Pillars of the Earth

I love reading historical fiction. The first time I read a book of that type, I was a junior in high school and my history teacher assigned the class to read Centennial by James Michener. Oh, how I loved that book and those characters. I enjoyed it so much that I don’t know why it took many years after reading Centennial to start reading other books like it!



I just recently finished Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. I chose the audio book version (32 CDs) since I was in the midst of reading a couple of other books at the time. On the surface Pillars of the Earth is about the building of a cathedral, but you don’t have to look too deep to see that it’s about so much more. The novel follows 3 different groups of people: 2 noble families, a Prior and his monks, and a builder and his family. All of their stories manage to seamlessly intertwine into a wonderful novel that spans several decades in the lives of these people. I enjoyed all of the characters who were so well developed by Mr. Follett, that I felt I knew them as well as my own family. A recurring theme throughout the novel is the balance of power between church and state, rich and poor, and the righteous and the immoral.

I am planning on renting the DVD to watch the characters I feel I know so well come to life. If you’ve read it, I’d love to hear your thoughts!!