Length: 973 pages
Date Published: February 2012 & October 2007 (Deluxe Version)
The
Pillars of the Earth
By Ken
Follet
My mother, who not only
admired the author’s captivating style of writing, but also his ability to
describe the construction of the breathtaking Kingsbridge Cathedral, introduced
the book to me. My mother had urged me to read it, insisting that I would come
to love it as much as she had. However I did not start reading it until several
months later. As I was unpacking boxes in my room (I had currently moved from
Colombia to Mexico) I came across the heavy, but beautifully decorated book,
“The Pillars of the Earth”. At first, I have to admit, I wasn’t very enthusiastic
about reading it. My mother is an architect, so naturally I assumed that the
book would include a lot of technicalities about construction that I would
simply not be interested in. I stared at the book curiously, read the comments
and the summery, and decided to give the book a chance.
“The Pillars of the Earth” takes place
in the year of 1123, in a little town known as Kingsbridge. The book begins
with a hanging, a pregnant mother cursing a prior, a knight and a bishop.
Somewhere near the town, across the forest, a master builder loses his job as
well as his wife after she gives birth to their child. Percy Hamleigh takes the
earldom from its owner, restoring the family pride after the earl’s daughter
turns down his son. In Kingsbridge
a young monk is made prior after years of prayer and hard work while an
ambitious man becomes bishop. Soon enough, each of their stories will be
interlaced, as they become friends, family, lovers and enemies.
Ken Follet’s Writing
“The Pillars of the Earth” is the first
book I’ve read by the author, and I have to say, Ken Follet is a truly talented
and witty writer. The moment I read the first sentence, I was instantly taken
to 1123. Reading felt as if I had left 2013 in a time machine, and suddenly
arrived to the town of Kingsbridge. Ken Follet’s descriptions where so vivid, I
felt like my eyes could view everything, my ears could hear every word and
every emotion touched my heart. Not only was the scenery so real, but also the
whole town appeared to come to life. Little by little I got to know the
characters and since the book takes place throughout several decades, I feel
like I watched them grow up. I was there from the moment some of them where
born and others until their death. Through their struggles and accomplishments,
I found myself smiling, crying, frowning, gasping and at times feeling useless
for not being able to help them. Each character was so unique and his or her
personality so incredibly described that I could feel myself loving them as if
they where my friends and hating others as if they where my enemies.
Ken Follet is brilliant
when it comes to plot twists. The book reached a climax at several points in
the story and as soon as I thought that the heroes and heroines of the story
where safe, somewhere in Shiring others where plotting a plan to end them. I
particularly grew to despise the character of William Hamleigh. This vicious
character kept me from breathing easily, knowing that sooner or later, with the
help of cold bishop Waleran, they would find a way to make everyone miserable.
However it also happened the other way around. When one of my favorite
characters, strong and independent Aliena, appeared to have lost everything in
a fire set by our villain, William, she managed to find happiness. Throughout
the book William and bishop Waleran would do anything to prevent prior Phillip
from ever building the most beautiful cathedral in the town of Kingsbridge, but
Jack, Tom, Aliena, Richard and many others would not go down so easily.
The Ending
There is only one thing
that I was deeply disappointed in, the last two pages. There where times in the
book that at the moment, I wished would have been different, but at the end I
always understood why that had to happen. However, as I read the last words, I
was perplexed, confused and unable to comprehend the author’s purpose. Prior
Phillip was a wholly man; He did not think of his life as his own to live, but
dedicated every action to the servitude of God. His visionary ideas and good
will where crucial for the development of Kingsbridge, as well as the cathedral
and character’s lives. Despite the adversaries and obstacles he encountered,
prior Phillip laid his fate in the hands of God. He never took success as his
own and he constantly felt remorseful for having sinned of pride. With that
said, the actions taken by prior Phillip at the end of the book are so out of
character, I began to question weather I knew him.
Following the shocking
murder of his ally and friend, Archbishop Thomas Becket, prior Phillip
dedicated the rest of his life preaching what he had witnessed. Thomas Becket
died a martyr in the eyes of the people, but it was prior Phillips
determination for justice that the deceased became a saint and those
responsible where hanged. Leading
the people in crusades around Europe, he captivated the attention of hundreds
of others, including the most powerful of them all. “The death of Thomas had
shown that, in a conflict between the Church and the Crown, the monarch could
always prevail by the use of brute force. But the cult of Saint Thomas proved
that such a victory would always be a hollow one. The power of a king was not
absolute, after all: it could be restrained by the will of the people”. (Pg.
972 The Pillars of the Earth).
The book ends with King
Henry entering the cathedral barefoot, head bowed and humiliated. As he enters,
hundreds of people stare in awe as they watch their king enter as a peasant to
confess his sin publicly. The King was to be whipped by each priest and monk
present, a symbolic number of times, beginning with the bishop of London,
followed by prior Phillip.“ Phillip stepped forward to whip the king. He was
glad he had lived to see this. After today, he thought, the world will never be
quite the same.” (Pg. 973 The Pillars of
the Earth). Those are the last sentences of the book.
As I said before, I fail
to understand the author’s purpose for having ended Phillip’s story in such a
way. I do understand that the ceremony, in Phillip’s eyes, represents his life
struggle between the brute and the just. The Church would punish the most powerful
man in the country; something never seen in history, and it might wrongly be
confused as justice taking place. If it hadn’t been for the whipping, there
would be no arguing that the story’s conclusion was perfect after all the
struggles that our heroes and heroines face throughout the book. However, based
on the Church’s principals and beliefs, it is not up to wholly men to inflict
harm on another human being. In the afterlife, God will be the ultimate judge
in deciding the fate of those who sinned, and those who forgave.
