A favorite author of mine is Ken Follett. But here's the deal, I don't like everything he writes. What I do like of his, I really like! I usually take a pass on the spy novels (Key to Rebecca and so on), even though they are always a cut above normal spy stories. What Follett writes that I'm really passionate about is some really good historical fiction.
.One of my all time favorite books (right next to The Stand, of course!) is Follett's lengthy novel The Pillars Of The Earth. Talk about epic! This book is the gigantic tale of the construction of a great Cathedral in Kingsbridge, England. Follett's heroes are both human and heroic. His villains are fully worthy of our hate, true scoundrels. And the story is brilliant. By the way, I was raving about Pillars long before Oprah was. It used to be one of those books I made an effort to read at least once a year.
.So how happy was I when I saw that the 900+ Pillars of the Earth had been turned into a series on Starz. Only problem, I don't have Starz! I called my wife in desperation. Please, please, I begged, fix this injustice and restore order to the world. I must, must, must see this! She told me not to make an idol of it, and then ordered Starz. Relief. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1453159/
.Place In The Stephen King Universe:
.So what's this got to do with Stephen King? Well, first off I always want to encourage King fans to read far beyond the King universe. Not just horror, but classics and different genres. And if you're going to read historical fiction, Follett is the best.
.Ken Follett lists Stephen King as one of the authors he reads. How cool is that?! Follett also did the introduction for the special edition of The Shining. Both King and Follett have books on Wikipedia's "Most Commonly Challenged Books In The United States." Follett for Pillars of the Earth, King for Carrie, Dead Zone, Christine and Cujo. So by that list, I guess King is four times as offensive to some people as Ken Follett. And, worthy of note, Frank Muller did audio editions of both authors works. For Follett, it was his novel Code To Zero.
.I think the two have a similar style of writing. To be sure, their subjects are quite different, but both write with an episodic style. Scene builds upon scene. They don't "tell" you someone is bad, they show you. Both men write as if it were television.
.King Inspired By Follett:
.On tampabay.com, Colette Bancroft has an article titled, "Bush White House inspired characterizations in 'Under the Dome,' Stephen King says. Thankfully for all of us, King had more inspiration than just politics! Bancroft quotes King (speaking of the development of The Cannibals to UTD), "'People seem to like the long ones. So I tried another version, called The Cannibals, about people trapped in an apartment building. But that didn't work because the space was too small.' Then King read Ken Follett's historical novels The Pillars of the Earth and World Without End. 'Those are huge books, but I really liked the narrative drive.' That moved him to return to the dome idea in 2006. 'I felt I finally had the chops to do it. You never stop learning if you keep your mind open.'"
Some of my notes on Pillars of the Earth:
(WARNING: There are probably spoilers here!)
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Favorite characters:
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Tom Builder: The novel opens with Tom and his family struggling to survive. Tom loses a baby boy and soon his wife. He is left to take care of his children in a hard world. Soon Tom finds steady work when the old Cathedral burns to the ground. What I really love about Tom Builder is that he can only really work on churches. He feels that working on a house or any other building doesn’t require the best of him, because it isn’t for God. But a church has to be our very best, because it is given to the Lord.
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Prior Philip: I wish Philip was real, then I wouldn't feel so strange loving him. Philip is a genuine man of faith who checks his own heart to avoid sins of pride and abuse of power. Follett does present a corrupted system of church government, but he also shows priests who are good and ready to stand up for what is right. Surrounded by corruption and immorality, the faithful Prior Philip shines. One of my favorite scenes is Philip walking along the castle wall with the King of England. (Uh... "King Stephen" not Stephen King!)
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Jack the Builder: Jack is probably Follett’s intended "hero." Picked on as a child by his step brother Alfred, Jack grows up in the shadow of his step father Tom Builder. It is to Jack that Tom's mantle falls.
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Alfred: Tom Builder's son who hates Jack. Alfred will do anything to destroy Jack and promote himself.
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William Hamleigh: One of the most vile, despicable, wicked villains ever created. He’s terrible! In fact, he’s so bad, you really do love to hate this guy. Murder, rapist, and utterly corrupt; this guy is depraved.
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Aliena: Daughter of Earl Bartholomew, she dedicates her life to avenging her father and restoring his fortune. Even when it means helping her self obsessed brother, Richard, or giving up romance with her true love, Jack, Aliena will do anything to honor her father.
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A few of my favorite scenes:
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–Prior Philip arriving at his new church and forcing the monks to submit to his authority.
–Tom Builder and his family working together to capture the thief who stole their pig.
–William storming earl's castle.
–Prior Philip exposing Waleren’s secret castle.
–Jack accidentally burning down the old church.
–The monks surrounding the workers in the stone quarry to protect them.
–Ellen coming to Tom Builder in the forest.
--Prior Philip buys Aliena's wool for full price when the merchants refuse to sell to her at the same rate because she is a woman.
--Prior Philip buys Aliena's wool for full price when the merchants refuse to sell to her at the same rate because she is a woman.
–The final scene as Follett connects fiction to history.
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The cathedral city of Kingsbridge is fictional, and is the site of Follett’s sequel World Without End. Pillars of the Earth is one of those long, wonderful reads that you feel sorrow when it’s done. Like losing an old friend you’ve walked a long way with. The characters live on in the mind even when the book is finished.
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What makes the Pillars of the Earth so gripping is that even though it’s a epic historical novel, it’s written at the pace of a spy story. Follett doesn’t waste a lot of time -- he simply presses the plot forward with a steady hand.
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Previous Ken Follett books have covered such vast terrains the next book Fall of Giants will also likely leave me tired, but can't control myself, have to read it
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