Talk:The Pillars of the Earth

Location

Being totally ignorant of the book, how much is the location of Kingsbridge connected to the real Kingsbridge? Is this just a name that has been used, or is it a fictionalisation of a town with a roughly similar position or type? I have linked the town in the article, but am a little troubled by the lack of a link before - should some explanation be put? Stevebritgimp 05:52, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

It most definitely takes place in England; there is further information now in the article about the timeline of the book and events that took place that are particular to England's history. María (críticame) 15:56, 14 November 2007 (UTC)

Most Frequently Challenged Books

This book is number 91 on the American Library Association's list of 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000.[1] Anybody have any information that could be added to the article why it is so controversial? Neil916 (Talk) 06:27, 25 March 2008 (UTC)

About a third of the way into the novel one of the characters takes umbrage at the priory and publicly urinates on their Bible(?) by way of protest. At mealtime, no less. The C-word that isn't cancer is also used once or twice (literally). One pithy usage could be considered particularly blasphemous in addition to which it's articulated by a bishop. That's all original research, but it might help when searching for objections to the book. Note that these isolated incidents are effectively window-dressing in extremis and infinitely less integral to the plot or themes of the book than murdering old women is to The Wizard of Oz say 79.78.194.43 (talk) 22:46, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

I was not aware of the novel's status as a "Frequently Challenged Book", but can imagine why it might be. "Challenged books" tend not to be simply the most egregious or offensive ones but the ones that are on the edge of acceptability for a generally-protected audience. This novel "brings history alive" and is written at a fairly simple vocabulary level and could easily be seen as a useful addition to a school library on that basis. On the other hand it does have the themes and language mentioned above and also several explicit sex scenes (including a rape), any of which might draw the ire of a concerned parent or community guardian and lead to a "challenge". Jgm (talk) 15:54, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

On the other hand, placing at #91 on this list may not mean much, considering that Where's Waldo shows up two places higher. Jgm (talk) 16:01, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

Just saw that some parents in Cleburne, TX are challenging this book's inclusion on a required reading list. (Came here to look for a trusty "Controversy" section to see what the problem is; alas there is none.) --216.62.101.13 (talk) 20:45, 9 February 2009 (UTC)