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A review by beaconatnight
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
3.0
Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth was a massive bestseller, especially here in Germany where it was published as illustrated hardcover edition. The beautiful packaging might already explain to some extent why many people were drown to the book. Yet, it must have been its inner qualities that made fans devour the brick-sized book.
It's not too difficult to see why, given the fast-paced plot, the easily likable or despisable characters, and most of all, the genuinely fascinating medieval setting. Personally, I'm also very much intrigued by the idea of the devoted and humble life in the monastery and the passionate work that has brilliant minds dedicate decades to the creation of greatness by perpetually challenging their own ideas and fathom what is possible.
Meanwhile, the world around them doesn't stand still. After the death of King Henry I, England is at the brink of civil war. His daughter Maud and his nephew Stephen of Blois both claim the throne for themselves. In some way or another, this is actually based on real historical events. I think much of the excitement that many readers felt while reading the novel stems from the fact that our protagonists are strong personalities that are entangled in these big events, thereby giving history a human face.
Yet, the sense of scope doesn't come at the price of burdening political detail. Each part of the book has its own scheming and the overall conspiracy takes new shape, but at no point does it become overwhelmingly convoluted. Follett is great at giving you just enough information for the reader to imagine that important things are ongoing at the backdrop. But just as the majority of the people of the days portrayed, we are much too concerned with the everyday struggle to pay too much attention to the events that shape history.
At the beginning of the story, Tom Builder loses his job as mason and they are forced to wander the area in search of work. Times are rough, even when after months he is finally hired to oversee the building of the new cathedral in Kingsbridge Priory. Initially, I wasn't quite sure who would be important for the general plot, but eventually I highly enjoyed how different subchapters focus on different characters and how their journeys continuously refine the overall picture.
To my mind, the book is full of strong characters whose arcs often span the entire story. The reader gets the sense of following them through stages of their life. Often their goals are explicitly stated – like building the cathedral or regaining the earldom – yet they are constantly forced to reinvent themselves and their relationships in the face of hardships and devastating setbacks. I strongly felt the most disheartening moments, like when Aliena is raped or when she looses all her wool, the result of six years fighting for survival. Or when Kingsbridge is insidiously attacked by William. Or when the roof of the cathedral collapses, thereby destroying years of hard work. Hard times.
Other occurrences made me unsure about how to react. When Tom was at his wit's end, facing the real danger of starvation, young Jack realizes it would save them all if the old Kingsbridge cathedral would burn down. He decides to take matters in his own hands. Naturally, it's very dangerous and plainly very wrong, at least on the surface level. But I still wanted him to succeed, and get out of there unharmed and hopefully even without people take notice of him. The real interpersonal repercussions came only much later, but the horrors of the raging fires and the desperate attempt to save everyone and the church's valuables, were very gripping and intense to read.
The story doesn't have the strongest villain personas, but there was real impact to their actions. From the very beginning there is strong rivalry between the two would-be step brothers, Jack and Tom's real son Alfred, and their confrontations become increasingly more fierce in later years. Frankly, the outcomes are not always very plausible. For instance, Philip punishes Jack with expulsion from Kingsbridge, which seemed uncharacteristically severe, especially given the fact that it was rather clear he was attacked. But generally it's the familiar case of boys being boys well done. Jack as well as others suffer greatly from Alfred's ruthless behavior, and I often felt strongly repulsed by his actions.
Bishop Waleran Bigod's main motive is personal gain. He's clearly in the story to initiate the events that would lead to new iterations of the general good vs. evil dynamics. William is somewhat more interesting, as he clearly suffers from some kind of superiority complex and the sense of misguided entitlement that comes with it. He makes you wonder whether he's representative of a general pathology prevalent in the dark ages. I think the fictional events give a good idea of how status and power operate in a very strictly hierarchical society, and how injustice naturally leads to conflict and hardship.
The plot becomes a bit episodic towards the end and I felt the new iterations of the familiar enmities weren't as captivating and exciting as they were in the beginning. For instance, there is another attack on Kingsbridge and this time the big twist is that the townspeople are able to defend themselves by building a wall within a single night. It made me wonder if the whole episode couldn't have been prevented by spending a week or two to build the fortress in advance, especially since apparently they lived in constant fear of being attacked by William or by outlaws.
There were other resolutions of outstanding issues that didn't feel fully satisfying. Frankly, it was almost ridiculous how Jack finds his late father's family simply by wondering through France and showing his face in various towns. I was also a bit disappointed by how easily Aliena eventually wins back the Earldom for her brother, especially in comparison to how difficult pure survival had been for the two for almost twenty years.
