The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

Ken Follett is best known for writing thrillers, a genre I'm not particularly fond of.  But Pillars of the Earth is a historical novel, a genre I like a lot.  This book is set in 12th century England and tells the story of the building of a cathedral in the fictional town of Kingsbridge.  It is a sweeping saga that covers approximately 40 years.  I enjoyed it for the most part, but wasn't unhappy to reach the end (of almost 1000 pages).  I found it mildly annoying near the end when I felt like the author was trying to tie up every single loose end; I rate it 3 out of 5.