carolanneofee

In continuing with the medieval English saga of the builder of a great Cathedral, Ken Follett has followed The Pillars of the Earth with this page-turner – World Without End. Also set in the fictional village of Kingsbridge, Follett takes us on a journey beginning in 1327. We get to know the residents of the town, the nunnery and the priory, and some of the nobles in the area. There are many changes happening to Kingsbridge. New innovations have allowed for the local economy to prosper and visitors from other areas of Europe have their influence as well. Some are good and some are bad. When the plague is brought to Kingsbridge, it loses many of its residents and that brings problems of its own. What we see in this book is a look at the economic, religious, political and social issues of the day. On a plus side, Follett is pretty thorough in presenting the history of the time. Even minute details about farming and weaving aren’t left out here. The author also knows how to entertain his readers. It’s an exciting, romp through history. On the minus side, he presents twentieth century characters in a fourteenth century setting. I will assume that Follett does this to keep his modern readers engaged. It does help him maintain a book on the best-seller list. However, historical fiction fans will be disappointed. Follett does have his history correct; however, I sincerely doubt that all the happenings of the fourteenth century happened in Kingsbridge at the same time. My biggest disappointment was the lack of any really virtuous characters. The heroes of the book are atheists – and one of them is a nun! Everyone else in the Church is a villain. You get the distinct impression that Follett is a Church hating atheist. It’s too bad, in the previous book, the hero is a saintly prior. It’s one of the things that made the book so attractive. Good wins out in the end. No one seems to win in this book. Still, it was entertaining and there is some good history here.

2022-11-14 14:15