11: Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett
I must be among a vast minority who did not thoroughly enjoy this book. The story was not as compelling as it could have been because the characters are mostly type - cast. While the historical perspective was interesting and insights into the monastery life were believable, much of the sub plots seemed over the top. Violence for the sake illustrating that the bad guys are brutal in battle, multiple rape scenes just to illistrate that the powerful take advantage of their position, deception and greed to illistrate that good monks are always virtuous and bad monks are corrupted by power. It seemed as if every good guy wins, every bad guy looses.
The 973 page book took almost a month for me to finish and I did so out of determination rather than actual interest. I was left without emotion when I finally turned the last page, I just was not vested in the characters or the story. Most reviews I’ve read are very positive and the sequel is a best seller too, so perhaps I just missed the point.