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)

Great first audio book

This was my first audio book and I really enjoyed it. I was pretty unimaginative about English life in the 1100’s. This book really changed that. I have read several other books by this author and loved those. In this particular book some of the sexual scenes and violence were pretty graphic and I could have done with less so that is why I gave it four stars on the story.

Worth every minute

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Follet did an excellent job of interweaving great stories around the building of churches and actual historical happenings. Highly recommended.

I couldn't stop listening

I don't usually obsess about books like I did with this one. The pace of action is relentless, the sense of place and people is rich. Historical fiction is not usually my thing but I got through it in two weeks, wedging in time to listen wherever I could. I preferred listening to this reader at 1.25x speed.

Marvelous Story

I was captivated from the beginning by the characters. I whole-heartedly cheered for the good guys and disparaged the bad ones. For a story about a church, it featured plenty of relatable agnostics. I whole-heartedly recommend this beautiful odyssey. I couldn’t wait to listen every day, and binged on the last 3 hours. John Lee surprised me with the depth of his performance, which was completely different from the abysmal “Thus spoke Zarathustra” audio book, which was my only prior experience with his performances.

I was riveted

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely. Real insight into that time in history, and the characters were very real to me.

What did you like best about this story?

The complexity of the plot, and the way so many elements came together in the end for a satisfying read.

Have you listened to any of John Lee’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No -- but I will. The narrator was excellent and added greatly to my enjoyment.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Jack burning the cathedral. I felt I was right up in the rafters with him.

Any additional comments?

Ready to read the sequel.

One of the best books I've ever listened to

This was an epic take that was incredibly well told and narrated. Amazing that a book about building churches could be so interesting.

Engaging but choppy, especialy at the end.

Would you listen to The Pillars of the Earth again? Why?

Probably not -- its quite a time commitment

Would you recommend The Pillars of the Earth to your friends? Why or why not?

Maybe - some of the scenes are very violent and graphic so it is not for everybody.

What about John Lee’s performance did you like?

He's got a great voice and you can tell the difference between all of the characters. considering how many there are in the book, that's quite the accomplishment!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not humanly possible unless you are a tweaker

Any additional comments?

you were left hanging at the end as to what happened to some of the characters, and SPOILER ALERT-
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I was disappointed that all of the bad guys got their comeuppance or repented. So not realistic! That was my major complaint - their end of life stories were just too pat.

HIghly Recommended

I loved this book.

I was apprehensive about the length of this Audiobook. But the characters were well developed and the storyline kept me involved from start to finish.

It was very Beautifully written. However, I was uncomfortable with the graphic descriptions of the Rape Scenes depicted throughout the story. I felt they were more explicit than was necessary.

The Narrator was wonderful. Listening to his accent as he read gave the story a real sense of authenticity.

Good

After seeing this mini-series on Starz made me want to read the book. It's different from the series but still good.

The ideal book for an audiobook

Would you consider the audio edition of The Pillars of the Earth to be better than the print version?

In print this is a dauntingly heavy book, but as an audio version I drank down the full 40-some hours of entertainment this audiobook provided. It is so extremely plot- and dialoge-driven that it makes for the ideal audiobook. I never got distracted, never lost track of the story, and was constantly wanting to keep on listening.