A review by jaina8851
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.0
I have such complicated feelings about this book! I can absolutely see why it is such a beloved book. On the other hand, I really could have done without the graphic depictions of rape and other violence against women. The argument of "that's just how it was in those days" doesn't hold any more water to me about a book that is actual historical fiction than it does when people defend it in Game of Thrones. It is possible to give a sense of horror and dread about those topics if they are necessary to include without putting it "on screen". Similarly, even positive and ostensibly loving descriptions of women's bodies throughout the book come right up to the edge of "breasting boobily down the stairs".
All of that said, though, I am glad I kept reading after parts early on that really turned me off. The story is beautifully constructed with the countless twists and turns and the ending ties everything together so incredibly well. I genuinely don't remember the last time I read a book this long and while this isn't a typical "vacation read", I'm so glad I decided to give it a go during a week when I was doing little else besides reading so that I could fly through it over the course of a few days.
I was expecting the story to be a higher ratio of basically "infodumps about cathedral building" (to wit, my partner asked me at one point "have they started building the cathedral yet?" and I was like "NO and I'm over 25% of the way through!") but I was pleasantly surprised by how engaging I found the politics and treachery. The author mentions in the preface that he grappled with how to make Philip sympathetic as a man of God since he himself is not a believer, and I think he succeeded magnificently.
All in all, I'm glad I finally got around to reading this super long book, and while at first I was like "I'm not sure if I'll read the sequel(s)", after seeing what book 2 is centered on, I almost certainly will. It just will probably have to wait until I go on vacation again. 😄
All of that said, though, I am glad I kept reading after parts early on that really turned me off. The story is beautifully constructed with the countless twists and turns and the ending ties everything together so incredibly well. I genuinely don't remember the last time I read a book this long and while this isn't a typical "vacation read", I'm so glad I decided to give it a go during a week when I was doing little else besides reading so that I could fly through it over the course of a few days.
I was expecting the story to be a higher ratio of basically "infodumps about cathedral building" (to wit, my partner asked me at one point "have they started building the cathedral yet?" and I was like "NO and I'm over 25% of the way through!") but I was pleasantly surprised by how engaging I found the politics and treachery. The author mentions in the preface that he grappled with how to make Philip sympathetic as a man of God since he himself is not a believer, and I think he succeeded magnificently.
All in all, I'm glad I finally got around to reading this super long book, and while at first I was like "I'm not sure if I'll read the sequel(s)", after seeing what book 2 is centered on, I almost certainly will. It just will probably have to wait until I go on vacation again. 😄
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Child abuse, and Adult/minor relationship