Abandoned—I just found the writing awkward and unengaging, so I had no reason to read further.

Finished this in four days, couldn’t put it down and stayed up until 5am for two nights actually.

I like this because it doesn’t go overboard in describing the time (the Middle Ages), the architecture (the story centres on cathedral-building) and the people (spans generations). The storyline is fluid, and mixes politics, hope, religion, war, romance and architecture. I knew I would like it – as I generally like these kinds of books, like Foucault’s Pendulum, Name of the Rose – but I think those who haven’t an interest in period literature would still be interested.

Inside this book are characters which I loved to hate – and those that I realised, by the middle of it, had started to admire. It’s been some time since any novel I’ve read has led me to be less than ambivalent about the characters.

I finally finished this book! It took me nearly a month, but I did it.

There’s so much to this book, that I can’t really give it a good book review. I was never good at book reviews anyway. It’s a story about a group of people from all walks of life that find themselves living in the cathedral town of Kingsbridge Priory.

While a cathedral is being built, politics and pettiness of enemies get in the way. People fall in love. People make bad decisions. People die.

The book was nearly 1000 pages, yet I still felt rushed at the end. I’m wondering if the author would have told the story better if he made this a trilogy or series. Overall, I felt it was a good book and would recommend it.