Against this richly imagined and intricately interwoven backdrop, filled with the ravages of war and the rhythms of daily life, the master storyteller draws the reader irresistibly into the intertwined lives of his characters into their dreams, their labors, and their loves: Tom, the master builder Aliena, the ravishingly beautiful noblewoman Philip, the prior of Kingsbridge Jack, the artist in stone and Ellen, the woman of the forest who casts a terrifying curse.

The vast forests, the walled towns, the castles, and the monasteries become a familiar landscape. Follett has re created the crude, flamboyant England of the Middle Ages in every detail. But what makes The Pillars of the Earth extraordinary is the time the twelfth century the place feudal England and the subject the building of a glorious cathedral. Everything readers expect from Follett is here: intrigue, fast paced action, and passionate romance.

It is my greatest hope that their lives will be the better for it, and I am forever grateful for the honor and the opportunity that Oprah has afforded me.Ken Follett is known worldwide as the master of split second suspense, but his most beloved and bestselling book tells the magnificent tale of a twelfth century monk driven to do the seemingly impossible: build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has ever known. Winfrey and her book club, my story will be introduced to a national audience. “My greatest hope at that time was that a few young people would read my story and learn from my mistakes. I wrote That Bird Has My Wings while in solitary confinement, isolated and alone,” he says. “I turned 60 this year, having entered San Quentin at the age 19. Masters had this to say about the selection of his book for Oprah’s Book Club: HarperOne has reissued the book, which contains a foreword by spiritual teacher Pema Chödrön, who has long championed Masters’s cause. Oprah read the book shortly after it was first published by HarperOne, in 2009, and it left a strong impression: “His story, of a young boy victimized by addiction, poverty, violence, the foster care system, and later the justice system, profoundly touched me then, and still does today,” said Oprah. Masters has been incarcerated in California’s San Quentin State Prison for the past 41 years.

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