Pillars of the Earth

Andi and I just finished this book. We read it together long distance. Weekly we set a page goal and then talked about what we had read. It took us a little over a month to read it. Not easy to read 973 pages much faster than that unless you just don't have anything else to do or are bed ridden. Anyway, like the movies, you can apply the same rating system to books. Pillars is absolutely, without question, Strong, Weak in NO Way! Ken Follett creates unforgettable characters that span over decades. You quickly grow to love some and equally loathe others. He's brilliant in keeping you in the 1100s without making you struggle to imagine what these people are living like or going through. Even if you've never been in a cathedral before you can imagine what the building site must have looked like. I would've never guessed I would've been so glued to the process of hand cut stones and years and years of labor and love involved in building something. But I was. I couldn't wait to go back to Kingsbridge each day. I couldn't wait to find out what happened next and how Follett was going to resolve all the stories he had woven. And like a beautiful tapestry, you can't see where one story starts and another ends. Everyone is needed to complete a picture....or complete a cathedral, if you will. I recommend it. Highly recommend it. And if you're not spellbound by the end of the first chapter, I'll buy your next book for you.