The Pillars of the Earth

Follett is a master who has created a work that, despite being set hundreds of years in the past, reflects the very sort of political shenanigans and manipulations that are going on today. Pillars of the Earth is rich in sensory detail, easily transporting the reader to the Middle Ages. The book is structured very well, telling the tales of the various characters in parts before knitting them seamlessly together to give us the whole.

Jack Builder is one of the most original and fascinating characters I've ever read, followed by his mother, Ellen. I enjoyed Pillars of the Earth and I'm looking forward to reading World Without End.

I'm not usually a fan of Oprah's books, so I was reluctant to read it. But once I picked it up I couldn't put it down. Then my husband got a hold of it and we were racing to be the first to get our hands on it every night for two weeks. Whoever got it didn't come to bed until 2 a.m. It really is very entertaining, thought a bit far-fetched, but who cares when your turning pages this fast. Just a quick warning though: Follet includes some VERY racey sex scenes, oh my!

I finally stopped reading this book about 3/4 of the way through. I just kept plugging along waiting for it to "grab" me. I finally stopped the struggle. I read two to three books a week and enjoy Follett, but I found this story boring and the pages never-ending...

I read this for book club and wondered whether I would get through it at all. After the first couple of chapters, I was hooked. It is fun reading and hard to put down.

How this book made Oprahs list is beyond me. Obviously she never read it. Follet obviously has some pre-teen girl rape fantasy issues, because that's what he seems to dwell on the most in great detail. Even better, the final conclusion drawn by a main character is that her childhood raping is what made her a successful woman. Hows that for womens lib?

Follets knowledge of the timeperiod is limited to snippets of info inserted almost verbatum from other sources. There is very little in his characters that embody aspects of medieval life or philosophy. It's a simplistic, obvious story with no real twists or turns, and it could be transported to any time period simply by changing a few words here and there. I'm embarassed to have read it.

If you like poorly researched medieval porn, this is certainly the book for you.