The Pillars of the Earth

"In the world outside of the monastery, nobody looks after you. The ducks swallow the worms, and the foxes kill the ducks, and the men shoot the foxes, and the devil hunts the men."

Such is life anyhow. This story just reinforces this over and over again. In my honest opinion, The Pillars of the Earth is a story of Kingsbridge, the cursed town I would've fled early on had I ever had the misfortune of inhabiting it. Our protagonists, however, had the nerves of steel to brave one setback after another and yet stay loyal to the ill-fated land! 

Among the protagonists, we have the foolishly naive and ambitious Prior of Kingsbridge, Philip, who is kind-hearted but a righteous leader; Jack, the builder, who's simple-minded and probably the most practical of all the characters in the story. Jack & Philip, both, have a common dream - to build a cathedral in Kingsbridge, which would be the largest cathedral in the whole of England and they dedicate their lives toward fulfilling that dream, making God-like sacrifices on the way. Then we have the damsel in distress, Aliena, who spends most of her life fulfilling a vow she gave to her dying father. Her misery lands her up in Kingsbridge and her destiny takes another turn, only to make her realise along the way that she's the one who should control her life, not some vow that may never come true because of the all-too-powerful noblemen who would do anything to usurp power. 

The Pillars of the Earth isn't very different from its prequel The Evening and the Morning. Both narrating the struggle between good & evil, the obnoxious monarchs abusing their power to oppress the poor & helpless and the indefatigable spirit of the public against these crude monarchs. The Pillars of the Earth, however, is way more descriptive and violent. The gory details of wars, crime and revenge made me shudder more than once. 

To my disappointment, the story seemed to drag at a lot of places. Some events have been repeatedly narrated, either to depict them from the point of view of a different character or to reminisce the journey of each of the main characters in the story. The repetition of these events and the unnecessary dragging of the tale made me restless & frustrated. But even with all its faults, the book managed to keep me on edge throughout. For that I give it 3 stars!

I think I made a mistake picking this up so soon after reading its prequel, The Evening and the Morning. Had I given it a few months break, I'd have truly relished reading it. Well, I take that as a learning and don't intend to pick up its sequel, World without End, anytime in the near future. And for my next read, I've chosen Man's Search for Meaning. Considering the rate at which I've been churning books these days, I hope to come back with a review very soon (although this book needs no review)!

Till then, happy reading! :)