Notwithstanding some shortcomings in its composition, for the most part The Pillars of the Earth was a great page-turner. It's refreshing to read a book of this scope that still remains unburdened by unnecessary complexity. The perfect cozy summer read.
3.5/5
It's not too difficult to see why, given the fast-paced plot, the easily likable or despisable characters, and most of all, the genuinely fascinating medieval setting. Personally, I'm also very much intrigued by the idea of the devoted and humble life in the monastery and the passionate work that has brilliant minds dedicate decades to the creation of greatness by perpetually challenging their own ideas and fathom what is possible.
Meanwhile, the world around them doesn't stand still. After the death of King Henry I, England is at the brink of civil war. His daughter Maud and his nephew Stephen of Blois both claim the throne for themselves. In some way or another, this is actually based on real historical events. I think much of the excitement that many readers felt while reading the novel stems from the fact that our protagonists are strong personalities that are entangled in these big events, thereby giving history a human face.
Yet, the sense of scope doesn't come at the price of burdening political detail. Each part of the book has its own scheming and the overall conspiracy takes new shape, but at no point does it become overwhelmingly convoluted. Follett is great at giving you just enough information for the reader to imagine that important things are ongoing at the backdrop. But just as the majority of the people of the days portrayed, we are much too concerned with the everyday struggle to pay too much attention to the events that shape history.
At the beginning of the story, Tom Builder loses his job as mason and they are forced to wander the area in search of work. Times are rough, even when after months he is finally hired to oversee the building of the new cathedral in Kingsbridge Priory. Initially, I wasn't quite sure who would be important for the general plot, but eventually I highly enjoyed how different subchapters focus on different characters and how their journeys continuously refine the overall picture.
To my mind, the book is full of strong characters whose arcs often span the entire story. The reader gets the sense of following them through stages of their life. Often their goals are explicitly stated – like building the cathedral or regaining the earldom – yet they are constantly forced to reinvent themselves and their relationships in the face of hardships and devastating setbacks. I strongly felt the most disheartening moments, like when Aliena is raped or when she looses all her wool, the result of six years fighting for survival. Or when Kingsbridge is insidiously attacked by William. Or when the roof of the cathedral collapses, thereby destroying years of hard work. Hard times.
Other occurrences made me unsure about how to react. When Tom was at his wit's end, facing the real danger of starvation, young Jack realizes it would save them all if the old Kingsbridge cathedral would burn down. He decides to take matters in his own hands. Naturally, it's very dangerous and plainly very wrong, at least on the surface level. But I still wanted him to succeed, and get out of there unharmed and hopefully even without people take notice of him. The real interpersonal repercussions came only much later, but the horrors of the raging fires and the desperate attempt to save everyone and the church's valuables, were very gripping and intense to read.
The story doesn't have the strongest villain personas, but there was real impact to their actions. From the very beginning there is strong rivalry between the two would-be step brothers, Jack and Tom's real son Alfred, and their confrontations become increasingly more fierce in later years. Frankly, the outcomes are not always very plausible. For instance, Philip punishes Jack with expulsion from Kingsbridge, which seemed uncharacteristically severe, especially given the fact that it was rather clear he was attacked. But generally it's the familiar case of boys being boys well done. Jack as well as others suffer greatly from Alfred's ruthless behavior, and I often felt strongly repulsed by his actions.
Bishop Waleran Bigod's main motive is personal gain. He's clearly in the story to initiate the events that would lead to new iterations of the general good vs. evil dynamics. William is somewhat more interesting, as he clearly suffers from some kind of superiority complex and the sense of misguided entitlement that comes with it. He makes you wonder whether he's representative of a general pathology prevalent in the dark ages. I think the fictional events give a good idea of how status and power operate in a very strictly hierarchical society, and how injustice naturally leads to conflict and hardship.
The plot becomes a bit episodic towards the end and I felt the new iterations of the familiar enmities weren't as captivating and exciting as they were in the beginning. For instance, there is another attack on Kingsbridge and this time the big twist is that the townspeople are able to defend themselves by building a wall within a single night. It made me wonder if the whole episode couldn't have been prevented by spending a week or two to build the fortress in advance, especially since apparently they lived in constant fear of being attacked by William or by outlaws.
There were other resolutions of outstanding issues that didn't feel fully satisfying. Frankly, it was almost ridiculous how Jack finds his late father's family simply by wondering through France and showing his face in various towns. I was also a bit disappointed by how easily Aliena eventually wins back the Earldom for her brother, especially in comparison to how difficult pure survival had been for the two for almost twenty years.
Notwithstanding some shortcomings in its composition, for the most part The Pillars of the Earth was a great page-turner. It's refreshing to read a book of this scope that still remains unburdened by unnecessary complexity. The perfect cozy summer read.
3.5/5