Review of The Pillars of the Earth
by
My rating:
Justice. That’s what you want while reading this story. You want justice for those who can’t defend themselves. You want justice served to the power holders who abuse power. You root for the power holders who attempt to use their power to help others and make the world a better place. You grieve when the good (but flawed) characters are thwarted. You cringe at the next evil plan the wicked conceive. You’re crying for justice throughout the entire story.
As I neared the end of this over-900-page book, there was one thing lacking in this epic tale. While the good characters are flawed, make mistakes, and grow, the bad characters seem to be very one-dimensional. They are pure evil all the time and have little or no genuine goodness or moments of true remorse.
As I neared the end, I thought this lack of transformation would be my one complaint about the book.
Then Follett surprised me. A few of the evil people actually experienced redemption. They are brought low and they choose to repent in their humble circumstance. They experience genuine forgiveness.
You cry for justice. You want evil to experience defeat. You want the underdogs to survive and thrive. You cheer each time a helpless character receives timely assistance from an unexpected place. You cheer each time evil if thwarted and grieve when evil seems to triumph.
(As a side note, I became fascinated with cathedrals after reading this book).
Great story. Worth the time of reading this almost 1,000 page novel.