The Pillars of the earth by Ken Follett

Rating : 5 / 5

Goodreads : As a new age dawns in England's twelfth century, the building of a mighty Gothic cathedral sets the stage for a story of intrigue and power, revenge and betrayal. It is in this rich tapestry, where kings and queens are corrupt - and one majestic creation will bond them forever.

My review : I loved this book so much. It's probably one of my favorite book ever now. I'm impressed by the author writing style and by such an epic tale.

I was a little surprised at first when I was reading the book because you need to wait for a very long time before the cathedral is starting to get built. But it's interesting to see the struggles and determination of the characters to had it built especially from Prior Philip and Tom Builder.
There is a lot of characters in this book but it was amazing to see their lives and destiny intertwined, linked together. I love the plot of this book. When you're reading it you understand that a little choice can change everything. And here it's Aliena refusing to marry William and Jack burning down the old cathedral.

About the characters Ellen is the great mystery of the book since the prologue and I loved her. My favorite character is Prior Philip. I love him so much because he is a very realistic character. He has his weaknesses, he is often afraid but he is the bravest of them all ! And then we have William... I've never hated a character so much in my life ! (well except Voldemort). He is so cruel and a lot of parts of the book are so violent because of its actions it made me cry once.

I also love this book because of its historial context. I'm a huge fan of medieval civilization and thanks to this book I learned so much about the political context, the battles, the weapons, the architecture of cathedrals... I'm going to study medieval civilization soon in my new university so I can't wait to know more about life at that time especially now that I've finished this book.
And finally I loved the end of this book. It's about hope and faith and I learned a lot of things from Philip character...

It is a huge book. It took me two weeks to read it but I don't regret it. I even read a chapter of Pillars of the Earth in Bordeaux cathedral ! I hope I'll read the sequel World Without End soon.