World Without End by Ken Follett
To tell the truth, I was anxiously awaiting the publication of this novel. I had read the previous book, Pillars of the Earth, and it goes down as one of the better books I've read during my lifetime. So, when I discovered Ken Follett was writing a sequel, I was extremely excited.
I managed to get the book in South Korea while I was there, so I have somewhat of a rarer edition (a small paperback rather than the much larger sized book they were selling here in the states for much more money). It's the same book, however, and it runs at 1025 pages. And there's so much greatness in it, too.
The story picks up where the last one left off, but several generations later. In the previous books, Tom the Builder had finally managed to build his cathedral, which was the goal of his entire life. In the sequel, the descendant of Tom is a young man named Merthin and his brother Ralph. The two brothers, a young girl named Caris who Merthin likes, and a peasant girl named Gwenda all go on a little journey into the woods where they come across a knight fighting for his life against heavily armed assailants. They step in and help the knight, who then reveals he's the holder of a secret letter that could bring down the kingdom. In order to hide out, he decides to leave his lord/lady's service and become a monk, hiding out in a priory for the rest of his life, knowing its his only chance at survival. His enemies will leave him alone as long as they realize that the letter will get out somehow if he should ever meet his death.
The story takes place over the lives of these four young characters as they grow up and constantly come at odds with each other, or become partners, or lovers, or mortal enemies. Merthin becomes a great builder, much like his ancestor (wanting to build the highest church in all of England), Caris becomes a great healer, and through a series of unexpected turns, one of the most powerful entities in Kingsbridge Priory, Ralph becomes a squire, and then a knight, and then an earl, who knows nothing but violence and an immoral exchange with the world, and Gwenda becomes the wife of a peasant man who is constantly at odds with Ralph, which leads to so many ups and downs throughout the rest of her life.
The story is very well written, very well researched, and brilliantly crafted. At one point, you think you know what's going to happen for the rest of the novel, and then something comes out of nowhere, but in that period of time, it seems so natural. The plague hits Europe during this time, and it becomes a character as well, constantly reappearing to reshape the landscape of the novel, changing a quiet village into a chaotic free for all area of horror and anarchy.
The book can be read without reading the first novel, but I'd honestly recommend reading Pillars of the Earth first, just because there are moments where knowing the old story kind of enhances the new story. Plus, the first book was brilliant. But I'll go out on a limb and say the second novel was just as powerful.
This is the kind of book that should eventually fall into the classics literature charts because of the scope of what it attempts to do. When I first read Pillars of the Earth, I was shocked that this came from the suspense author of Eye of the Needle and Key to Rebecca. I loved those books, but for such a different reason. I also read and disliked his The Modigliani Scandal, not realizing it was one of his first books, and even he admits "They are too short, however, the characters have no past and the action often moves too quickly for the reader to enjoy." He even predicted readers might be disappointed and write him negative letters. After reading that novel so long ago, I was so glad to see that even he admitted there were problems with that novel.
But World Without End is definitely one of his best. I highly recommend it, although it's one of those books, like War and Peace, where you won't be sitting down at 8am and finishing it before you go to bed. It took me a LONG time to read that one, but I'm happy that I did.
Stumble It!
I managed to get the book in South Korea while I was there, so I have somewhat of a rarer edition (a small paperback rather than the much larger sized book they were selling here in the states for much more money). It's the same book, however, and it runs at 1025 pages. And there's so much greatness in it, too.
The story picks up where the last one left off, but several generations later. In the previous books, Tom the Builder had finally managed to build his cathedral, which was the goal of his entire life. In the sequel, the descendant of Tom is a young man named Merthin and his brother Ralph. The two brothers, a young girl named Caris who Merthin likes, and a peasant girl named Gwenda all go on a little journey into the woods where they come across a knight fighting for his life against heavily armed assailants. They step in and help the knight, who then reveals he's the holder of a secret letter that could bring down the kingdom. In order to hide out, he decides to leave his lord/lady's service and become a monk, hiding out in a priory for the rest of his life, knowing its his only chance at survival. His enemies will leave him alone as long as they realize that the letter will get out somehow if he should ever meet his death.
The story takes place over the lives of these four young characters as they grow up and constantly come at odds with each other, or become partners, or lovers, or mortal enemies. Merthin becomes a great builder, much like his ancestor (wanting to build the highest church in all of England), Caris becomes a great healer, and through a series of unexpected turns, one of the most powerful entities in Kingsbridge Priory, Ralph becomes a squire, and then a knight, and then an earl, who knows nothing but violence and an immoral exchange with the world, and Gwenda becomes the wife of a peasant man who is constantly at odds with Ralph, which leads to so many ups and downs throughout the rest of her life.
The story is very well written, very well researched, and brilliantly crafted. At one point, you think you know what's going to happen for the rest of the novel, and then something comes out of nowhere, but in that period of time, it seems so natural. The plague hits Europe during this time, and it becomes a character as well, constantly reappearing to reshape the landscape of the novel, changing a quiet village into a chaotic free for all area of horror and anarchy.
The book can be read without reading the first novel, but I'd honestly recommend reading Pillars of the Earth first, just because there are moments where knowing the old story kind of enhances the new story. Plus, the first book was brilliant. But I'll go out on a limb and say the second novel was just as powerful.
This is the kind of book that should eventually fall into the classics literature charts because of the scope of what it attempts to do. When I first read Pillars of the Earth, I was shocked that this came from the suspense author of Eye of the Needle and Key to Rebecca. I loved those books, but for such a different reason. I also read and disliked his The Modigliani Scandal, not realizing it was one of his first books, and even he admits "They are too short, however, the characters have no past and the action often moves too quickly for the reader to enjoy." He even predicted readers might be disappointed and write him negative letters. After reading that novel so long ago, I was so glad to see that even he admitted there were problems with that novel.
But World Without End is definitely one of his best. I highly recommend it, although it's one of those books, like War and Peace, where you won't be sitting down at 8am and finishing it before you go to bed. It took me a LONG time to read that one, but I'm happy that I did.
Stumble It!
posted by Duane @ 12:21 PM
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