Book review: Pillars of the Earth, Ken Folliet

I managed to finish this book a few weeks ago. From the moment I started it, I could not put it down. I really like the old English-type literature. The neatest thing about this book is that it first became popular by word of mouth rather than by being on someone's book club list or best-seller list. The interest in it started over in Europe and popularity finally spread to the US. Of course once it became popular here the book was completely exploited in grand US fashion. However, it was not a best-seller here until several years after it was written.

I had heard rave reviews of this book and was curious to read a book about the physical building of churches. I was super-more curious when I read the prologue and found out that the author of the book is an atheist. Can this be right? Guy spends years studying the grand cathedrals of England and researches the people that actually built them. I am talking about people putting down the stones, not the church leaders organizing the religion. I am talking the physical building to the church. Okay, so I was curious. Turns out he wove a fascinating story, HOWEVER, several of his characters shared his views on the non-existence of God and I just can't get past that. I suppose I can understand someone being so passionate about architecture that you would want to make your mark by building a grand cathedral. But without purpose besides architectural significance, I just don't get it. They could have built a castle, a wall, or something else. The attempts of the priests sponsoring the cathedral building projects were to build something that would inspire people toward God (or so I like to think). To think that the hands building that church had no affections for God seems crazy. I could be totally wrong though, they lived in different times, in different cultures. But I like to think the hearts of these people had to be hearts of God-fearing men. Curious to me that Folliet, self-proclaimed atheist, is so drawn to churches. Imagine his level of fasination and influence if he truly believed in their purpose. Maybe one day?

Awesome book and I will read the follow-up.