The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

A lot happens in the four decades covered in 12^th century England and the fateful trip to France.  For me, the story moved well and I became emotionally charged and at the same time challenged with the ruthlessness of those within the church who did anything for personal gain and I do mean anything: betrayal, murder, bloodshed, sanctioned violence, etc.  Yes, churches are a refuge but there were also some used as a political pawn and money-maker for whoever was really in charge.  The story includes storms, famines, multiple battles in pursuit/conquest of the royal throne, considerable ambition and yes, faith.

The brutality of the times cannot be ignored (facts are facts) and I admit to avoiding those details.  While I did not have a favorite character, each was memorable and the intrigue certainly kept the story moving for me all the way to the end.  I kept thinking about how much more can this prior take, how many times will such bad things continue to happen to the good guys,  will there ever be any justice, how do the rotten people continue to be allowed to prosper and literally get away with murder/ thievery/brutality??? HOWEVER, each one comes to their end (thankfully) and the truth about the hanging that starts the book comes to light and the king is flogged (kind of).

This book is not at all what I expected which is a good thing.  Secondly, please do not be daunted by the sheer number of pages.  There is actually more than one story, all entangled in the ultimate quest of building the largest, most unique cathedral, to do it first and best along with the many characters along the way that it took to reach that goal.  It is also a reminder that God has his own timetable when answering prayers, even for a church. 

Oddly enough, it actually took me less time to get to the end of the book than most with half the number of pages.  I normally include details about the various characters and there is many, each adding so much to the story that it would take too much space here but I encourage you to get to know them in this worthy historical novel.  

On a scale of 1 to 10, I give it an “8”.  I cannot give it a higher score since my all-time favorite historical novel is still Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Polk which I continue to give a solid “10”.