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)

FANTASTIC!

At more than 40 hours, it needs to be good to stick with it, and this book is fantastic. But the performance by John Lee is perfection. I'll be getting more books read by him. Great actor!

Mesmerizing Journey of Kings, Priests, and Masons

Extraordinary stories of people that struggle for power and survival. It is hard to stop in want to move forward in knowing what will happen next. A book worth reading.

I can’t imagine anyone other than John Lee narrating

This is the third book of Ken Follett’s that I’ve listened to, and each one has been wonderful. The epic stories, the history you learn in spite of yourself, and the superb narration by John Lee, makes this a five star book for sure

Must Read

This book came recommend by a friend. I love old architecture and churches but would have never chosen this book on my own. Just looking at the 40 hours of listening time was almost enough to scare me off. I am so glad I took the recommendation and purchased this book. I couldn’t stop listening and the time flew by. I highly recommend this book.

My favorite book of all my days

I never forgot this masterpiece when I read it 1988, and remember meeting my husband to be, and fell in love as he and I had both been reading Pillars of the Earth.
I knew he was the man for me. We met, married and spend many quiet days reading. It was because Pillars that I knew we were kindred spirits.
This book furthered my curiosity of architecture and the discovery of master builders. I have not seen with my own eyes these structures but always dreamed of the cathedrals in Europe, praying I would see them one day.
The author allowed me to see and uncover my desire of being an architect. He taught me what I couldn't understand in a historical novel that I would never forget.
Today I listen to Audible and it was one of the first Classics I listened to pillars again with delight in remembering how wonderful this book was and is.
Never a disappointment, where is the sequel?

i couldn’t put this down!

epic!
a solid story, relatable unforgettable characters, violent, emotional, heart-rendering, romantic, a satisfying conclusion.

I’ve read this years ago, and not disappointed in this audible

I read this in my 20s when I seemed to have more time to read for pleasure . I loved it so much it started me on historical fiction, which is now my favorite genre to read/ watch/ listen too.

John Lee did a great job narrating and I hope to find more of his work.

As for the story like I liked for most part considering I liked most of the characters and hated a few. I liked though, that the likable characters, main and secondary all have flaws and all I had become irritated and angry with. Just like real characters in real life.

The only thing I had to fast forward through is the rape scenes, especially after the first one. I can’t listen to a man ( sorry John, know you were just doing job) describing a horrible thing, the worst thing a lot of women have experienced. I understand completely that it was even more of a common thing in this time period than it is even now, and it is important to the story to feel and understand how powerless the women were . So I’m not complaining that it’s in story, but just that I needed to skip over those parts, and if you are as sensitive to rape as I am know you have the option to skip them.
I think there was 3 scenarios and there is a warning before you are in it .


I am now going to buy the second book in this series.

My favorite book of all time!

I absolutely love all of his books but this is my all time favorite. I have read it 3 times but listening to John Lee narrate gave it a whole new dimension!!

Need to finish listening to this series

Recommended as a book club read. totally out of my box but this book was Fantastic. So looking forward to finishing this series.

I liked This book

Great narrator, exciting story. I couldn't stop listening! includes battles, drama, power hungry kings and church leaders.