[The Pillars of the Earth]
Year:
1989
Type:
Public:
Publisher:
Pan
Year of publication:
2008
Pages:
1105
Moral assessment:
Type: Literature
Nothing inappropriate.
Some morally inappropriate content.
Contains significant sections contrary to faith or morals.
Contains some lurid passages, or presents a general ideological framework that could confuse those without much Christian formation.
Contains several lurid passages, or presents an ideological framework that is contrary or foreign to Christian values.
Explicitly contradicts Catholic faith or morals, or is directed against the Church and its institutions.
Literary quality:
Recommendable:
Transmits values:
Sexual content:
Violent content:
Vulgar or obscene language:
Ideas that contradict Church teaching:
The rating of the different categories comes from the opinion of Delibris' collaborators
The story is set in the Middle Ages and whose plot revolves around the construction of a cathedral. However, despite appearances, the novel is a very 20th century thriller, in which power and sex are the main driving forces. Descriptive erotic scenes pepper the text; in addition, the author shows his difficulty to understand the value of religion in medieval society, presenting it as a mere superstition or as an instrument of power of a class - the clergy - manipulative and hypocritical. In the same topical line move the conflicts that are built between the various estates.