The Pillars of the Earth Review
Ken Follett’s Most Popular Book Yet
Politics, romance and divine manipulation combined with sweat, mortar and skilled masonry doth make a medieval cathedral. Historical fiction at its finest.
The Pillars of the Earth is the story of the people who built cathedrals in twelfth-century Europe; in particular the people who orchestrated the building of England’s Knightsbridge Cathedral. Flanked by divine inspiration and greed, the forces for and against the building of a cathedral at Knightsbridge are the buttresses of this book.
Plain Language
Follett’s use of plain language is refreshing. By not distracting his readers with unfamiliar medieval English dialogue, he allows the reader to be fully carried along by the characters and their daily challenges. The use of plain language fully engages the reader in the machinations - financial, architectural, and spiritual - of building a medieval cathedral.
Character-Based
Each character is well-defined and distinguishable from the next. This is a true feat for Follett as the novel covers over 50 years and represents every class of citizenry in twelfth-century England. The mysterious outlaw Ellen whose gift of knowing is sometimes clouded by her pride. The Prior Phillip who eventually turns his perceived weakness into his greatest strength. And the sadistic William Hamleigh, the young upstart who tries to rape and pillage his way to power and respect. Linking all of these disparate characters is the building of the most spectacular cathedral of its time at Knightsbridge priory.
From the lowest monk and servant right up to the highest members of the British aristocracy and monarchy, Follett provides a unique physical description for each character. Names are specific to characters, as are their specific mannerisms and character traits. This is a true example of master novel writing, as Follett had to place his main characters among at least four distinct family lines that exist along side a plethora of conforming and non-conforming monks and priests, all living under the instable rule of competing lines for the British Throne at the time.
Medieval Architecture
The actual design and construction of the cathedral also has a story line of its own. Politics and greed intervene. Over the time of its construction the cathedral falls victim to the ravages of jealousy, the waste of haste, and the pride of inexperienced builders. Young Jack Jackson’s search for his father leads him to Europe where he is exposed to architectural wonders never before seen in England. Jack brings his new found architectural skills back to England where he applies them to the cathedral in progress. Follett describes the art and skill of masonry in the same accurate plain language that he uses to tell us how people of the various classes earned their livelihoods during medieval times.
It is because of his engaging, likeable protagonists, and equally engaging yet despicable antagonists it is easy to understand why The Pillars of the Earth is Follett’s most popular book yet. Somehow anxious for the cathedral to be finished, the reader is left wanting to know more about the good citizens of Knightsbridge. Even after the exhaustive 950 pages it takes to build the cathedral Follett leaves his readers lonely as they miss their favourite The Pillars of the Earth character so much.
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, 1989, ISBN: 978-0+451+22524-5
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