The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

This epic historical novel was set in 12th century England, between 1120 and 1170, during the period known as The Anarchy. To someone like me, who has little knowledge of that period, the book provided an introduction to the period, and in particular, to the way in which the king and the church severely oppressed the people, keeping them indentured and in poverty. The book also provided an interesting introduction into the change that occurred during that period in the architecture of churches from Romanesque architecture to Gothic architecture with its pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and flying buttresses. I found both of these introductions to be very interesting -- enough so to warrant further research as I continued my reading.

This book is a novel, and in the end, it is about the characters in the novel and their stories. All novels demand of their authors a well-written, interesting story, with well-developed characters. As I have mentioned before, I have not found Ken Follett to be a great writer, nor have I found his stories to be very interesting. However, I very much enjoyed this story, and I found the characters to be extremely well developed. I find his writing to be adequate at best, and at times less than adequate, but this story was compelling, and these characters were compelling. I found the endless conflict to be too much at times, but in the end, I appreciated his happy ending, which left me feeling good about the book. I liked this book, and I recommend it.