The Pillars of the Earth

De: Ken Follett

Narrado por: John Lee

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.

Reseñas de la Crítica

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

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

Absolutely Riveting Tale, Two Caveats

I couldn't stop listening to this engaging story. It is a real pageturner. The characters are well developed and the plot holds together throughout many hours. The Narrator is quite good.
So why 4 stars? One reason is the unfortunate tendency of the author to dwell on violent rape and sexual scenes. I alternated between thinking he had a perverse fascination with sadism and feeling he wanted to sell books. Such scenes only occur every several hours, but you tire of them. The other caveat is the treatment of Christians. Follett states he is an atheist in the intro. He does give a somewhat balanced view in that there is one "good" man of God among many evil ones just as there are evil and good outside the church. I will be the first (along with Luther, et al) to admit that there were many abuses in the medieval church, but there were surely devout men with good motives in many church positions.
Overall, this was a gripping tale and worth the credit if you have time for a long book.

Perfect audiobook

After burning the download onto 30 CDs, I didn't think I'd ever make it through. But to my surprise, this book never once lost my attention and I found myself wanting to stay in my car to listen to more! I would now put this on my list of my all time favorite books, absolutely fabulous.

Dramantic and heart aching

This is my first Ken Follett novel. If this is any indication of the kind of novel this man writes, I have found a new favorite author. The story, while a novel, is set within an historical context and he uses many facts and situations present during the period he is writing about. The story is breath-taking and I found it hard to stop listening. The story takes place over many years, is well developed and the character development is wonderful. I cared about what happened to the key characters and found many of the things that happened to them to be heart-aching. I don't say that about fiction very often. While you have to be willing to devote over 40 hours to this novel, you will not find many to compare in its beauty, tragedy, the dignity of the central characters in their ability to overcome pain and suffering. It was an inspiration. Hightly recommended.

visions

Hour after hour,the story created a personal bond with the people so you find yourself always bonding,and sharing there visions.Early times were hard,but these people in the story had so much drive,to accomplish there dreams,from good, to evil,love to hate,pain and joy,you will go back in time and be brought right into this book,World without end, is a must listen after this one...enjoy! I loved them both

A Must Listen!

I wasn't sure that I would enjoy this book, but I was persuaded by the reviews and am so glad I did. This is definitely my new favorite!

Beautifully narrated, interesting story

I really love John Lee as a narrator. Pillars has been on my list for a long time, so when I saw that Mr. Lee narrates, I went for the audio version. For audio, I am learning that there are 2 components: the story and the narration.

I give the story 4 of 5 stars. It is a good work of historical fiction that sometimes gets mired down in politics that I didn't find that interesting. I also really didn't like the introduction where Mr. Follett tells us that many people have told him that this was the best book they had ever read. I think that just sets the reader or listener up for gigantic expectations. And, it would be very easy to skip the intro, so I would actually recommend that, and then go back to it if you want to hear about it after you are done reading the book.

I think the overall book could have been tightened up a bit. Sometimes the story meandered into too many different directions. There is also a LOT of gory violence and I realize that is part of the times, but for me, sometimes it was just too graphic. If graphic violence is your thing, though, then you will like it.

Plus, the stories repeat themselves a bit much. The bad guys rape and pillage, the good guys put their lives back together, the bad guys rape and pillage and on and on.

And on.

But, the characters are very well fleshed out and the narration really makes that happen for me in a way that print cannot.

I love long books, but I prefer them to move forward as opposed to a circular fashion.

The narration is flawless. I will always be a big fan of John Lee and will continue to seek him out as a reader. I hope Mr. Lee continues to narrate great books. Listening to him is a complete pleasure. 5 of 5 stars for him!

AMAZING

I have listened to lots of audio books, and I have been a memeber of audible for over a year, and this is the only book I have ever written a review for. I was moved and touched by this book. It is one of the best stories on humanity I have ever read. No matter what kind of genre, or story you like you will love this book. THIS IS BY FAR ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I HAVE EVER LISTENED TO (or read). I felt lucky to have the opportunity to hear this story

Best I have ever listened to!

This is the very best book I have listened to. The characters are amazing. This is the very best book I have ever come across in my life. I can not wait to read his other books!!!

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.

Enjoyable epic

The characters in this epic become familiar friends and foes to accompany the listener on the road. Very enjoyable.