The Pillars of the Earth


- Ken Follet


This was a magnificent book . Took me over a month to complete. Woww!

Set in the 12th century, the story is about how Prior Philip goes about building an imposing cathedral through wars, famine and other miseries in town of Kingsbridge. The seed of thought for the cathedral is planted by a gifted architect (called master builder in those days) Tom Builder to escape his misery and follow-up on a dream of building the most beautiful cathedral.

The story is about how the characters encounter various obstacles thrown in by their rivals and main villains, Lord William Shiring and Bishop Waleran Bigod in order to exact revenge in their quest for power and wealth, to bring a halt to his dreams in building the most beautiful and biggest cathedral in the world.

There are multiple characters and each have been beautifully etched out in the book. The plot is fast-paced and a page turner. There is never a dull moment and you always want to know what happens next. There are grotesque scenes rape, violence and mutilation. The author knows how to captivate the reader and keep him / her on tenterhooks. Although it cannot be termed as historical fiction, it comes close to that. I still cannot rate it 5-star. There was something missing in the book, although I could not figure out what.

No, i am not taking out "World Without End" off the shelf right now. Need a break with some short reads.

Yes, it is can be made into an Indianised movie version of the TV series with a sprinkling of songs and dance considering the story and plot. Wonder if any producer or studio would be interested !