The Pillars of the Earth

Ken Follett's spectacular historical novel reminds me of one of my favorite movie titles: The Good (Prior Phillip), The Bad (Bishop Waleran Bigod), and The Ugly (William Hamleigh)! This book is filled with do-gooders, such as Aliena, Tom Builder, Jonathan, Ellen and Jack Sherbough. The infamous include most of the aristocrats, the vulgar Alfred, Remigius, and the hideous Lady Regan Hamleigh. The descriptions of all the characters are so remarkable that you can visualize everyone clearly in your mind. Ken Follett has written an epic book of medieval times between the years of 1123 to 1174. It's a sensational drama of good versus evil, religion versus sovereignty, and the tenacity of the common man.

The book starts with a mysterious hanging in 1123 and quickly moves to Tom Builder's family in 1135. Tom is a master mason with dreams of building the world's best Cathedral. He has many trials and tribulations before arriving in Kingsbridge and meeting the new prior, Phillip. Meanwhile the Hamleigh family of Shiring is insulted by Aliena, daughter of Earl Bartholomew, for refusing to marry their son, William. This starts 39 years of strife between these two families.

Prior Phillip taking over the Monastery at Kingsbridge seeks help via King Stephen to acquire the funds needed to build his Cathedral. He succeeds by tricking Bishop Waleran out of the funds the Bishop wanted for the building of his castle. Prior Phillip has now unfortunately made a enemy out of the Bishop for the next 39 years. The ensuing years result in many confrontations between these two.

Meanwhile on the political front, the battle for the Throne of England and Normandy goes on for 39 years between King Stephen, King Henry II, and Queen Maud. Religion is heavily involved in the struggles, led by the eminent Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket.

All three of these scenarios (Hamleighs vs Aliena, Prior Phillip vs Bishop Waleran, and Sovereignty vs Religion) are artfully intertwined into a classic tale of right and wrong. There is so much going on in this novel that I only touched on the main plots, skipping the numerous sub-plots. I wouldn't want to spoil your enjoyment culminating in a exciting ending. Of the 30 books I read in 2010, this is the best, edging out Black Hills.

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars

Comment: The Kingsbridge Cathedral is fictional, but one of the towns in the book, Salisbury, is real and has a cathedral built similarly to the one described in the book. Ken Follett spent many years studying the age-old architecture involved in building a cathedral in medieval England. In a preface written in 1999, Ken Follett states this book became his biggest seller by "word of mouth"! I believe him since that's how I became aware of The Pillars of the Earth - thanks Luisa!