Literary Quote of the Month

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies," said Jojen. "The man who never reads lives only one." - George R.R. Martin, A Dance With Dragons

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Review of... Pillars of The Earth


Welcome to my blog about books and the things we love about them! We'll start simple here- have you read??
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett ? Well if you haven't that is my first recommendation!
A wonderful story with all the elements! Adventure, treachery, art, love, sex and superstition. What starts as a story of Tom Builder and his love of family & craft, grows into the tale of the assasination and sainthood of Thomas Becket. The characters are so real they almost walk out of the pages! So, get ready to experience the building of a magnificent cathedral, the world of 12th-century England and a cast of characters you simply will not forget. You will not be able to put this book down once you open it. You'll wish there were 900 more pages! Enjoy this book!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes I have.
I considered it a "stoplight book."
One that you are tempted to read at any red light while you waited for it to turn green.

Anonymous said...

Hi,
Are you going to post reviews of your favorite books that you listed to the left?

Suzanne Yester said...

I will definitely post reviews for my favorite books! Thanks for reminding me where to start! I may have to sneak in a new one I just read though because I'm reading something really good right now!

PaulGuy said...

It took Suzy several months to finally convince me to read this book. First it's over 900 pages! Unless you count trilogies I'd never read a book that long. Second, it takes place in Medieval times something I thought I had no interest in outside of Monty Python movies. But I really loved this book. The writing is outstanding. Ken Follett (Eye of The Needle) creates a world which spans generations. The characters become people you care about and in some cases despise. I also found the politics of those times to be quite fascinating. How a King dying without an heir can effect the lives of peasants who are now at the mercy of local Earls while the the parties claiming the throne have no motive to reel in their abuses. The power the Church shared with the ruling class and how that power could be used and abused. And the course fate plays in people's lives no matter how carefully their plans are made and executed. A great book, I highly recommend it. And I would like to thank Suzanne for pestering me to read it. Dare I say it? She was right!

Michele said...

Hi Paul,
If you want to find out what happens to the descendants of the characters that you have grown to care about you have to read World Without End. It takes place in the same town of Kingsbridge about 2 centuries after the cathedral has been completed. There is a new cast of wonderfully interesting characters who once again face the familiar obstacles of life. Love, greed and power shape their lives. It is a story that stands on it's own but I enjoyed the references to the characters that I had known from Pillars of the Earth. It's another long read but worth the time.

Suzanne Yester said...

Hi Michele,
I can't believe you had time to read this too! Did you start it right after Pillars?

PaulGuy said...

Thanks Michelle,
I've already bought the book (Kindle version,much lighter)just haven't cracked it open yet.

Michele said...

Hi Suzanne,

I read them several years apart and wish that I could have read them back to back. I had to go back and review the characters.
Happy reading Paul!

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