Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - The Pillars of the Earth

im a huge fan of historical fiction, especially medieval historical fiction. I was really excited for this book, because it was in a setting I find fascinating and was clearly accurate and well-researched, but this guy did not pull it off. Some of the book was boring, and there was quite a bit that was downright painful to read.

Also, that bearbaiting scene absolutely did not need to take around 5 pages!

I couldn’t care about any of the characters, and the book was so. Repetitive.

The “good guys”(Aliena, Jack, Phillip, etc.) would do something good, Waleran Bigod would make a plan, Hamleigh would show up, murder some people and rape somebody, and we’d be back to the beginning.

For 975 pages. All in all, I ended up reading it out of obligation: I felt like I was already into it so I might as well finish.

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theothermelanie's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

skyliner's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

Do I still love Pillars of the Earth the way I did on a first read a decade ago? Sort of.

I love how it manages to grab my attention in a way that feels so effortless. I'm not one for long books but this compels me on consistently. Descriptions of the stonework of cathedrals? Yes please, tell me more! The politics of medieval monasteries? You bet I want to hear it! It's an enigma of a book as no one can really pinpoint what is so enthralling, it just is. Sort of.

When I first read it (and gave it 5 stars), I was much younger and this time around I picked up on misogyny that I overlooked last time. Though I have no idea how. Obviously there's sexism that's on the part of the characters but there's always this niggling undercurrent that the author isn't too far removed from those views himself, and it's something that gathers at pace once he gets started. The first third of the book it can be overlooked maybe but after that it descends into the pits of Follett's testicles.

The women (and girls) are either sexualised, or they're disfigured and ugly. The "good" women are thin with massive tits. The bad ones are fat and hideous. With the exception of Agnes who is a good woman but a little bit fat and not very hot, naturally she's killed off as soon as Follett can manage to be replaced by Ellen who is hot, thin, lean, muscular, agile, heavy breasted....etc. I take it Follett is a boob man. Even women in famines are big breasted. Women terrified of sexual assault tell us so by the panicked fall and rise of their "ample breast". When a monk is hot he has sweat on his head. When a woman or girl is hot they have sweat trickle over their breasts and down their inner thighs.

A couple of bizarre references to women, medieval women some 800 years before gilette told us to shave, being ashamed of themselves for having such hairy vulvas.

Strange childbirth descriptions (on their back as if he didnt bother to research women, let alone medieval women, in his 15 years of book research), or just casually popping a child out whilst, incredibly briefly, knocked out by a falling stone.

Thankfully, we get an audit of every woman's pubic hair whether relevant or not. That one that's about to be killed, well nevermind that, first let's throw some shade at her graying pubes.

Aside from all this, there's a very peculiar thing several times in the book where he repeats himself or summarises parts of the book that are bits over which there'd be no confusion. Something happens on one page then really clumsily repeated half a page later like his editor had just given up at those points.

The disasters and roadblocks are quite farcical but keep the pace of the book and are enjoyable until about 70% of the way through when it's too much to bear.

Jack has absolutely no personality as an adult and I found I started to skip over his bits.

Overall, I still really enjoyed the story and whatever it is that keeps you reading, there's no doubt parts of the book are very enjoyable but there is no way in good conscience I can give this 5 stars again and I'm ashamed that I did on that first read years ago.

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