The End

Finally I have come to the end of Pillars of the Earth. It was not so spellbinding that I had to hurry through, so I took my time, reading every word of the almost thousand page saga. There were a lot of important characters, both good and evil, and toward the end every person's story was resolved and complete so the reader wasn’t left hanging. I appreciated that. It took place during a lawless time in twelfth century England and was no doubt impeccably researched by Mr. Follett and company. I made it a learning experience and frequently used Wikipedia to look up unfamiliar words such as plinth, Whitsun, and oriel. I saw how English names such as Mason, Merchant, Mercer, Baker, Butler and Tanner originated from trades and Jackson from Jack’s son. I read about life in monasteries, the influence of the church, and the vision and passion of a few men who were dedicated to designing and building a beautiful cathedral, no matter how long it would take. At the end I learned about Thomas Becket’s awful death. Now this historical novel, paperback edition, is ready to be passed on to another reader. Peter, that's you.