THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH BY KEN FOLLETT

I think it was in his biography that R K Narayan said that during the initial years, a book lover is always obsessed with the number of books that he reads.  However, there comes a time, when the number business takes a back seat and the book per se, becomes the only thing that matters.  Well...three decades down the line, I was still pretty much obsessed with the numbers.  Every January, I will set myself a target for the number of books to read that year, usually in and around 50, and then the race begins!!  Over the years, I have had many tricks up my sleeve to ensure that I get there, by hook or crook. For instance, I go looking for breezy/light reads, compulsive page-turners, google up short books and if see myself still lagging behind, I quickly grab a few children's' books to fill up my quota.  Pathetic, isn't it?  

I myself must have felt the naivety revolting; so, this year, I said goodbye to the target setting tradition and drew up a list of books which I have always wanted to read, but never did, as I was scared of falling behind the book race.  To prove myself that I am indeed serious about my resolution, I took up one of the bulkiest of the books in the 'BBC Goodreads' list - Ken Follett's 'The Pillars of the Earth" TA...DA..!!!

         
This was my first Ken Follett book.  Set in the anarchical 12th Century England and running into 973 pages in small print, the book is enormous (by my standards, at least).  But I would not call it an EPIC. Though immensely readable, the language is commonplace.  But one would get a bird's eye view of the social, cultural and economic fabric of the times - the raging civil wars, the starving peasants, the tug-of-war between the King and the Church, the corrupt nobility, the exploitation of the masses... You would find an entire gamut of human emotions crammed in there...You name it, you have it! But overall, the story follows a very much structured line, basically revolving around the incessant fight between the good and the evil and the final triumph of good over evil, in spite of all its temporary setbacks and humiliation at the hands of evil.  Though developed well, the characters are also similarly straight jacketed - either good or bad.  There are no shades of grey.  But I wish Follett had spent more time on Valerian Bigod, the scheming Bishop.  He had all the potential to be the scintillating villain.  But one never gets to know him well... in fact, he is always narrated in the third person.  We don't get a direct glimpse into his thoughts.  Pages are devoted to the intricacies of the main protagonist - 'the CATHEDRAL'. 

The women, in spite of being highly vulnerable to physical abuse from an overbearing patriarchy, are singularly independent, highly opinionated & strong headed, exceptionally spirited and capable of speaking their minds.  Many a time, its she, who leads and corrects the male and takes the plunge, when he falters.  Unforgiving to their oppressors, they retrieve vengeance and live to tell the tale.

But the one thread that flows through the entire book is that of 'HOPE and PERSEVERANCE'.  In spite of being beaten down again and again, none of them give up hope and courage.  Every character rises like a phoenix from its ashes...

Overall, an engrossing worthwhile page-turner, though, it definitely takes a while to turn all the 900+ pages.