The Pillars of the Earth
by Ken Follett
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Book Reviews of The Pillars of the Earth
Book Review: Is Ken Follett a Ron Paul libertarian?
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a wonderful story with memorable characters and some valuable insights into the nature of economics and the state, to boot. The author vividly transports the reader to 12th-century England with all of its dirtiness, cruelty, bigotry, injustice, and economic inefficiency on full display. It quickly becomes clear how and why there was so little progress for humanity until the Enlightenment, as the powers that be (the Crown and the Cross) parasitically benefited from an oppressively regimented system designed to keep everyone in poverty and misery. But through all of this, the heroes of the story persevere and eventually triumph.
Again, the STORY and CHARACTERS are key here. The yarn Ken Follett spins is one for the ages, and you will remember the central characters for the rest of your life. These facts alone make the book a "must-read" in my opinion. But the novel is far from perfect. The author belabors the point at times (how many women did William have to rape in vivid detail before we got the idea he was a bad man?), and he has an incredibe propensity for adverbs, particularly in his dialog tags. Take out all of the unnecessary adverbs and the book would be 1/3 shorter. And it IS too long. The characters, while "flesh and blood" and easy to relate to today, are a bit anachronistic -- they have values and characteristics that would not really be found in 12th century England. And for one final criticism, the sex scenes are really over the top. The author clearly has a nipple-pinching fetish and, after studying the history of the English language, I don't think it is known, by any stretch, that real-life Englanders from this time actually used the dreaded C-word, but the characters in this book certainly do.
But to close the review on a deservedly positive note, I would like to add something here from the libertarian perspective: THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH, whether intentionally or not, is a biting critique of the interventionist state. Ken Follett deftly demonstrates how regulation and regimentation of economic activity work to the benefit of the ruling elite and to the detriment of the laboring classes and society as a whole -- the people are kept on the brink of starvation due to absurd laws designed to protect entrenched interests. The heroic characters in this book are entrepreneurial capitalists who have key economic epiphanies that advance the plot, though most readers would probably not recognize them as such. Most novels set in the times of kings, knights, and serfs romanticize the evil feudal system, but this book does not. For that alone, it should be celebrated, but for the amazing story and memorable heroes, it should be truly exalted.
Book Review: Expansive and Engaging
Summary: 5 Stars
I had this book recommended to me a number of years ago. After fruitless years of searching for a cheap used copy in a thrift or second hand store, I finally broke down and bought it (I know, I know, libraries are good too . . .). And I'm glad I did. In this huge historical masterpiece, Follett unfolds a masterful tail of life in the village of Kingsbridge, England over a forty-year period as it emerges from relative obscurity to become a cathedral city.
The book begins with a mysterious hanging of a French jongleur (storyteller), a mystery that will weave throughout the rest of the story. We are first introduced to Tom, a stonemason and builder who is a bit down on his luck after a job falls through. He has church building in his blood, but isn't able to find work. His wife dies in child birth, and he takes up with a woman from the wild, Ellen, and her son, Jack. We meet Philip, a young monk, who then is surprisingly elected prior of the Kingsbridge monastary. These two characters, along with a third, Aliena, the daughter of the Earl of Shiring, make up the backbone of the story, as we follow their exploits and as their roads converge and diverge around the building of a cathedral for Kingsbridge.
The story is much too expansive to condense in a coherent way, but it is none the worse for it. The stories of domestic life and struggle, the local power plays between prior and bishop and earl, and the national and international politics of both church and country set the stage for the action. A two-decade civil war in England over the rightful successor to the throne provides the international tension that makes for shifting allegiances of the local earls and bishops, causing repeated upheavals in the local power struggles. Through it all, prior Philip seeks what's best for Kingsbridge and continues to build his cathedral.
Tom is succeeded by his son Alfred as builder of the cathedral, but his bungaling causes a small collapse and work stops, until Jack, son of the forrest-woman Ellen and step-son of Tom Builder, is appointed the new master builder. He reinvigorates the work with a new design based on the newest technologies from France, and a beautiful and light-filled cathedral takes shape. And amongst the stones and pillars, character flourish and fail, love is lost and won, and great things are learned.
The texture of the world Follett creates continually draws the reader into this past reality, and the depth of the characters keeps the plot moving forward. I highly recommend this amazing historical tale.
Book Review: An epic medieval saga of good and evil...
Summary: 4 Stars
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett is a riveting medieval saga of good and evil. In the edition that I read, it includes a new forward that explains how Follett came to write a novel so different from his unusual thrillers. This monster novel (at 973 pages) became a best-seller, primarily through word of mouth.
Pillars of the Earth begins in 1135 in fictional Kingsbridge, England. Kingsbridge is run by the monks of Kingsbridge Priory and is the seat of the local bishop. Two men find their fates connected in Kingsbridge. The young Prior Philip wants to turn around the financially failing priority. And master-builder Tom wants to feed his family and build the most magnificent cathedral in all of England. These two are continually thwarted in their efforts by jealous monks, a self-serving bishop and one of the most evil men in all literature--Earl William Hamleigh. The fates of the priory are also affected by the unstable political situation brought on by years of civil war. You will cheer for the little hamlet of Kingsbridge as it overcomes one setback after another.
