The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
983 pages
Finished 1/8/07












Wow. This book is absolutely amazing! Definitely the best book I've read in 2008. :) I had never heard of it before (until a few weeks ago), and I'm still trying to figure out how I was able to make it this long without reading it.

I actually picked up the book solely based on recommendations - I literally had no idea what it was about when I started reading it. When I saw that the Prologue took place in the year 1123 (the book spans 1123-1174), I was a little nervous, simply because I don't always dig historical fiction. Luckily, I was engrossed in the book from the first page. To be honest, I think I liked it more because, while it's set in the 1100's, the dialog in the book is fairly modern - I typically go crazy trying to read old fashioned writing.

Anyway, it is seriously an awesome book. I can't wait to read the sequel (I didn't even know there was one)! I will have to wait awhile, though - since I didn't know there was a sequel currently out in hardcover, I bought the mass market paperback version of this book. Since my series books have to match, I'll have to wait until the mm paperback is released of the sequel (or upgrade my current book to hardcover...hmmm).

One other thing - I have no idea what rock I've been living under, but I had no clue that this book was chosen as one of Oprah's book club picks. This is particularly disturbing since I get automatic emails regarding her choices. I admit, I've just been deleting them for months now without paying much attention to them...I guess from now on I'll research the book a little before deleting her emails.

Five million stars. Ok, just five stars.