Pillars of the Earth Review

What happens when you take a bestselling suspense and thriller novelist, and apply his skills to a historical fiction novel? If you’re Ken Follett, it would turn out something like the award winning The Pillars of the Earth.  The novel spans nearly forty years, from 1135 to 1174 AD, and delves deeply into the creation of a cathedral in the town of Kingsbridge, England.  

Ken Follett is an acclaimed author of over 25 books that have sold over 130 million copies over the years. He is primarily a thriller novelist, writing books such as Eye of The Needle, and The Third Twin. In 1989 however, he shocked readers and publishers alike, by coming out with a historical fiction book, The Pillars of the Earth, with great success.

The book is written in a third person style, with the story being told from multiple perspectives of people who played a role in the cathedral being built over the 40 year time period.  Phillip, the prior of the monastery of Kingsbridge, the master builder and stone mason Tom, and Lord William, who wishes to become Earl of the nearby area of Shiring, and will do anything to reach his goal, are the primary narrators of the story at first. However, as time passes in the book, we also hear from Jack, who is the stepson of Tom and later becomes the master builder of the cathedral, and from Aliena, the daughter of the former Earl of Shiring, that was forced out of her home and raped by William and has to fight to survive and return her family to power. These five seemingly different people from different walks of life are all bound together in the town of Kingsbridge and in the effort of building a great cathedral there. Each character has their own very specific voice, and they all have their own agendas and reasons for wanting the cathedral built, or not built as is the case for William. They all pursue their own agendas throughout the book, and whether those agendas are to gain power, honor God, or build a great cathedral as their lives work, they will all manipulate others in order to reach those goals.

This book is like an old wooden roller coaster. The beginning of the book, as we are introduced to character and learn about their backstories and how they got to where they are, is like the slow, inching climb to the top of the first hill, that sometimes takes so long that it both builds suspense, and creates boredom of the ride at the same time. However once the book reaches the top of that hill and the characters have all met and plans for the cathedral is underway, it speeds up dramatically. Just like a rollercoaster, the book is filled with twists and turns as the characters face difficult setbacks and manipulations that change the course of the story, and the occasional jolt that breaks people out of the enjoyment of the ride. Those jolts are often from William’s perspective, as he goes around fighting battles and enjoys forcing himself on women, in very violent and fleshed out ways that is quite disturbing and disgusting to readers. Despite these jolts, by the end of the novel, readers won’t want it to end and are left wanting more, and may go back to read the story again and again to enjoy the ride.  

For a historical fiction novel, this is a very good attempt to create what seems to be a realistic view of the time period. It does not skate over the problems of the era, such as the corruption of the church in many places, the brutal treatment of women, and the instability of the crown, as there is a civil war going on for much of the book, but rather addresses it in ways that doesn’t critique it and look down on it, but treats it as a necessary element of the time period. In the beginning of the book, we find out that Aliena was supposed to marry William but refuses to and her father agrees because of a promise he had once made her. We learn this from Tom’s perspective and his reaction is one that is common to the time, with incredulity that a Earl would turn down a powerful marriage to please a woman and that woman of higher classes are expected to marry to form alliances, ““A foolish pledge!” Tom said angrily. How could a powerful man tie himself to the whim of a girl in that way? Her marriage could affect military alliances, baronial finances…even the building of this house” (Follet location 459) Follett addresses many issues in this matter of fact way of thinking and speaking and passes it off as a reality of the time, no matter how ridiculous it may seem to us. We see this a lot in his descriptions of the corruption of the church, often through Phillip’s eyes as he deals with other members of the church and is incredulous of the behaviors and words of other men of God like him. This was interesting to me, for I had learned in school of the corruption of the church, but this novel was the first that I have read that really shows how it could been seen as corrupt, and also shows what the reality of the time was like for many different people and their lifestyles and their struggles and successes through their lives.          

