The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (1989)
Historical Fiction, 973 pages
New American Library a division of Penguin (USA), Inc.
New American Library Deluxe Edition






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From the jacket:

A spellbinding epic tale of ambition, anarchy, and absolute power set against the sprawling medieval canvas of twelfth-century England

I hate to restrict myself to a particular genre, but I do like a good historical novel. I am particularly drawn to ones set in England because I lived there one summer while attending classes. Although I spent much of my time in Cambridge, I made it a point to venture out every chance I got to visit historic sites, one of which was Westminster Abbey. To this day, I will always remember being in complete awe at the magnitude and beauty of such a structure, especially considering its present construction began in 1245. (The site had been used by Benedictine monks since the tenth century)

I was absolutely dumbstruck upon realizing that I literally walking through history, and a very old history at that. Perhaps to some this may seem a bit much, but remember I am an American, and structures such as these do not exist in our country. During that same trip I also had the opportunity to visit Notre Dame de Paris and again, I was awed.

It was not until reading this book that I began to look at each building with a new understanding. These churches were not built with your typical construction materials. They were constructed using the blood, sweat, and tears of entire communities. Ken Follett brings to life, albeit through fiction, the issues these people had to face on a day-to-day basis, not the least of which was simply to survive. In the midst of this we have the characters of Philip the prior of Kingsbridge and Tom Builder; both obsessed with building a magnificent cathedral.

As Follett states in the preface:

The building of medieval cathedrals is an astonishing phenomenon. The builders had no power tools, they did not understand the mathematics of structural engineering, and they were poor…Yet they put up the most beautiful buildings that have ever existed, and they built them so well that they are still here, hundreds of years later, for us to study and marvel at.

Follett became fascinated about these churches, and after my experiences at Westminster and Notre Dame, I can understand why. From there he began to form his thoughts and create a story to integrate not only what he had learned about these churches and their builders, but the times in which they lived and how it affected every aspect of their lives. Thus along the path to the completion of Kingsbridge Cathedral, Tom and prior Philip must contend with civil war, famine, and the consequences of blind ambition.

As historical novels go, this is one of the best I have read in a long time. I cannot believe it was published in 1989 and I have only discovered it just now. (Of course I became a single parent that year, so it may be understandable to some when I say I may have been a bit distracted)

Another possibility comes from Follett himself as he notes:

This [is] a word-of-mouth book. It's a truism of the book business that the best advertising is the kind you can't buy: the personal recommendation of one reader to another.

And of course, he is right. That is how I discovered this book. And, if you have made it this far into my review, perhaps I can continue this trend. I am giving this book 4 Stars and a strong recommendation that you give it read. Yes, 973 pages is quite a commitment. But it is worth it.