The Pillars of the Earth

When you begin to read your first book from an author new to you, the relationship always starts tentatively.  This one was especially tentative since the author admitted to be branching out of his comfort zone.  Between this admission and the discussion about writing about churches and cathedrals, I was concerned.  In fact, despite the fact that I had received 2 very strong and credible recommendations about this book, I held my reservations about the topic and delayed the commencement of reading for a couple of weeks.  It happened to be a trip to another camp which spurred me into cracking into the book.

WOW!  I will start off by saying that I am SO glad that I was gifted this book AND I took the time to read it.  Even with such an interesting motivation for the author, the story and breadth of the subplots was masterfully written.  This book was interesting from page one and it never quit.  There was never a lull in the story which gave you an opportunity to disengage.  The characters are very well rounded and they develop so quietly that, before you know it, you could swear that you knew them personally.  During the climatic events, you are not just drawn in as a spectator, but feel that you ARE there and genuinely share in the feelings of the characters.  All thru the book, during the ups and the downs, the captivation did not end; except, of course, when the book ended.  Even then, you finish wanting more. 

As for the cathedral aspects of the story, I recommend that you have your favorite dictionary or dictionary website handy (or just Google Image Search) so that you will be better able to imagine the details of the building as it is intended.  Quite frequently there are concepts that are introduced that are not immediately made clear as to what they are.  Unfortunately, much of the Google images search capabilities are crippled on the Army communications network.  There will be concepts which you may think you are familiar with, but seeing them makes a world of difference.  For example; what does a cloister look like?  For me, the word brings to mind the concept of protection.  Well, what protection are they talking about in the building of a church or cathedral?  Well, the walkways of course.  The monks, priests, and bishops don't want to have to be exposed to the elements when they are walking from their refectory or quarters to the church.  However, if you don't see images of this construct while you are reading the book, it will certainly ruin the image which the author is trying to create.  Even with my internet access being severely limited and filtered, I found another, albeit, unlikely source of reference material.  Around the time that I began reading The Pillars of the Earth, I started to play Assassin's Creed.  Assassin's Creed happens to be within the same approximate time period.  While I was playing the game, I started to notice the construction techniques and concepts which were presented in the book.  I would occasionally find myself saying, so that is what the cloister could look like or the flying buttress or otherwise.  I found the parallel to be quite interesting.
 
I am pleased that I have also been gifted the sequel.  I am very much looking forward to be sucked back into the medieval world of Ken Follett contained within the pages of World Without End.