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The Bible in a Year (With Fr. Mike Schmitz)

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Podcast

In The Bible in a Year podcast, Fr. Mike Schmitz walks you through the entire Bible in 365 episodes,...

Kelly (279 KP) rated The Pillars of the Earth in Books

Nov 27, 2018

The Pillars of the Earth

Ken Follett | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry

7.6

(13 Ratings)

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Unique concept and well developed characters. (0 more)

A true epic

Ken Follett excelled in his development of this novel. Pillars of Earth is based around the building of a fictional cathedral in Kingsbridge (which is also fictional). Although the concept behind the story was not one that originally grabbed me as being interesting, as the story emerges, as readers, we realise the the cathedral is really just the vehicle that brings the main characters together and takes them forwards through time.

Follett uses this novel to address some of the key inequalities in society during the Middle Ages and demonstrates some of the extremes people went to in order to survive. Issues such as religion and crime are prevalent throughout the novel, as well as unjust treatment of both women and lower class men. Follett also shows an understanding of the struggles between church and crown during this period and demonstrates how each side tries to maintain what control they have, whilst seeking more.

The characters within the story are well thought out and believable. All of the characters felt hardships as well as successes throughout the story. At times, I did feel that Follett romanticed the ease of social movement around this period of history, some of the characters seem to bounce back incredibly quickly from a period of economic hardship.

I expected this story to have a rags to riches approach for the main characters when I first started reading, however, despite there being some elements of this, it was only there in a subtle undertone. I was also impressed with how much actual history that Follett was able to bring into the story without forcing it into the plot (for example the murder of Thomas Beckett).

Despite the size of this novel, it was a pleasantly easy read, which I often felt I needed to read just one more page before I put it down for the night.