The Pillars of the Earth

By: Ken Follett

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 40 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

The Pillars of the Earth tells the story of Philip, prior of Kingsbridge, a devout and resourceful monk driven to build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has known...of Tom, the mason who becomes his architect - a man divided in his soul...of the beautiful, elusive Lady Aliena, haunted by a secret shame...and of a struggle between good and evil that will turn church against state, and brother against brother.

A spellbinding epic tale of ambition, anarchy, and absolute power set against the sprawling medieval canvas of 12th century England, this is Ken Follett's historical masterpiece.

©1989 Ken Follett (P)2007 Penguin Audio, a member of Penguin Group (USA), Inc.

Critic reviews

"Follett is a master." (The Washington Post)

"A historical novel of gripping readability, authentic atmosphere and detail and memorable characterization." (Publishers Weekly)

My Big Fat British Story

Any additional comments?

Many of the reviews state this is a book about the building of a cathedral. So I bought the book. Not what I expected.

The book is more about the back room deals required to build a cathedral. Not much of the book is dedicated to the actual building of it or life in ye olden days. The book contains only minimal information about actual planning, construction, methods and life styles. I was expecting something different.

The book is more of a soap than hard historical fiction. About 80/20.

Still. A nicely written big story. Mostly fast paced. Good, but not excellent characters. Good plot twists. The narrator was exceptional.

Recommended

Really enjoyed this book even more than I anticipated. Interesting characters and period setting, excellent narrator, suspense, drama...loved it. One word of caution: I wound up fast forwarding in a few places to avoid some of the animal-related violence. I (and I think the story) could have lived without it, but the book was good enough to get past. I still really liked this book, so much so that I immediately downloaded the sequel. Enjoy!

A New "Reader"

This is definitely one of my favorite audio-books of all time, and I have listened to many. John Lee's narration is superb. My oldest son, who has never been one to read for pleasure, was often subjected to 20 minutes of "Pillars" when I gave him a ride to work in the morning. I was so pleased when he finally asked me if he could listen to the whole book when I was finished. I think Audible is going to gain a new customer!

must read if you love history-intrigue-romance

AND ARCITECTURE--a powerful and exciting book based on a fascinating series of historical events, expertly performed by John Lee.

MUST READ

Where does The Pillars of the Earth rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The Pillars of the Earth is in my all time top 5

What did you like best about this story?

How all the characters' lives are intertwined

What about John Lee’s performance did you like?

John Lee's performance was very good and he made each character sound different.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

This story has it all- Romance, Revenge, War, Family drama. Absolutely nothing is missing from the story; it could not be better!!!

Any additional comments?

I liked this book so much that as soon as I finished it, I just started it over again. Such an awesome book!

A classic

This was a particularly long book, but I was still sad when it ended. Character development is excellent. I feel like I lived for a time in ancient England.

great writing

Very well told, can't turn the book off.

I Liked It

I picked this one mainly because it had OK reviews and it was LONG...a good value for the money. For the most part, I liked it. The author didn't quite convince me that he knows about women but I was able to forgive those parts. The sex scenes made me want to giggle like a school girl...a little crudely described.

Outstanding

I didn't understand what all the hub bub about this book was until I listened to it on the recommendation of a friend.

I couldn't stop listening to it. It is a fantastic book!

Good...... but

I enjoyed the book, and am now listening to the sequel. The "but" relates to the predictability of some of the situations that develop. You say to yourself no, don't go there but sure enough they do. I still recommend the book. You find yourself wondering how this situation will eventually work it's way out and there are some surprises so go for it!