Reviews
These are just my favourite books of all time!! I enjoyed every second and will miss the characters desperately
Ken Follett is a master of historical fiction. Somehow each story draws me in and makes me fall head over heels in love with some characters and so filled with loathing for other characters.
Something I've found interesting is how the 'bad guys' in his books are almost always part of the clergy or nobility, and the 'good guys' are almost always women, manual workers, and other minorities. I feel like he writes fiction in a way that makes the characters feel more real and more accurate to how people in that time really would have been like.
This book I particularly liked because it features life during the Black Death. It is surprisingly hard to find good historical fiction about that time period that doesn't become too lecture-y. It's part of life, but other life keeps happening all around. Reading this post covid quarantines also just gave me a whole new perspective and understand and empathy with what the characters were going through.
A little denser/ slower than pillars but this series is just phenomenal.
tl;dr: the next generation is REALLY going to need some kind of paternity court because everyone is secretly having everyone else's children, the main couple had a will-they-won't-they relationship for like 30 years, sibling relationships have such a bad rap in this book, and also so much Infuriatingly Unjust Stuff happens
I absolutley adored Pillars of the Earth and was very excited when I found out that there was a sequel, although I don't think that's the right word, as both books are practically unrelated apart from the town in which they are set. I believe it makes a different to the reader whether they've read Pillars of the Earth. If they have, although the works of Ken Follett are absolutley genius, there are several similarities. For a start, Caris and Merthin are very close to the characters Aliena and Jack of the first book, in everything from their relationship, in that, they can't be together for a number of reasons, and their personalities and occupations. Like Jack, Merthin is an innovative architect and builder, whereas Caris, like Aliena, is strong and outspoken for her time. Merthin's brother Ralph is also similar to William Hamleigh, in his greed, his need to be nobility and the way he treats women. They both also have a child bride. The other thing I felt let this book down was the secret. In the first book, the big secret was relevant and had effects on characters within the story. In this one, it was almost an afterthought and had hardly any impact on the characters or Kingsbridge. On the other hand, there were some parts of the book that were incredible. The descriptions of the plague and it's effect on Kingsbridge were brilliant, providing the reader with a vivid image. As always Follett makes the characters so real that you feel constant emotion, I have never read a book before where I felt such hate or love for the characters. Overall, despite the disappointments, I'm still giving World Without End five stars, because although it's not as good as it's predecessor, these books are still a league above the rest.
Sequel to 'Pillars of the Earth', this novel is set it the same town of Kingsbridge, two centuries after the original, following some of the descendants of the original book. Very enjoyable read and I again enjoyed Follett's depiction of strong women in an era where everything was ruled by men. The 100 years war between England & France, and the Black Plague, serve as historical backdrops to a tale that spans 34 years.
tl;dr: the next generation is REALLY going to need some kind of paternity court because everyone is secretly having everyone else's children, the main couple had a will-they-won't-they relationship for like 30 years, sibling relationships have such a bad rap in this book, and also so much Infuriatingly Unjust Stuff happens
I adored the entire story! I have to admit the first few pages i was really reticent with the book, but I soon as I have in I completely feel deep with this story! I love Merthin character and the fact that he was also not only an architect but also an engineer! So he mixed both art and science! And Caris! Oh I wish I had her intelligence and her courage! I loved the fact that even though the entire novel is ruled by the romance of both Merthin and Caris it doesn’t feel like a romance novel, you just feel the history side and the life danger kinda of drama with the plague and all, you spend the entire novel worrying if the characters you’ve formed a surprising (because you don’t see it coming with this depth) deep bond will survive what we know was one of the worst events to “attack” the human race! And since I’ve always been skeptical of Church I felt deeply the struggle Caris had when trying to make people understand her “way of medicine” was right! Not the one used by priests, who because had such a “connection to god” were the all and mighty! And I’m glad that I’m the end the intelligent and creative won and not the conservative idiots!
This is a sequel to a book that I had said "meh" to. But for some reason I decided to go forth with this one. The church has all the say and collects all the money and it's a tough time to be a woman.
Nowhere near the level of Pillars of the Earth, but still enjoyable. I didn’t get as attached to these characters.