One weakness of the book is that some of the descriptions can get rather lengthy and complex, especially when they are talking about the architecture of the actual cathedral. Though I have been to some of the cathedrals of Europe, the author sometimes took too long describing parts of the architecture, especially for readers that are unfamiliar with the terms. One of the best descriptions of what a cathedral is, takes place early in the novel when Tom is explaining why he wants to build a cathedral rather than just houses and castles like other builders. “A cathedral is a church like any other, in principle: it was simply the church where the bishop had his throne. But in practice cathedral churches were the biggest, richest, grandest and most elaborate…Cathedrals were the most costly buildings of the world, far more so than palaces and castles, and they had to earn their keep” (Follett location 789). This quote is the perfect quote for the book for it sums up why cathedrals are important and why so many people are set on either building it or destroying it in the town of Kingsbridge.

This book is a solid 4 out of 5. It is extremely well written with great characterization and descriptions and for a story that spans 40 years, it does not drag on for forever. However, it does not receive a 5 for the first two hundred pages did seem to drag on for a long time, and some seemed unnecessary to set up the story. The violent scenes of battle, and particularly of rape and sex also detracted from the overall effect of this book. Despite these flaws, I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys architecture, historical fiction and complex novels. Just like a rollercoaster, this book is one that will leave you wanting more and ready to return to read it again.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Readicide

I've been an avid reader all my life, of both literary fiction and genre fiction. That being said, since I love reading, I've never had too many problems with reading literary fiction in class, even if it wouldn't be my first choice of books to read. To me, reading literary fiction just comes with the territory of taking English classes in high school, and I can just read genre fiction on my own time outside of that class. However, I also know that many of my peers in my classes over the years, disagree with this opinion and don't bother to read at all, because the only books that they have been exposed to in school, are the 'boring classics with no relevance to me' books that they don't care about. That makes me sad, because there is such whole world of great books, in both the literary and genre fiction categories, that they are missing because of what they have experienced in schools.

To fix this problem and to start encouraging more students to develop an interest in reading, I think that schools do have to start changing their curriculum some to include more genre fiction books that will interest modern day students more. While I certainly don't agree with removing classic and great books and plays like Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby and others that I have read over the years, I think that there is a way to balance those with more recent books that students are interested in. For example, in Mason we have two trimesters per year in which that we are required to take English. Most of these years, we read about 2-4 books, depending on the course and the teacher. I think that it would be a good idea to keep two of the literary fiction novels in the class curriculum and then select a newer modern book in the genre fiction section of books for students to read to help them see what else is out there and hopefully inspire them to read more. These books don't necessarily have to be huge books of the moment, for instance right now it wouldn't have to be Hunger Games, but it could be a popular book from the past 5 to 10 years, that is well known and popular, but not necessarily an award winning book. One last thing that I would recommend, is that for the genre fiction novel that students would read, don't make students analyze it as much as they have to for the literary fiction books. While I understand that teachers do have to make tests and papers about the books to check that students are actually reading and comprehending the books they've been assigned, the constant annotating and deep analysis can sometimes detract from the enjoyment of reading, which is what you would be trying to cultivate by having them read a more modern genre fiction book.

Odd Thomas Book Trailer

Adapting Odd Thomas

I think that adapting Odd Thomas could be relatively easy but would have some difficulties as well. One of the most difficult things to transfer from the book to the movie would likely be the ghosts. This would be difficult because they look like normal people to Odd, and dressed in normal clothes, yet filmakers would have to find a way to differentiate between the ghosts that Odd sees, and the normal living people he interacts with. It might also be hard to show the bodachs accurately. I think that most of those problems would be tackled best with a combination of special effects, makeup (for the ghosts), and post production editing. I also think that since so much of Odd's reasoning process and understanding of the ghosts, come from his thoughts and ideas, that it could be difficult to transfer the storyline clearly in the movie. I think that in order to make sure that this doesn't happen, it would have to have an excellent script and good actors that can portray the characters well.

