The Pillars of the Earth

Ken Follett

According to Ken Follett's website, "The Pillars of the Earth" is Ken Follett's most popular novel. After racing through almost a thousand pages, I can easily understand why this is the case. I was pleasantly surprised (being I disliked Follett's "The Third Twin") to find this book a very entertaining piece of historical fiction. Set in England in the civil war torn years between the reign of Henry I and Henry II, the book winds its way through the lives of a several very engaging main characters (especially the villains) while always bringing the reader back the book's primary theme - the building of a cathedral in Kingsbridge. Don't be fooled, even though the building of a cathedral may not sound like a great plot vehicle, Follett makes it work and work beautifully. Best of all, "The Pillars of the Earth" has a little of everything. The novel is all at once a love story, a light history lesson, a view of religion and a taste of war (not to mention Follett throws in a lot of 12th century architectural trivia). Overall, it's an appealing tale of good versus evil and worth picking up off the shelf.