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)

You won't want to stop listening

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

I had been wanting to read this book for years now but the size of it intimidated me (1000 pages is a big commitment and hard to carry around). Within minutes of listening to John Lee's voice reading this book I was sucked in and never wanted it to end. Fortunately, with roughly 40 hours of reading time, it didn't end . . . well, for awhile. When it did, I just wanted more. Fotunately there is a sequel!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Alaina - She is a stong resourceful woman who faces adversity at every turn.

What about John Lee’s performance did you like?

I will be listening to anything and everything John Lee reads. He has a great way of giving different voices, masculine and feminine, to the different characters in a way that is distinguishable but not annoying.

Couldn't put it down...

Although I've found a book from time to time that I can't put down, I can usually break away from an audiobook. The Pillars of the Earth was unstoppable for me.

Follett develops the most intriguing cast of characters. I enjoyed all of them, the good guys, the bad guys, the downtrodden and the blessed. With them I starved, grieved, conquered, fell in love and triumphed.

Excellent

I was not sure at first whether I would like this book but it was addicting and I hated for it to end. A must "listen".

You'll forget the real world...

If you are a fan of escapism and being engulfed in singular cults of personality...read this book please.

Compelling

I just finished listening to Pillars this last weekend and am sad it’s over. Follett’s characters, story development, cathedral building descriptions, and intertwining of memorable and loving characters with those I grew to hate kept me enthralled. John Lee, the amazing narrator, brings all the characters to life with believable moods and emotions and describes beautifully how the 12th century may have felt to live in. I can close my eyes and imagine what it must have been like to be in England during that era. I’m sad I’m finished and can’t wait to listen to World Without End.

Great way to while away several hours

One of my favorites of the books I've gotten from Audible. The narrator is terrific and the story is compelling. I really cared about the characters, all of whom seemed very real.

I miss this book

It's now been two days since the story ended. I have a real sense of loss that the characters from this story are gone.

The characters in this story are expertly crafted, intelligent, beautiful and interesting. I loved some, hated others ... the ups and downs in this story stirred significant emotion.

I found there to be surprisingly little time spent on cathedral building given many of the other reviews here. The balance of story and structural discussion was masterfully crafted. The descriptions of the buildings in the story made me want to research structures from that time and put reality to the imagination.

As you can tell, I loved this story. I'm downloading the sequal right now and looking forward to another journey through Kingsbridge.

Pillars of the Earth

Facinating listen. You have to stop and remember that it is about the building of a church.

Best book I've devoured in years

Great story, masterfully written, wonderful characters, excellent narrator--what more could you ask?? I didn't read it...er, listen to it... I devoured it. I felt a bit lost when I finished it, like all my imaginary friends had moved away to another city and gone about their lives without me. To me, that's the real mark of epic storytelling. Well done, Mr. Follett!

pillars of the earth

excellant,never a dull moment for a 40 hour book
also a great insight into the the lives of these
11th century people