I also have to admit that the last part of the novel, involving the assassination of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, seemed to drag on, used to make a long book even longer. It didn’t seem believable to me, especially compared with the wonderful characterization of the other individuals in the novel. A very religious man that is petrified of ending up in hell, William goes about murdering, raping, stealing and conniving. The villain of this story, William Hamleigh, is a nasty piece of work, actually it was almost laughable at how bad he was. The only women which the book addresses prominently seemed to be distinguishable by name only. Many of the characters, especially the males, are well defined and three dimensional. The narrative flew by, mostly, some parts of the book I had to trudge through, but mostly my attention was kept inside the novel. The historical fiction aspect of the novel, how people lived, worked and acted during the 12 th Century England, was also engaging. I found the author’s explanation about buildings, how technology developed to make the buildings stronger, very interesting. The novel certainly has a lot going for it, a few engaging characters, interesting plot and wonderful explanations about architecture. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett is one of those books that I pushed aside due to its length, however once I started reading it I certainly understood why many people liked it so much. My rating for The Pillars of the Earth – 4īuy this book in paper or electronic (Kindle) format*

The novel was published in 1989 to excellent reviews and has become widely read despite its length, listed on the BBC’s Big Read (#33) and selected for the Oprah Book Club. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet is set in Kingsbridge, England and mainly tells about the building of the cathedral in town.

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