOLLETT SERIOUSLY KNOWS HOW TO WRITE TENSE AND EXCITING BOOKS!
My only criticism is probably how much "boobie" talk there was in it, that definetly made it clear that this was written by a middle aged man, BUT his female characters are most of the time greatly written, and the characters being all "booobiee, brrreastss, badonkas" were either extremely "thirsty" or disgusting misogynists, so it sense with their personalities and relationships, and we are talking about the middle ages, so I will let that slide.

Warning tho: This book is very graphic. The medieval ages were not fun to be in, and that is veeery reflected in this book. Check up on content warnings

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seanml's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

It can be hard to tell the difference between an author’s thoughts and a character’s thoughts. I’m still not entirely sure when a hypersexual thought came from Follett or when it came from

Tom, or William

. The first half of this book had me unsure, reading through the atrocities of

William Hamleigh

in graphic detail, and the sexual emphasis placed on

Ellen.

However, by the second half it had gone above and beyond. I’m sure it isn’t perfect, but it is a monumental effort and execution. 8.5/10.

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meganpbennett's review against another edition

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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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sunnydae's review against another edition

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dark tense slow-paced

Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

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utopiaandmelancholy's review against another edition

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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!

Content Warnings

finfoski's review against another edition

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emotional informative tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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