It was so different from what he normally wrote, but it was GREAT! Follett was a master of drawing you into the rich characters and the satisfying storyline. I mean, wouldn’t night after night being pawed by drunken college fraternity boys in dank, beer-smelling bars put you off romance too?īut this book, with it’s tales of ribaldry and romance…errrr, early English architecture and the feudal system with knights and the monarchy and the CHURCH with all it’s pomp and circumstance, was captivating.

At the time I was in my late 20’s, a die-hard mystery, detective, espionage reader, having sort of drifted out of romances through college. Well, after all the fanfare, I set about reading the book with great enthusiasm and was not disappointed. We searched for it for a year or two, and then after hearing her wax lyrical about it over several coffees (believe me, I knew the story by heart then) I came across this Follett book and while reading the back cover, thought YUREKA! and took it to my sweet aunt and she thus confirmed it….THIS WAS THE BOOK! Was DESPERATE to find it again because she enjoyed it so. My 84-year old aunt read this book and then lost it. I first read this book at least 10 years ago, and there is a funny story that starts it made so even more by the fact that it’s on this list. Publication Info: NAL Trade October 2, 2007

Pillars of the earth book series