This book is good at showing how people went about daily living in medieval times. These characters took baths twice a year, ate bread and ale for meals, and often shared a one-room house with their animals. As King Stephen and Queen Maud (Matilda in real life) battle for the throne, those sitting on the throne vie with the Roman Catholic Church for power. All of these struggles have a trickle-down effect on Kingsbridge. This is a period of history (1135-1174) with which I'm not very familiar. This made it even more interesting for me. One major detraction I found is that while I'm familiar with church-terms (narthex, nave, transept, crossing, chancel, crypt, and sacristy), I am sure that many readers are not. However, I am not familiar with many of the architectural terms. I can't tell you the difference between a groined vault, a barrel vault or a rib-vault. I also couldn't point out a buttress on a building. Diagrams and illustrations of these things would have been extremely helpful in visualizing the building of the cathedral.
I found Pillars of the Earth to be a powerful, moving and riveting story and it read much quicker than I thought. I am looking forward to reading Follett's new best-selling sequel, The Ends of the Earth.
Book Review: There's a good story buried in here...
Summary: 3 Stars
it's just too bad that Follett felt the need to pad it with an extra 400 unneccessary pages. Despite the uninspired proses, high school-ish dialogue and a few sinks thrown at the reader, the book has just enough to make you continue to find out what the heck happened. But I have to tell you, by page 700 I was sick of this cathedral. I do like that the women weren't always helpless damsels, despite a few horrible things happening to them, but did all the men have to be complete jerks? Other than Phillip I didn't care for any of them and Phillip rode my last nerve, too. I know as writers, there is a creative license that everyone is entitled to; but really, this reads like the author just didn't know any better on some of the historical facts. Richard and Aliena would not have been just left to hold the earldom after a raid-especially when their father was arrested for treason. Plus Richard would have already been someone squire at that age. The thing that really annoy me about Tom the Builder was just how fast he got over his first wife, Agnes. Literally the next evening he was in love with someone else and he didn't spare her a REAL second thought. 400 pages later Follett throws in that he was just getting over her, but it rang so false that it was insulting. Plus, in the begining of this book we see this family roaming around, starving and barely covering a country side and then 500 pages later, see Aliena cover vast amount of land looking for Jack with supposedly no money, too and with a baby and she wasn't starving and withering away. (Sure she got sick briefly, but C'mon.) There's a very comic book feels to a lot of this that I wished Follett just made it a fantasy so the author could do what he wanted and not have me frowning at the book and going "that's not what happened." Walrean was a disappointing nemesis, I didn't understand how the Hamleigh forgave him for trying to steal an earldom and hate a guy for just wanting some timber and rocks from them. I wanted specfics of Walreans downfall-not that he just shows up and wants to be lowly monk again. William was extremely over the top and I fail to see how a ragamuffin army of Richard's (supposedly of a hundred people) couldn't kill 4 ex-knights taken unawares during a rape.) I loved Follett's Eye of the Needle, but I think he really needs to stay out of the middle ages.Book Review: Good thought, messily handled
Summary: 3 Stars
First off: I enjoyed the book and finished it as quickly as I could, but - the book left me feeling empty. The story could have been - so - much better. The beginning really got me excited and drew me into the book, but the later chapters didn't stand up to the foundation laid down by Follett. I have a couple problems with the book, all of which will delve into issues - so, very mild spoilers below:
First off, there are multiple rape scenes in this book. I had a strong urge to put the book down right at those moments, but convinced myself to go back, thinking "Well, gosh, there must be a good reason for all of this. Beyond that, I shouldn't stop reading a book - rape happens and happened more often than I'd like to think about." But, well - the graphic scenes just weren't necessary after I've finished the book and had time to reflect on them.
Secondly, the book is utterly predictable. The good guys win and the bad guys lose. Sure, there are some twists during the book but you just - know - Aliena, Jack, Tom Builder and Prior Philip will come out golden in the very end. And you just - know - the Earl and his family, Alfred and Bishop Walleran will get it in the end. The book was utterly predictable.
Third, and the biggest problem for me; Follett could do so many - more - interesting things with some of the plot lines! Jack is an interesting character, but stuck on cathedrals. Why not explore Jack's mechanical genius, as shown when he creates an ingenious way to hammer wool? Why not do more with the Alfred character beyond making him an intolerable heel? Why not spend more time discussing the creation of the Kingsbridge village? Why not explore more of the pious world, like was done in the beginning of the book instead of putting most of the effort of the book into cathedral building?
That's not to say I would have liked the book longer - I wouldn't. Follett seems stuck on Cathedrals too much, stuck on doing boring predictable things with his characters, and stuck on a good plot idea without being able to write up to the story's potential.
While I enjoyed the story, it could have been so much more. It leaves me disappointed. Three stars for a book I enjoyed in the moment but will neither read again nor suggest to another person.