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A review by paperrhino
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
5.0
This epic novel set in 11th century England has sat on my to read list for years, intimidating me with its length and subject matter. At the very surface it is a novel about the building of a cathedral but that is just an excuse to tell the story of a few key families over the course of a generation. This focus on characters and their relationships is ultimately what rescues what could have been a boring story about architecture and creates an epic which brings to mind some of the best writings from authors like James Michener.
The plot revolves around a relatively small collection of characters and their families and Follett sets the characters up along an almost Manichean good versus evil dividing line. On the good side there is Brother Philip, a Benedictine monk and prior, Tom Builder and his family, Ellen and Jack Jackson, outlaws, and Aliena and Richard the children of Earl Bartholomew. On the evil side there is the Hamleigh family, Bishop Waleran Bigod, and Alfred Builder.
This all good verses all evil opposition between these opposing factions is one of my two primary complaints about the novel. William Hamleigh is one of the most foul, evil, irredeemable characters I’ve encountered in literature in a long time and Brother Philip is one of the most moral, kind, and good and this extreme dichotomy took away from the believableness of those characters and ultimately the plot of the novel over all. It also took away some of the suspense of the novel because one could always guess what actions each character might take. Finally, it impeded the character development of all of the major characters. Only Aliena and Jack Jackson exhibit any real character growth over the course of the novel. Except for some relatively radical shifts that mostly happen off screen, the rest of the characters are the basically the same throughout the entire novel.
The second major complaint I have about the novel is how repetitive and formulaic the plot is presented. Each part of the book follows the same story arch with a character from the good side wanting to accomplish something for the betterment of themselves or Kingsbridge, Hamleigh or Bishop Waleran scheming against them resulting in a conflict and ultimate resolution. By part five and part six of the novel there is no doubt about what will happen or the ultimate outcome.
Despite these major flaws I still give The Pillars of the Earth four stars. This is because Follett’s writing style is just descriptive enough to immerse the reader into the world of 11th century Kingsbridge without becoming a burden on the reader. Even though it becomes repetitious, Follett’s ability to construct and pace the plot of each section and of the novel overall kept me on the edge of my seat and wanting to read on without falling my feeling like a driven horse being wipped on like I do when I read an author like Dan Brown.
I highly recommend this novel to all readers who enjoy epic family stories from authors like Michener and Clavel, readers who enjoy reading historical fiction, and readers who enjoy epic fantasy from authors like Tolkien and Jordan. The Pillars of the Earth blends elements of all of these types of novels beautifully.
The plot revolves around a relatively small collection of characters and their families and Follett sets the characters up along an almost Manichean good versus evil dividing line. On the good side there is Brother Philip, a Benedictine monk and prior, Tom Builder and his family, Ellen and Jack Jackson, outlaws, and Aliena and Richard the children of Earl Bartholomew. On the evil side there is the Hamleigh family, Bishop Waleran Bigod, and Alfred Builder.
This all good verses all evil opposition between these opposing factions is one of my two primary complaints about the novel. William Hamleigh is one of the most foul, evil, irredeemable characters I’ve encountered in literature in a long time and Brother Philip is one of the most moral, kind, and good and this extreme dichotomy took away from the believableness of those characters and ultimately the plot of the novel over all. It also took away some of the suspense of the novel because one could always guess what actions each character might take. Finally, it impeded the character development of all of the major characters. Only Aliena and Jack Jackson exhibit any real character growth over the course of the novel. Except for some relatively radical shifts that mostly happen off screen, the rest of the characters are the basically the same throughout the entire novel.
The second major complaint I have about the novel is how repetitive and formulaic the plot is presented. Each part of the book follows the same story arch with a character from the good side wanting to accomplish something for the betterment of themselves or Kingsbridge, Hamleigh or Bishop Waleran scheming against them resulting in a conflict and ultimate resolution. By part five and part six of the novel there is no doubt about what will happen or the ultimate outcome.
Despite these major flaws I still give The Pillars of the Earth four stars. This is because Follett’s writing style is just descriptive enough to immerse the reader into the world of 11th century Kingsbridge without becoming a burden on the reader. Even though it becomes repetitious, Follett’s ability to construct and pace the plot of each section and of the novel overall kept me on the edge of my seat and wanting to read on without falling my feeling like a driven horse being wipped on like I do when I read an author like Dan Brown.
I highly recommend this novel to all readers who enjoy epic family stories from authors like Michener and Clavel, readers who enjoy reading historical fiction, and readers who enjoy epic fantasy from authors like Tolkien and Jordan. The Pillars of the Earth blends elements of all of these types of novels beautifully.