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)

Pretty good historical novel

The story was generally interesting but overlong, a real defect in an audio book. I fast forwarded through many scenes. The characters, particularly the women, were pretty two-dimensional. John Lee did manage to bring a lot of individuality.

so interesting and full of info

What made the experience of listening to The Pillars of the Earth the most enjoyable?

full of surprises.

What other book might you compare The Pillars of the Earth to and why?

Sarum, Shogun and other books that juggle many plates in the air.

Any additional comments?

I didn't know how interesting medieval architecture was.

A delightful book

Listening to this book is entirely enjoyable. A compelling story filled with all sorts of interesting historical details. You will cherish the hours that you spend with this book, and will hate to see it end.

even better the second time around

over it. I read pillars when it was first published and enjoyed it tremendously. the audio book was just as good. a masterpiece of a novel.

Historical Fiction at its Best

What made the experience of listening to The Pillars of the Earth the most enjoyable?

I'm not sure I've ever been so immersed in the world of a book as I was by "The Pillars of the Earth." Every minute detail about life in 11th century England is elegantly presented, and I could probably draw Kingsbridge Cathedral from memory based on Ken Follet's description of it.

What about John Lee’s performance did you like?

Follet presents in his book a staggering number of characters, from wise monks to sneering lordlings, from world-weary masons to curious youths, as well as a fair number of both old and young women, and they are all portrayed masterfully by John Lee. It is the subtlety to his performances that makes his characters come alive; when reading lines for the young Martha or the defiant Ellen he does not make his voice cartoonishly high, but adds empathy and softness to his narration that the reader can clearly pick up on. I was never once confused about who was speaking to whom because of Lee's performance.

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

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Awesome Book . Hard to stop listening too

Loved it. Even though the subject and setting of this book is far different that my preferred genre Im so glad to have listened to others reviews and tried it. It takes a minute or two to get goong but when it does...there are so many twist and turns. Villians and Heros. Plots and schemes. Very descriptive and engaging book. Glad I purchased this one.

Illustrations?

Needed illustrations to understand what part of the cathedral he was describing. If that was included in the purchase of the book I don't know how to access it.

Expansive

The Pillars of the earth covers approximately 60 years in the course of a communities struggle to build a cathedral. Not only is there unrivaled detail as to how this was accomplished during the Middle Ages but the book gives amazing insight into the everyday lives of the common folk of England during this period. I like that you hear little about kings and bishops but mostly about simply they struggle to survive.

Great book, great narrator

Embarrassed to say that I listened to this long book in less than a week. It was so hard to put down. The story was so interesting that it was hard to believe he wrote it about cathedral building

Literary Home Run Mr. Follet

As I listened to the story unfold of Kingsbridge, I was struck by how familiar it sounded. Well, then I realized it had been made into a TV series, ( which I fully intend to revisit) and no wonder why! I is a very compelling story and masterfully told, using ancient history and elements of the Robin Hood mythologies. I highly recommend the book as well as the narrator, who did a marvelous job and magnified an already great book.