Sometimes you read a great book and can’t get enough of it. Ken Follett was hardly an unknown writer when he wrote The Pillars of the Earth. In fact it was because he was such a famous writer of suspense novels that made it so unlikely that he would ever think of attempting a project like this. Why would a bestselling author of books like The Eye of the Needle and The Key to Rebecca suddenly indulge on a historical novel set in 12th century England with over a thousand pages.

       Follett’s agent and publisher thought he was mad but lucky for us he persevered and wrote the best novel of his career, so good that it was listed by British readers as one of the hundred best novels of the 20th century. You could say that the novel is a thousand pages short, so good that you don’t want to reach the end. 12th century England wasn’t glorious, it was full of poverty, disaster, plague and violence, all of which are well represented in the book. Violence is not new territory for Follett, it is abundant in all his novels. He is a master of suspense and this book has no dull moments – in my mind it is a true masterpiece

      The Pillars of the Earth  was first published in 1989 but I only discovered it in early 2008. Luckily for me,  a few months later the long awaited sequel World Without End was released. Taking place two hundred years later it is a worthy companion boasting 1014 suspenseful pages. Buy both the books  and save them for some long winter nights. I must prewarn you though that you might lose a lot of sleep
The Pillars of the Earth

World Without End

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