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)

Unbelievable

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

The audio version of this book is so much better than the book. I, like many, have a very busy schedule. I do not have the luxury to sit and read a book of this depth and length. The narrative was simply addicting. I could not "put it down", or better put I found excuses to be able to listen to this wonderful story.

What did you like best about this story?

I loved the character development of this story. It is unbelievable how Follett was able to develope so many characters and make their lived entertwine in such a believable way.

What about John Lee’s performance did you like?

Lee added just enough diversity in is vocal tones to make the book believable and not silly.

If you could rename The Pillars of the Earth, what would you call it?

I would never want to rename an author's work... It is however unclear as to why the book is named "pillars", but "Vaulted Ceilings of the Earth" sounds BORING...

Any additional comments?

I wish Follett had written MORE books like this... and I wish he had beed firmer about the mini-series. That mini-series should have been twice as long and sould have followed this wonderful book much closer.

Good story, such a long book

I liked it, but not enough to ever read the whole thing again, and normally I reread books I love. It was a nice story though.

Great Story, great characters..

Even though I am still at the beginning of the book, I wanted to give my first impressions about the writing and the story in general. The writing is wonderful, well paced; the characters are rich and well developed and the story flows along nicely. To the reviewers out there who criticize the story as being "too contemporary" let me remind you that intrigue and deceit have been part of mankind probably since the first societies formed. I agree that the language can be foul and the stories violent. This is both part of Follett's writing and in all likelihood the characters did behave the way he depicts them. All in all, highly recommended. Can't wait to go back to the book.

As far as the performance, the reader is just o.k. I have listened to much better performances with clear distinction between the characters. (Dick Hill on the harry Bosch series and Craig Wasson on 11/22/63 come to mind, as is the masterful performances on Water for Elephants). I am sorry to see that the same reader is on the next Follett's epic. However, that would not keep me from listening to it.

Pillars of the Earth

I had my doubts in section 1, but it turned out to be a very entertaining listen. I continue to have the opinion that only romance writers should attempt to write love/rape/sex passages.

Amazing

Ken Follett has created a wonderfully entertaining story. The characters are enticing and fun.
The performance of this audiobook is so perfect. I don’t know that I want to hear any other narrator. I feel spoiled. The expressions and voices are great

In my Top 10

Yes, it is a very long audio book but TOTALLY worth it! This has to be in my top 10. I usually listen to my books while working (I have a job that allows me to do that) or while driving but with this one I was constantly listening to it while dong laundry, cooking dinner, relaxing at night....etc. Ken Follett draws you in from the very beginning and holds your attention for the entire book, which is a lot to say since its a lengthly book. I did not want it to end. I'm on the fence about World without End only cause I loved Pillars so much. John Lee did a wonderful job narrating and I'm happy to know that he continues to narrate Ken Follett's other books. Overall, I would recommend Pillar to anyone.

Excellent!

A totally different book than I normally listen too.
Captivating from start to finish.
You can't help but think how tough it was just to stay alive during the 12th century.

Great Historical Story

An amazing tale that weaves together, in a well-known time of English history, the story of several intriguing characters. Many ups and downs with a surprising end, including men who are changed by God.

phenomal!!

incredible. the book is an entire work week in length (40 hours) and worth every minute. See it through to the end!!

It was a bit of a project

I ordered this book before but could not get through it. I did think back to it many times and decided to gave it another go. I still did not finish it but found it a little daunting. But it is a great book and the story was compelling. I will finish it as I want to read the successive books.