World Without End by Ken Follett

World Without End by Ken Follett is a delightful read. It is the second book that follows characters through their lives from childhood to adulthood in the town of Kingsbridge in England. I'm not sure I consider it a sequel to The Pillars of the Earth because none of the same characters are in this book (The setting is two centuries later), but it follows the same spirit as Pillars of the Earth.

Follett is a master at not only character building but building things like setting though the actions of his characters. Like Pillars of the Earth, a lot of the book follows architecture, though this time it follows a tower and a bridge more than the cathedral itself. Like Pillars of the Earth, I'm not sure that I can distinguish one protagonist. There are several main characters to World without End, and each is given his/her own importance. If I had to choose a protagonist, I think the character of Caris stands out the most in my mind.

Then there is the love of her life, Merthin Builder. Merthin is the brother of another major character and villain, Ralph. Ralph and Merthin were born into the nobility in the beginning of the novel, and it takes nearly the whole 1000 pages for them to enter back into the nobility from the merchant and peasant classes.

It took me eight months to read World Without End. Unlike Pillars of the Earth, I didn't have a convenient break (I had three weeks off of work in which I read Pillars of the Earth over my Christmas vacation) to read in a large chunk. During the beginning of World Without End, I had a hard time distinguishing between several different characters, partly because many of them have names that begin with the same letter. There are Gwenda and Griselda, Ralph and Roland, Mother Cecilia and Caris, etc.. For that reason, it took me nearly six months to read the first five hundred pages, and only one month to read the second five hundred pages.

I give World Without End five Stars ***** because I was gripped during the second half. Many times while reading both Follett's novels, I wondered if these two works would have been better suited to being an entire series rather than 1000 page novels. I'm not sure the reading experience would have been the same had Follett broken them into several shorter novels because the lives of the characters are totally interconnected.

Had Follett focused on one character for 300-400 pages and then gone on to another character, I think the odds of becoming bored with the plot would have been higher because as soon as a character like Ralph took an action, it spread to the peasants like Wulfric and Gwenda, Annette, or Maude and Gerald.

A history buff, I always look for places authors might have made mistakes. I only found one thing that made my head turn, and it was a very slight detail. I'm not going to mention it here because I haven't researched it, so I might still be mistaken.

For anyone considering reading World Without End, I caution you to read the entire novel before forming judgement on the work. There were a few places where I wanted to through my book against the wall. I won't include any spoilers here, but I will mention that in my opinion, there are many happy endings for the characters. It just takes 1000 pages to get to them. There are many times when things seem hopeless or seemingly hopeless, especially for Merthin and Caris, but I was more than satisfied with how the novel ends.

The Pillars Of The Earth by Ken Follett

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett has been one of the most refreshing books I have ever read. I was captivated by the plot from page one. Follett built this characters in such a way that I felt like I knew them, heroes and villains alike. This was a rare treat of a book to read. The copy I read was mass market paperback. 983 pages flew by faster than any other book I've consumed thus far because I had to find out what was going to happen next.

Because I don't give the books' plot away in the course of my reviews, I won't go into so much detail as to ruin the book, but I will mention a few things in case you're wanting to go out and buy a copy. Follett's characters travel extensively throughout Europe. The time period is the twelfth century England. If you're a history buff or love historical fiction, this is the book for you! My head hurts when I think about the amount of research that would have been necessary to write this novel.

Another reason I recommend The Pillars of the Earth is that it is a very simple, yet deep story. Both of my parents read it before I did. My mother mainly reads light romance and Oprah pick books. I've never seen my father read fiction. EVER. He also loved Pillars of the Earth. I'm a bookworm and enjoy many types of books, but when I realized both my mother and father had read Pillars of the Earth from the library, I was shocked. My mom read it in under three weeks, then my father read it when she renewed it.

Naturally, I wanted a copy for myself. Books that are nearly 1000 pages don't agree with me if I'm forced to read them in a short amount of time. It made an excellent Christmas gift. Even so, I finished it in approximately three weeks as well, even though I owned a copy of my own. My mother-in-law is also reading Pillars of the Earth and has discussed early chapters with me already.

Overall, this book is a must read! *****