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The Pillars of the Earth
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The Pillars of the Earth
Unavailable
The Pillars of the Earth
Audiobook (abridged)10 hours

The Pillars of the Earth

Written by Ken Follett

Narrated by Richard E Grant

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

The Pillars of the Earth tells the story of Philip, prior of Kingsbridge, a devout and resourceful monk driven to build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has known...of Tom, the mason who becomes his architect - a man divided in his soul...of the beautiful, elusive Lady Aliena, haunted by a secret shame...and of a struggle between good and evil that will turn church against state, and brother against brother.

A spellbinding epic tale of ambition, anarchy, and absolute power set against the sprawling medieval canvas of 12th-century England, this is Ken Follett's historical masterpiece.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateOct 9, 2007
ISBN9781429586764
Unavailable
The Pillars of the Earth
Author

Ken Follett

Ken Follett was born in Cardiff, Wales. Barred from watching films and television by his parents, he developed an early interest in reading thanks to a local library. After studying philosophy at University College London, he became involved in centre-left politics, entering into journalism soon after. His first thriller, the wartime spy drama Eye of the Needle, became an international bestseller and has sold over 10 million copies. He then astonished everyone with his first historical novel, The Pillars of the Earth, the story of the building of a medieval cathedral, which went on to become one of the most beloved books of the twentieth century. One of the most popular authors in the world, his many books including the Kingsbridge series and the Century trilogy - a body of work which together chronicles over a thousand years of history - and his latest novel Never - which envisages how World War III could happen - have sold more than 188 million copies. A father and husband, Ken lives with his wife in England and enjoys travelling the world when he can.

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Reviews for The Pillars of the Earth

Rating: 4.169745964517346 out of 5 stars
4/5

7,956 ratings371 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    It's amazing the range of strong opinions found here on this book. "The writing is abominable;" "the writing is crystalline." "The characters are wooden puppets;" "the characters are living breathing people." Even "the historical research is great;" "the historical research is faulty and clumsily presented."

    Well, put me on the five-star side, folks. I loved this book!

    Yes, it's long. But it is full of action and interesting plot lines, and there are long passages of tremendous, page-devouring suspense. To me, a book that is this long yet has this much sustained narrative drive is miraculous.

    Yes, the characters are types: the godly monk, the nefarious bishop, the dispossessed princess, the solid family man, the boy genius artist, the wild witch of the forest. Yet Follett has a knack for turning prototypes into real-seeming characters by introducing complexity. The godly monk is also a shrewd schemer (who consistently questions whether he is doing God's will or his own); the orphaned princess is also a driven, feisty merchant (yet at times her iron will fails and she falls into despondency); the boy genius is torn between his devotion to his mental life and art and his need for the women in his life.

    Yes, the writing is simple and straightforward. To me this is a great strength. Follett not only lays out everything his characters are seeing and feeling right on the surface, but, when necessary, he blatantly states the point he wants the reader to get. I think this prose style is a key to Follett's popularity. It keeps the focus relentlessly on the story (and not on the writing). It also allows him to communicate great intensity and complexity of emotion in a way that readers at all levels of sophistication can appreciate. This is a clear, formidable prose style that aspiring writers who yearn for popularity would do well to emulate.

    Finally, some have objected to the 'false climax' that occurs 90 pages before the end of the book. The story then picks up some 15 years later and introduces a whole new plot line. I too found this a bit off-putting, until the very end when Follett makes clear how the events in this section tie together the entire story and knit it to the actual historical changes that took place during those years. At this point, you see how the whole narrative exemplifies the century in which the story occurs. At this point, in other words, the book rises to the level of great historical fiction.

    So, come on, people! Don't hate this book for being popular. Enjoy it as the masterpiece of popular fiction that it is!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Intelligent, gripping - I could not put it down and wondered what took me long to discover this book. Along with being fantastically entertained, I learned so much about this period of time and the architecture of the cathedrals.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    My god this book was a beastie! I am so glad I finished it though. It took me two months and change to read this thing.

    First off do not read this book if you have trauma regarding rape. do read this book if you are in a good place and want to see a rapist get what he deserves. the world building was phenomenal. I do have to give it that. it felt so raw and realistic at times i didn't read it for days at a time. I was too busy digesting what i'd already read.

    Follet weaves with great skill multiple major story arcs. there are no side characters in this book. Everyone is an mc. this is the first book I have ever read where I truly feel that no character died as a jumping off point for new narrative/to further plot.

    That being said there are large chunks of this book written from the POV of the rapist and that was very hard to get through. it was important though in order to appropriately understand that he more than deserves what he gets in the end. this book is part of a larger series, though it read like a standalone. I feel no deep urge to torture myself with the next one.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    What a great read!!!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    My favourite novel. I couldn't put it down. A fantastic read.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Excellent book! This is probably my favorite book of all time. Very well written. Great plot.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A must read. One of the best historical fictions I've ever read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I wasn't sure about this book at first, how can you make an enjoyable and interesting read about the building of a cathedral - but give Ken Follett his due he managed it.