One of the scenes that I think must not be removed from the movie is one of the early scenes that involves Odd going into the Fungus Man's house and seeing both his collection of files and information about serial killers, and then the unusual black room where Odd sees his double. I think this scene is crucial because it shows why Odd suspects throughout the rest of the book about Fungus Man's motives and how creepy the man is. It also would be an interesting scene to watch, what with both the double of Odd, and how they would pull off the black room and time warp.

Another scene that I think is crucial to not be removed is one of the very early scenes where Odd first sees and communicates in his way to the ghost Penny Kallisto and then goes on a chase after Harlow, who is the one who killed her. I think that this is an important scene because it would be a good opening scene that both draws the audience in, and helps explain a little about Odd's ability and personality, right off the bat.

The last scene that I think cannot be removed or changed from the movie is the final climatic scene at the mall, where Odd finds out the identity of the killers, and uses his psychic magnetism to lead him to stop them. I think this scene cannot be changed because it is what the entire book has led up to, as well as has consequences that cannot be ignored.

One of the scenes that I think can be removed is the scene with Odd visiting first his father, and then his mother before going to the mall in the climatic scene. I think that this scene would detract from the suspense and buildup into the final scenes, and unless you truly deeply delve into Odd's childhood, it wouldn't seem important or notable that he goes to visit them, and what he gets out of it.

Another scene that could be removed is an early scene with Rosalia Sanchez, his neighbour where he reassures her that she is visible and living. While I enjoyed this scene in the book, I think that it would not necessarily be relevant in the movie, and may not be explained as well as it should be, with the emotional ties that Dean Koontz creates in the scene.

11/22/63

11/22/63 by Stephen King Promotional Tour

                On the 49^th anniversary of the legendary and historically impactful assassination of JFK, join award winning author Stephen King as he leads you first through the life of the assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, and then to a fully acted reenactment of what happened that fateful day when the path of America’s future was forever changed.

                First the day will start in Fort Worth Texas, where Lee Harvey Oswald, his wife Marina, and daughter June lived in the years leading up to the assassination. Learn more about Lee’s life and see where he lived and worked, as Stephen King leads you through his life. Next you will head to Dallas on a tour bus where you will be able to eat lunch and talk to other history buffs about the impact of JFK’s assassination. Once you arrive you will again visit the places that Lee Harvey once walked and then will head over to the Dallas airport to trace the steps that the president and the first lady made on that fateful day. Once you arrive at the Dealey Plaza, you will watch a full reenactment of the fateful shooting and the events immediately following that day. After the event you can go up to the 6^th floor of the Texas School Book Depository where there is a museum about the shooting. Stephen King will be at the museum signing his new book 11/22/63 that revolves around that fateful day of the shooting. There will also be discussions of conspiracy theories that surround the day, and how the future could have been changed if JFK hadn’t been killed that day.

                This event will be useful in promoting the book because it will attract a wide variety of people to come to the event. I would predict that three main types of people would be attracted to this event, those that love history and are interested in the 1960’s time period, those that are conspiracy theorists and like to talk to others about their theories and may enjoy talking about the consequences of time travel, and those that already enjoy Stephen King’s books and would enjoy meeting him and getting his new book signed.

This event connects to the novel because the whole premise of the novel is about one man’s attempt to change history by going back in time to 1958 and living in the past for five years for one reason only, to save the president. In the beginning  of the book Al Templeton, who got Jake to do this job, told Jake, “If you ever wanted to change the world, this is your chance. Save Kennedy, save his brother…Get rid of one wretched waif, buddy, and you could save millions of lives.” (King 69) The waif that he mentions is of course, Lee Harvey Oswald. If Jake kills him, and saves Kennedy, they hope that they could change history and make the world a better place than it is now. By going to the places that Lee lived gives people more of an insight to what Lee was like and why he did it. Lee did not live in good neighborhoods and was very much a communist. “The elbow-to-elbow shacks with their steps of crumbling cinderblock and their broken windows blocked up with pieces of cardboard.” Lee blamed the United States government for him being so poor and not being able to hold a job and idolized Cuba. I would hope that by going to the places that he lived and learning about him that people would start to understand more about him and feel more connected to the end of the day. Lastly the book really talks about the effects of time travel and conspiracy theories surrounding the day, especially near the end of the end. In fact near the end of the book, Jake mentions that his past alter ego had become part of an conspiracy theory after his involvement of that day. “In the forty-eight years since the assassination attempt in Dallas, Amberson had become a near-mythical figure. Savior, or part of the plot? People had actual conventions to discuss it…it was impossible for me not to think of all the conspiracy theories that had sprung up around the version of Lee who had succeeded.” (King 815) This event could be attractive to people that enjoy conspiracies because this is one of the biggest events that has many conspiracy theories around it and getting to talk to other people who enjoy those theories and read how one author thinks the past could’ve been changed if that day didn’t happen could be very interesting, especially if they accept that on that day, Lee was acting alone.

