The Pillars of the Earth

Last summer while in York, with my friend Catherine, I was telling her about this great book that I had read about building cathedrals in the Middle-Ages, by this writer of thrillers whose books I didn’t normally enjoy very much and couldn’t remember the either name or title.

So we walked into a bookshop and I asked one of the attendant who said he had no idea. And a woman passed by and said
“You must be talking of The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett!“
And yes! That was exactly what I was talking about.
I had read the book years ago, on a trip through Thailand with my husband and as I used to do on those trips, once I had finished the book, I left it behind in a hotel room for some other traveller to read. Another reason why I didn’t bring it back was that it was very heavy. Not a book for the faint of heart : 1076 pages.
Quite an epic novel that carrries you away in a world of violence and beauty, in the world of monks, cathedral builders, noblemen and peasants, through the building of a cathedral.
If you are not a Ken Follett fan, maybe you’ll become one. Although I am a thriller reader, Ken Follett’s never been my cup of tea. But this book is something quite different.
So, we went to another bookstore, and I bought the Pillars of the Earth for the second time and am reading it for the second time.
A must-read.