The Pillars of the Earth

I love historical fiction and the back cover of this book made it seem interesting. There were recommendations for it everywhere I looked. So I thought I'd give it a try. In a word: boring. I kept wondering where Ken Follett's editor was hiding. It's a long book and drags on. There was one scene in which the outcome of a character's wanderings had an obvious outcome. Yet the reader has to endure page after page of the character pulling on doors and walking down corridors. Torture. The plot covers several decades in the building of a cathedral during England's dark times. The main characters include a monk, the cathedral's head builder and his family. They are likable and written well. If the book were at least half its size it could have been better. Great idea. Poor follow through.