*****5 Stars*****
12th century medieval England, Royals, peasants, a singing jongleur, accused witch, Frenchmen, Englishmen, castles, cathedrals, monastic orders, murder, mayhem, love, sex, betrayal, rivalry, intrigue, treachery, deception... (No Emma, no vamps!)...I could go on for days! This book has. it. all!
At 1000 pages, even I must admit, I was a little hesitant to dive in. The story begins a little slowly, as do most epics of this magnitude, it spans 1123-1174 during the 12th century in England, civil war about to erupt, the time of King Stephen and the Anarchy. But just hold on, because it is an emotional ride! I could barely function in the couple of days it took me to devour this book. I remember standing at the stove, spoon in one hand, book in the other trying to make dinner for my family. (Unlike Tay, I still was able to cook for my family LOL) You will be writhing in your seat, holding your breath, livid with indignation, shouting for justice, swooning at the love stories, crying in sadness and joy. (I also read the follow up to Pillars, World Without End, and it is just as good).
Lets start with a short cast of characters shall we, as expected, there is a host of major, semi major and minor characters in a novel this epic. Ken Follett did an amazing job developing and bringing them to life. The story is really centered around 3 major characters and their families, friends and enemies. The central plot revolves around the building of a new cathedral in Kingsbridge after the old one tragically (and conveniently) burns. Prior Philip wants to glorify God, Tom Builder wants a job. You are swept through the turmoil, joys and daily lives differently with each character, which is quite surprising in its captivating detail. You get to experience the major events of the time with the characters, through each wildly differing perspective. This novel is like a complex wine. (can you tell this is one of my favorites yet?!) This is a novel where you actually come to care about the characters, whether cheering them on, praying for things to go their way, or those characters you just want to stab in the eyeball with an ice pick and hope get crushed under a cathedral stone in a sewer filled street. (OK, so I am a tad passionate!)
Tom Builder (Total Hottie) A man looking for for work to feed his starving family. He desperately wants to build his dream, the most beautiful and unique cathedral in all of England, but can't find work even as a basic stone mason.
Prior Philip A kind hearted & devout monk, sometimes too devoted to the Bible's teachings, who wants to reform and make grand again the Priory of Kingsbridge and build a cathedral.
Lady Aliena (Total Babe in every sense of the word....I am totally not biased!) The beautiful and strong daughter of a the powerful Earl Bartholomew who is imprisoned, stripped of his title and lands, and dies in his support of Maud over Stephen for the crown. She at one time is betrothed to William, subsequently rejects him, loses everything, gains it all back, with a little revenge thrown in for good measure.
Minor characters
Jack Jackson (Builder), Son of Ellen and the Jongleur. A gifted artist, somewhat mysterious at first. Falls in love with Aliena at first sight.
Ellen, daughter of a knight, love interest of Tom Builder, accused of being a witch for cursing a priest. Watches the love of her life swing in the gallows.
Richard, Aliena's younger extremely whiny brother. Wants to be a big boy, but always dependent on our lovely heroine.
Alfred Builder, Tom's son, husband of Aliena. A despicable creature.
Waleran Bigod, (Even typing this name gives me the willies.) Total villainous douche bag, he has other plans, he wants to build a bishops castle and gain power, feathering his own nest if you will, at the expense of Kingsbridge. He also has some very deep sins to hide.
Agnes, wife of Tom, mother to Alfred and Martha, dies in childbirth.
Lord Percy Hamleigh, This guy is totally in the same league as Bigod. Wants Bartholomew's Earldom and will go to any length to secure it.
Lady Regan Hamliegh, wife of Lord Percy, who thankfully gets her comeuppance. She is a nasty, haggard creature, scheming and deceiving to get the Earldom for her husband and son.
William Hamliegh, son of Lord and Lady Hamliegh, was betrothed to Aliena, unfortunately, due to the nature of my despisal of him, I don't believe has any redeeming qualities.
There are still a host of other minor characters, but this list should totally suffice to whet your whistle.
Ok, so now lets talk plot...The long and short of it....This is an intricately woven tale of plots, subplots , and counter plots that carefully and intricately come to fruition. Meaning that somehow, someway each character is linked with the other somewhere in the tale. In the interest of trying to do this novel justice, we decided to use the authors synopsis of the book because I, well, talk too much! Suffice it to say, Ken Follett hit it out of the park with this novel!
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