The Pillars of the Earth (Deluxe Edition) (Oprah's Book Club)

Product Details

Author : Ken Follett
Binding : Paperback
EAN : 9780451225245
Number of Pages : 973
Product Group : Book
Publication Date : 2007-11-14
Publisher : Berkley (TRD)
Release Date : 2007-11-14

ASIN : 0451225244

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Customer Reviews

A MUST READ!!! (2008-07-07)

I LOVED this book!! It actually took me awhile to get into it (about pg 138) but I don't know why...I mean there were exciting events and suspense and I was very into it during those parts but then it was like he lost me until the next suspenseful part. I think it might be because he goes into such lengthy explanations but in the end I was grateful for them. Sometimes I think he did go a bit too far into explaining how EXACTLY every little detail was done in building the cathedral but the Characters totally make up for it. Like I said I LOVED this book and it is one of the top books on my must read list.

This was just tragic (2008-04-30)

A friend recommended this, and then an aunt did, so I picked it up. What a mistake! I wanted to like this based on the great reviews from people I know, but this book just couldn't live up to it. Many of the points that drove me crazy have been mentioned, but I'll sum it up again. -ALL of the characters are completely one-dimensional. The "good" ones are completely virtuous, and are always at the mercy of the "bad" ones. The "bad" characters are completely chiched- horrible in every facet of their being and their physical appearance is supposed to mirror that (Waleran is skinny and "spidery" like a Disney villain.)-There is completely unnecessary detail about mundane events that do not advance the plot or give you any insight into anyones motivations. There is a scene that is about 3 pages long solely about a fight between a bear and some greyhounds that I ended up skipping. And the "detail" about cathedral building is tiresome and insanely boring.-Every chapter the "suspense" builds by either the "good" or the "bad" guys being in charge. But by the next chapter, someone else will be ahead and the chapter after that the other side will have won.-And I GET IT: Aliena has a mass of unruly dark curls. This book, for all of it's magnificent reviews, is such a disappointment. The writing is really shallow and the characters never get to be anything but superficially good or evil. I really couldn't recommend that anyone read this unless you want to waste your time.

A personnal perspective on a novel (spoiler-free) (2008-03-07)

At around the age of 14 I read this book while on summer vacation. Having always been an avid reader, the size and scope of this novel did not rebut me as I had already taken on John Grisham novels and other Follett books within the same period of time. Recently I came upon it's sequel and was pleasantly surprised by it's existence. I proceeded to acquire both novels (I had lost my first copy)to re-read them. The book, I remembered was extremely enjoyable and offered a strong plot, that, at the time, I saw as just under Umberto Ecco's The Name Of The Rose, in terms of complexity and quality. I also remember being slightly disturbed by the brutality of life depicted in the novel.Having recently finished both novels, I can reiterate my satisfaction with M. Follett's work. The first tome was particularly engaging and had upon me, 7 years after my first reading, the same ensnaring and deeply moving effect. Additionally, age and education have given me the ability to further appreciate plot elements, nuances and historical events that had not been within the reach of my younger mind. Also being now more fluent in Shakespeare's language (my mother-tongue being French), I was able to appreciate with greater ease the strong and, I would daresay, viril writing style of the author, a subjective, yes, but nevertheless present quality in this novel.That being said, I recommend this book without hesitation.As for my rating: - compared to the author's other work I would give it a 5 on 5 rating- compared to other novels in the same genre, I would give it a 5 on 5 rating- compared to other contemporary books (20th century) I would give it a 4 on 5 rating- compared to every book I have ever read, I would give it a 3.5 on 5 rating. Post Scriptum: Of course, I give these rating using my own personal opinion and experience as a 20yo reader.

excellent (2008-03-06)

I didn't really want to read this book, it was lent to me by a friend who raved about it and I couldn't say no. I'm glad I didn't. This isn't the type of book that I usually read and am surprised at how much I liked it. I don't know how accurate it was and don't really care, all I was interested in was the story. If I wanted to know exact facts of building a cathedral I'd pick up a non-fiction. I found that it slowed a bit in a couple of areas but it didn't take long to pick up again. Overall the book was great, characters were interesting and the plot was enthralling. I would probably even read it again.

Check your copy (2008-02-15)

This is an interesting book. The story flows well, it's understandable, the exposure to what life may have been like 1000 yrs ago in England is facinating. The story is not spellbinding, I found it easy to put down but I always enjoyed coming back.I did not buy my copy from amazon, perhaps I should have because their quality control may be better than where I got it for the same price. Lesson learned. My copy had a some critical pages of time missing( around ch 5). I'll take it back and get another copy for future rereading.I do recommend this book.

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