Looking for the “perfect book” for someone that you love? Do they have a pulse? Do they like to read? Then you’re almost guaranteed that they’ll love “Pillars of the Earth” by Ken Follet. Oprah didn’t brainwash me, I’ve always loved this book.

It’s got sex, religion, politics, history, evil villains, down to earth heroes and miracles all tied up into a fantastic package. Is it always happy? No, and I applaud Ken Follet for that. Who wants to only read books where everything ends up happily ever after? Don’t get me wrong, this is no dirge. ”Pillars” should not make you suicidal (though I can’t promise anything if you’re already there), but if you’re looking for Disney, this probably isn’t it.

The story is set in the dark ages in England. You’ve got two great protagonists to choose from: Tom Builder, an everyman who dreams of building a cathedral (he’s a mason by trade, devoted husband and father); and Phillip the monk, if you didn’t think a monk could be lovable and heroic, you need to read this book! Follet is a master at weaving in a various cast of characters to keep things interesting and lively.

The only criticism I can come up with (and it took me a while) is that there’s a lot of details about cathedrals. Even if you hated cathedrals, I think you could still enjoy this book, you would just be skipping over some paragraphs here and there.

One caution, this is an unusual genre for Follet. Most of his other books do NOT follow this formula. I like some of his other books, but if you’re looking for a spy novel, “Pillars” is not going to fit that bill (though there is plenty of action, betrayal and intrigue).

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