“The Pillars of the Earth”, written by Ken Follett is a riveting story describing the struggle of Tom and his families’ efforts to make a living as a master builder. He encompasses the traditional male role of a provider, but in his quest to do so he ends up putting his family in grave danger. He dreams of building a glorious cathedral, and being the master planner of said cathedral. The storyline brings in many church-related characters, all the while, continuously reminds readers of the medieval time period throughout the story.

The elements of the story that really engaged me were the fight scenes between rival earldoms since they were very engaging and gory. The amount of gore and death within the book truly kept me enthralled with the events as they occurred and appeals to someone like me. However, if you are someone who struggles reading about pain and suffering, this book is not for you. In that time, it really was every man for himself. There was no “soup kitchen” or SNAP, and If you ran out of money, you could simply call it quits.

Another part of this book I liked is when Tom’s son Jonathan, goes into the cathedral late at night in order to save his father’s job, since he would have to rebuild it. It was quite gut-wrenching and was an extreme act of selfishness on his part. I love the way that the author describes the scene in the story. One part of the book I disliked is when Tom’s “wife” Ellen leaves him. It is very emotional but I struggled to relate to it. It seemed somewhat drawn out and boring. However, someone who likes more dramatic or romantic types of literature may enjoy that aspect of the book.

I would recommend this book to someone who is ready to commit and devote a lot of time into it. It is not a book for the faint of heart. However, It was a very rewarding read. It was very eye opening about how extremely society then contrasts with the society of today. If you are wondering to what extent society was different then and want a first-person point of view on it instead of reading about it in a textbook, then this is the book for you. It also holds many valuable lessons and messages ready to be deciphered.