Pillars of the Earth

Title: The Pillars of The Earth
Author: Ken Follent

Kak Zura was the one who intorduced me to this book. She noticed the bookworm in me and recommended this book as it was one of her favourite books while she was pursuing her PhD in the UK. I was looking forward to read the book, however, when the book finally arrived here, I went a bit 'off' it when I realized it was 1076 pages long with fonts as small as size 6 (I presume!). But since kak Zura was excited about the book, I just took it back home.

I've started reading it about 5 times (and stopped not halfway, but one-tenth way is more like it) before I really sat down and read it. Tu pun sebab I saw the book in kak Zai's collection so it sorta made me think that maybe there is something more in the book than I assumed.

The book doesn't really have any main characters but it revolves around Tom Builder and his family, Prior Philip and his monastry as well as William whateverhisnameis and Aliena, the Baron's daughter. The story goes with a span of 51 years from 1123 to 1174.

Now, the story is way too long for me to make a decent review of it but once I got the hang of the story, I suprised myself when I found it hard to stop reading it (and to think that I thought the book was boring).

If I were to chose a main character, I might say its the cathedral. This is because the story started when the cathedral was just a dream and continued throughout the construction of it, with two master builders taking lead in the construction, namely Tom Builder (who died halfway o the book) and Jack Jackson (who was Tom's stepson as well as 'scholar' and who took over the construction of the cathedral). From just a simple but large cathedral (Tom's idea) to a more beautiful one (modified by Jack). Jack even got married in the cathdral itself.

The story deals with architecture and structural engineering (which no wonder appeals to me! Tu dalam tak suka belajar structure dulu tu.. and its not the boring details which are usually heard in my class but it talks about the wonders of buildings.. and the architect in Baizurah might appreciate this book!)) which gives a glimpse of how all these fields started once upon a time ago. One thing I like about western writers is that they deal with the FACTS (compared to Malay, no offense here coz I'm Malay too, yang suka tulis facts ntahapahapa) so eventhough this book is loosely based on a church and christianity, it admits the fact that Muslims were not only the pioneers, but also the best in architecture, maths and engineering :-)

And to those who hate books mixed up with facts, this IS a novel so those facts are only to make it more interesting. The book still revolves around life and death, love and hate, success and failure as well as everything in between.

What I'd like to comment is on the writers ability to make you visually 'watch' the story in your head. I could picture Jack (one of the charcters) growing up from a peculiar looking child, to a strikingly handsome builder. I could feel the joy and frustrations of Prior Philip and his ambition for a cathedral dedicated to his people. I could somehow understand the pain Tom Builder felt when he had to hide the fact that he was little Jonathans father. I could sense the pain Lady Aliena felt when she had to stand up from her fall at the hands of William. In fact, you'd feel a deep connection with all the characters, you'd think you've known them all your life.. no wonder kak Zura and kak Zai both praised this book!

The book is still in my hands now, but I just don't know HOW to write a review outta it as it has so many high points in it. The only solution I can give is to ask you guys to go and grab a copy.. if you can! I don't think its sold in the stores anymore as its quite an old book.. but maybe if you go to Chowrasta or Novel Hut, you might just stumble on the book. So if you do, buy me one copy, will ya!