Will I Like Pillars of the Earth?

[drunkenKOALA]

My favorite books are: The Great Gatsby, The Idiot, Great Expectations, The Brothers Karamazov, Catcher in the Rye, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, etc.

I found mass market books like Ender's game a bit too simplistic and juvenile. The Da Vinci Code was alright as a thriller, page-turner, albeit not as literature.

So given that, will I like Pillars of the Earth?

[Charles Darnay]

It certainly does not go the "pop" extreme that Da Vinci Code does - but you will probably end up putting this book in the category of "simplistic enjoyable thrillers" - it is enjoyable, but don't expect anything along the lines of Dickens , Fitzgerald or Dostoevsky.

[JBI]

I couldn't finish it, the prose is rather trashy and the characters rather clunky.

[Big Al]

I read that when I was in sixth grade -- the only two things I really remember are that it took me a long time to finish it, and that the trashy sex scenes are numerous and vivid.

[kasie]

So given that, will I like Pillars of the Earth?

Who knows, dK, only you can answer that question! I'd treat it the same as I would treat any book - give it a fair shot, fifty pages at least, maybe more as Pillars is a big slow book, and if the plot hasn't grabbed you, if you aren't beginning to care about the characters, if the prose style isn't driving you crazy, keep reading.

I think the important thing with books is to try it for yourself - don't read it or stop reading it on someone else's recommendation, no one else can tell you what to like or what not to like, it's up to you. (That's advice solely for your personal reading btw - if a book is on a School/College reading list, grit your teeth and read it!) If someone whose judgement you respect suggests a title, give it a try - similarly if that person is adversely critical of a book you are enjoying, listen to what they say, assess it but finally trust your own judgement.

Perhaps Pillars is just what you are looking for at the moment - it certainly isn't a demanding read and maybe at this time of the year, you are in need of recreational reading. All (or perhaps I should say most) books have their time and place - less than literary books have their uses too and should not necessarily be ignored.

You are going to have to take the plunge and read a book you know nothing about at some time in your life - trust yourself, do it now! Otherwise you will spend all your life just reading classics and while that won't do you any harm it may mean you never read a modern book or you might miss a reading experience that will give you a particularly personal pleasure.

(And let us know what you think of Pillars please!)

[drunkenKOALA]

Thanks for the replies.

Yeah it's important to try books for oneself but that isn't always a luxury one can afford to have with every book out there. I have a limited time and budget I really want to avoid the luxury of finding out if something is trash by myself. I have enough unread classics as is that I know fairly certainly that are pretty good that I don't really need to take risks with my purchases.

But I bought the book anyways yesterday at the airport, along with Slaughterhouse Five and Joy Luck Club. I ended up reading Slaughterhouse Five at the airport.

I should mention by the way that the reason why I am interested in Pillars of the Earth is because they made a boardgame out of it. For those interested in the boardgame check boardgamegeek.com