    I cared about the characters and I wanted to know if Tom and Prior Philip would be able to build their cathedral, would Jack and Aliena ever be together, would William get his comeuppance and why was the bishop afraid of Ellen?

    Although I have my doubts about some of the language used and about whether people actually played football in the 12th century or if it was something similar, overall I thought this was a really enjoyable read.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This epic story swept me into a part of history that reminds me how fortunate we are to live today. Follet details the daily struggle for life and freedom through every character. He presents faith and self-sacrifice in the building of the cathedral at a time when life was cheap.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book is incredible. Who would have thought the building of a cathedral in 12th century England could be this interesting? Such amazing detail and richly drawn characters in a long, sweeping epic story. I couldn’t get enough of it.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A real page turner...I loved the history and was drawn into the plot. Reasonably well written.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really enjoyed this book. It is the story of the building of the cathedral of Kingsbridge, starring Philip the wise and just monk, Tom the builder, Jack his adopted son, and Aliena, trying to restore her families Earldom.It is big and epic and easy to read, and makes you care about the heros as it takes them through a rollercoaster of Terrible Thing! Happy Thing! Terrible Thing! Happy Thing! Don't worry, the good guys win in the end, although it's a bit brutal on the way.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    In reviewing this book, my challenge will be to balance a range of strong but, in some cases, opposing reactions. On the positive side, I genuinely enjoyed the milieu of this novel. Follett's insights into medieval politics, medieval life, and the logistics of cathedral building kept me enthralled until the last page. The author clearly has done a TON of historical research; it was a pleasure to be able to learn more about this oft-neglected and stereotyped period of history in the context of an engaging story. Though dialog and descriptions can at times feel anachronistic, the story also incorporates moments of genuine love, grief, and grace. I believe the novel earns all the praise it has received for these elements. Follett’s characters, on the other hand, seem to me a mixed bag. While some of the characters and their narrative arcs feel rich and fully realized - Tom Builder, Pryor Philip, Richard - others come off as jarringly one-dimensional, especially William. His relentless persecution of Aliena might be necessary to propel the plot forward and provide suspense, but his unrelenting evil deeds render him an almost cartoonish figure. I kept picturing him as one of those silent screen villains, complete with waxed mustache, forever tying the heroine to railroad tracks. Which leads me to my biggest peeve of the book, the "damsel in distress" subplot. I suspect Follett's depiction of women as relentlessly abused (physically, sexually, emotionally) is probably spot-on; even so, I quickly grew impatient with the constant depictions of rape and female subjugation. In particular, the soap-opera nature of the Aliena/William/Jack triangle felt manipulated and anachronistic, inserted into an otherwise terrific novel of political intrigue in order to manufacture drama. At 976 pages, this book isn't so much an entertainment as an investment. Weighing all the factors, I still recommend the novel as a worthy read. However, I'm not going to join the pack that seems intent on rushing this onto lists of "classic literature." While parts of this are terrific and worthy, some of Follett's plot devices and caricatures left me disappointed.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Where do I begin with a review of this book? This book, though a real 'tome' in its own right, had me reading as quickly as possible. For those who love generational sagas and historical fiction, this is the book for you. We follow a handful of individuals all centered around the building of a great church. As the church is slowly built, the reader follows the strings of these characters' lives as they connect to one another throughout time in more ways than the reader initially realizes. This book is everything I love about historical fiction that is strong in time and place as well as atmosphere. It quickly made it as one of my favorite novels.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    There aren't many things left to say when it comes to Ken Follett's masterpiece. The Pillars of the Earth is one of the most beautiful, haunting, exquisitely well-written novels of all time. It is a ''showstopper'' book not only in the Historical Fiction genre, but in Literature in general. Still, for an obsessed reader of historical novels like yours trully, it can become the standard by which all other historical sagas are measured. I don't know whether this is just and right, but it does happen to me every so often.

    It is a rare occassion when you have a multitude of characters and every single one of them has something to offer and attract the reader's interest. Not even A Song of Ice and Fire in all its glory has achieved this, in my opinion. However, here we have good characters with whom we agonize over their fates, evil characters whom we hate with passion, and characters that stand in a gray area, driving the story forward. Aliena is one of the best female protagonists in Literature, and Waleran with William Hamleigh fight for the title of the ''best villain'' in the genre. The TV-series adaptation was really good, with a plethora of excellent casting choices. Ian McShane, Matthew McFadyen, Rufus Sewell and David Oakes steal the show.

