30 Books in 30 Beach Days Day 17: "The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett
I'm torn about today's review of the epic Ken Follett novel The Pillars of the Earth, because I liked the story and appreciated the soundness of the research, but I really didn't like the writing. I read this when I was in high school as summer reading for a medieval lit class, and I remember it was assigned so we could learn, in intricate detail, about the process of constructing a cathedral in medieval England. This is something the novel does extremely well, and Follett does imprint a painstaking blueprint of the cathedral his characters build across his pages in the reader's mind. But the writing, in my view, could not keep pace with the brilliance of the story, the potential of the characters, or the detail of the research. I found dialogue trite, varying between anachronisms and overly-conscious period dialect, and I found certain characters two-dimensional and predictable. Overall, I was largely disappointed when I finished The Pillars of the Earth, despite wanting it to keep my attention across its nearly-1000 pages.
And that's why I'm bringing a special guest into the Bookworm today. My husband is a BIG Follett fan, and he wouldn't let me post this without saying his piece.
Let's slow down. I'm not a BIG Follett fan with a capital "B." But I do love The Pillars of the Earth. Ken Follett's writing may border on the middle-brow, and sure, he was exploiting swords, just-a-little-too graphic sex scenes, and battles for ratings long before George R.R. Martin and HBO made it a Sunday night staple. The reason i blew through the thousand-or-so pages (and immediately picked up the sequel, World Without End) is because Follett is able to really make you feel like you are in the midst of the 12th century without having to be a historian. Your middle school teacher probably always told you that "nothing happened during the dark middle ages," but Follett teaches you all about what it was like to be in various social classes in a fictional town in medieval England, and you don't even notice everything you're learning because you are so invested in the characters he developed (and maybe the sex scenes and very bloody battles, if that's your thing). I love churches, and throughout the novel, Follett provides fantastic and well-researched tidbits about how churches were built as you read about the construction of his fictional Kingsbridge Cathedral.
If you are looking for an escape to medieval England on your vacation that is a light read and a well-researched portrayal of the time, this is for you. If you are just looking for more castles, fights and steamy encounters in caves as you wait for next Sunday, this could also be just the answer!
Is this YOUR cup of tea? Let us know in the comments!
Rating: TOSS-UP!