What is a Book?

What is a Book?

A book is simply a story. To me, it doesn't matter what form the story comes in, whether its a hardcover, paperback, kindle, nook, or audiobook, as long as the story is told, and the writing that is within it is good.I agree most with Joe Meno's statement about what books are when he says "A book is actually a place, a place where we, as readers, still have the chance to engage in active imagining, translating word into image, connecting these images to memories, dreams and larger ideas". That's really what a book is to me, not a place, but a story that an author tries to tell us by using their words, and making us imagine the story to make it come alive in our heads and our hearts. The magic of being able to dive into a story, and be drawn into it and see the world from a whole new perspective and feel like you're part of the story, is what the magic of a book is and to me, it doesn't really matter what form the book may take.

At home, I have book shelves upon bookshelves full of books that I have read, and I still love to go back and reread them, and feel the weight of them in my hands and flip through the pages. However, I also own a Kindle. I don't have a fancy kindle fire or anything like that, just a plain kindle that lets me read on it. As much as I love reading traditional books, there is something to say about the convenience of the kindle. When I went to Europe last summer, it was much easier to just load 10 books onto my kindle to read on the plane and in hotels, rather than having to pack an additional heavy bag full of the same books, like I have in the past. Even with the kindle, I still buy books from places like Barnes and Noble, simply because holding a book in my hand gives me the satisfaction of seeing it finished and reminds me of good memories from when I read throughout my life.
I think that there will always be some sort of magic in picking  up a book and reading it, flipping through the pages. That's why I think that books will never truly go away, even with the popularity of ebooks increasing all the time. To me, as a proud owner of both a kindle, and hundreds of traditional books, I think that they can coexist, as long as there are still people that are willing to read and hear those stories that the authors wrote for us. To me thats what a book truly is, a great story, a story that can take you to other places and other times and to other people's lives for a while, as we try to escape our own.

Why I Read

Why I Read...

Why do I read? Thats a question that could be answered in many different ways, with many different answers, even for me. The best answer for me, one that encompasses all the other reasons that I read, is simple. I love to read. I alway have actually, even when I was little.

I don't even remember when I really started to read, I just know that I always have. I've always loved that when I pick up a book and start reading, I can be completely drawn into another person's life. I get to experience other worlds, other countries, different times, different creatures and magic, all by simply sitting down and flipping through page after page. I love being able to escape into books and being distracted from real life, and jump into another person's adventures. It's a type of escape mechanism and stress reliever for me, if things are going wrong in my life, reading about someone else's life, where things are going better for them, or sometimes worse, helps me escape and collect myself before I have to face my own life again.

I also love the educational benefits that I get from reading. Since I read so much, and read such varied literature, I have a great vocabulary, that really helps me in English classes, and when taking the SAT and ACT last year. I also have accumulated a large amount of knowledge from reading, some that is useful in conversations, and some just random facts. There have been a lot of conversations where I say something about a unfamiliar topic, that I'm quite sure how I know it, until I realize that I had read it in some book, and remembered it. The educational benefits however, are not as important to the reasons why I read as the fact that I simply like to read. That is the most important reason about why I read.