The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

This book is quite simply the most enthralling work of fiction that I have read in the last twenty years. The building of a cathedral in itself is not terribly interesting; what is interesting is the way in which individuals thrown upon their own resources struggle to survive in a harsh medieval world. And the plot has so many twists and turns and moments of suspense that there is hardly ever a convenient time to put the book down. A friend recommended this book at a time when I wasn’t reading much fiction, but I am glad now that she did. This was an extraordinary story, told in remarkably simple prose but with masterful narrative craftsmanship, and my life has been greatly enriched by it.