    If you haven't read it yet, a) under which rock have you been hiding?, and b) read it as soon as you can. Thank me later;)
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I was pleasantly surprised. The setting is my favourite century, the 12th, in a fictional county of southern England between Hampshire and Sussex, and the topic is human relations and architecture. There were a couple of annoying historical inaccuracies - everyone in the book speaks English, and hardly anyone French; the story of the White Ship is brought in rather gratuitously as a plot device, and the character of Thomas a Becket at the end seems to me very different from what we know of the real one. But one should read historical fiction for style rather than accuracy, and this one passes that test.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I thought it was really good.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Excellent book about a subject I never thought I'd want to know about. My whole family read this giant book and loved it. For me, the sequel, World Without End, was even better, and is one of my favorite books.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a huge historical novel set in eighteenth century England dealing with the power struggle between the clergy and the royalty. The story has many likable narrators like Tom the builder, Phillip the monk, Alaina the Earl's daughter. It is pacy and reads like a thriller.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Long, epic historical fiction novel that spans roughly three generations? Yes, please. This is my go to type of novel. And Follett did it well. I felt like I was in the Middle Ages (I read a review that noticed "modern sensibilities" in the characters, and maybe I'm not sophisticated enough to catch it, but I didn't feel that way). Yes, it was close to 1,000 pages, but I could have read more. I didn't want to leave the characters. There was a little too much architecture information, and towards the end, I did find myself thinking, ok, we have gotten through all the conflicts, it's time to resolve everything, but I still loved this book. I can't wait to start the sequel.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Find it slow to get into but after the first 100 pages, the story was captivating. An intriguing story of life of one man and his family in the 12th century.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Contains at least three of my favorite scenes in all of fiction:

    Prior Phillip making his reappearance after hundreds of pages to purchase all of Aliena's cotton.

    Phillip shouting, "I see you William Hamleigh!" as the knights come in to murder Thomas Beckett.

    Phillip dipping his cloak in the Archbishop's blood and then leading the parade through the town declaring him a saint and a martyr.

    One of the greatest fictional characters of all time. One of my favorite books.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The main reason for putting this book in my library was to find out what other people here thought of it. Another reviewer said, "I couldn't put it down, but I didn't want to be seen with it." That's exactly where I find myself with this thing. I read it--the whole thing. But I'm not sure why. I even read the sequel. One of the things I liked best about it was the multiple points of view. The strength of the book is in (some) of the characters. That's why it got 3 stars from me. But the period was underdeveloped, when really it should have been a main character. It's a very easy read; if you're looking for a "potato chip" novel, this one is fine, because sometimes I'm just in the mood for potato chips.P.S. I hate hate hate Oprah's Book Club book. When I see that sticker, that's usually enough to keep me from getting the book. Does that make me a snob? Dunno.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A little lengthy for me, but an interesting look at life.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    While not being the biggest fan of Historical Fiction but having read many of Ken Follett's novels as a teenager and knowing that the man could write, I began this book thinking...hmmm, this is an Oprah book, hmmm, this was recommended to me by a highly intelligent friend, hmmm, this is about churches, hmmm, I don't think I am going to like this and it looks really really long. In a nutshell, I was ambivalent. However, holding this heavy tome in my hands quickly became no chore to me as I became swept up in the plot and the characters. I loved this book! Would I recommend it? For sure...all 973 pages.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Excellent book! Kept me up several nights. A good period piece with very interesting twists and enough suspence to keep you interested.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I had read Follet's sequel, "World without End"(1200+pages), prior to reading this book and had found that book to be immensely entertaining. On reading Pillars of the Earth, I realised that both books were based on very much the same story plot with similar characters in the same setting (Kingsbridge Priory). His sex scenes were a bit over played, as in romantic novels, there was a lot of repetition of a character's thoughts of previous years and the description of small details of architectural details was over done.However, I actually enjoyed the read and was curious enough to check up on some of the historical information, which was factual.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    What a great book! I read it many years ago and decided to read again now in order to continue with "World Without End". I'm so glad I did! I love Follet's new writing (Century Trilogy being another great position totally worth checking out); highly recommended!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Captivating, engaging, romantic, and emotional tale. A book I can read multiple times.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book is astonishing. Truly a work of staggering genius. It's an entirely absorbing work of historical fiction... that doesn't constantly feel like you're reading historical fiction. It feels like you're reading about very real people -- the good guys have their flaws, but you root for them anyway, because the villains of the piece are so abhorrent that you really just want to see them pounded into the dust. The themes this book explores are so deeply rooted in the human psyche -- things like the balance between independence and companionship, like forgiveness and compassion towards your fellow man, and like what living a life of bitterness and resentment will do to you. The plot rivets along at an absolutely thrilling pace, and I was completely riveted, desperate to know if my favourites were going to succeed against tremendous odds. I can't recommend this book strongly enough.