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)

Patience is needed

Its good. The plot is a little slow getting started at frist I didnt think I would enjoy it. It's worth listening to if your patient.

Just as good now....

As it was way back when I read it for the first time. I will always love an epic historical novel and this hits EVERY note!

Fantastic

I’m now obsessed with Pillars of the Earth. Though there were some moments that felt a bit soap-opera-ish and dramatic just for kicks, overall the characters are captivating and I was hooked on all of the intricate plot twists and watching the characters grow and change. I was disappointed when it ultimately had to come to an end.

A totally engrossing novel of historical fiction

I was drawn into this novel from the very beginning
Even though it was over 30 hours in length I never felt bored or impatient
The twists and turns were mesmerizing
This was Ken Follett’s first non thriller and I found it
to be captivating

👍‼️

Excellent story! Excellent narration! I was absorbed. Very entertaining on my long hours of driving.

Classic Delight

I selected this book because it was LONG! I was so delighted with the intertwining stories that each time the gear shifted and bounced back to another story I found I was thrilled to pick up that story line again versus other books where that sort of back and forth bouncing only brought dread. The performance was well done, and the book a real gem!

Loved listening to this epic story on Audible!

The narration helped bring this story to life. The characters and setting are vivid and a pleasure to listen to.

Words are not enough

I loved this. Really loved this. The story, the narration, everything! I have been wanting to read the pillars for some time now, and I am very happy I chose to have it on audio.
The story was so wonderful! 40 hours of listening time and it never lost me! Twist upon twist, and still managing to form a perfect circle in the end! All those marvelous characters, both heroes and villains, whose entire life we got to witness, evolving before us, maturing as the story progresses!
And the narration too, beyond excellent! I kept forgetting it was the same man voicing all the characters. And with a voice so clear, that even us, not native English speakers (and listeners) had no trouble following.
I have nothing left to say except Bravo! to all. The most wholeheartedly 5 stars ever given, from me to all of you.

Cathedral? Who cares? Turns out by the end, I do!

For me this is one of those books that I will forever regret not listening to when a friend first recommended it. I guess I was hesitant because while I like history, the idea of listening to the story of a single cathedral being built wasn’t very attractive to me. Now I think back about those preconceived notions and see where my imagination was so far off from the actual story.

Yes, the book does use the cathedral as the center piece of the story. The true art of the book is how the author makes the building of the cathedral relevant to characters in the story, to the economics of the day, to the families, the culture and ultimately to a modern reader. It was that interweaving of culture, humanity, and technology that was so appealing to the historical explorer in me while at the same time keeping me truly invested with both the heart warming and heart wrenching. Each character’s connection to the cathedral is unique and each character is very well developed. The author was able to help me identify with a code of humanity and ethics that is timeless even though the culture and technology was so different.

I constantly questioned if the effort was worth it. The building of the cathedral is threatened multiple times, but beyond the building itself it is the belief in family, community, charity, and ethics that is so very difficult in the face of adversity. The characters are flawed much as in today’s world and constantly have to choose where to stand with their beliefs as they face life and death decisions. By the end of the book I cheered for the heroes because they were real to me and I felt like it was my community or rather my cathedral in the end.

I'll never look at another cathedral the same.

In my years of studying the arts and traveling Europe nothing has made me feel as close to the beautiful cathedrals. This was a stunning book!