Buen libro.

Por este libro me siento irresponsable. He terminado de leerlo hace más de un año y me ha gustado mucho, pero ni le he realizado reseña, ni tampoco lo he marcado como leído, sino que lo seguía teniendo en un infinito «Currently Reading». Para ser honesto quería realizar la actualización de estado cuando redactara mi reseña, pero cada vez que entro a mi perfil me molesto conmigo mismo por esta «tarea pendiente». Así que bueno, lo marcaré como leído para que no me estorbe visualmente mi postergación, pero indudablemente más adelante realizaré la reseña completa. Lo prometo.

Reseña completa más adelante.

This novel is Follett's follow up to The Pillars of the Earth which is one of my favorite novels and probably never had a chance of living up to my expectations. It follows the lives of four people beginning with a disturbing childhood encounter. Four very different people: two brothers, one brilliant, but not physically imposing and one one strong and ruthless; and two women, both resourceful, but one from a wealthy family and one for whom life was one struggle after the next. Seeing how each played out the hand that medieval life dealt them was the driving force for me.

It served to me as a poignant reminder that, especially in the Middle Age, the path of our lives can often be more impacted by sometimes arbitrary laws of Nature, God, and Man than by our own actions. We find that often justice turns a blind eye on our little corner of the world and all we can control is how we respond to the obstacles thrown in our path.

Perhaps this same theme is why I was so taken with the first book. And perhaps it's not a difference between the two books that I'm feeling, but a difference in myself over the eighteen years between readings. The idealistic 20 something who read Pillars and felt the unfairness of life in the Middle Ages has been replaced by a 40 something widower who reads of injustice and thinks, "Eh, sometimes life throws you a parade and sometimes it pisses in your corn flakes. That's just the way that it goes."

All that being said I found World Without End to be a pleasant journey - and at 1,000+ pages it is a journey, as I was reading it I jokingly referred to the book as "Novel Without End". I enjoyed being transported back to a different time and although I didn't care about the characters the way I did reading Pillars of the Earth, I'm glad for the time spent with them.

A truly delightful read. I really enjoyed the background of the story; the characters (mostly) and how Follett used the story (1300's) to show emerging attitudes ie to the church and medicine.
The setting is 1300s in the reign of Edward 11. We see the changing of people's attitudes. This is shown mostly in treatment of the sick, attitude to land usage and the power of the church and state.
The emergence of sick people treatment from bleeding and dung mixture wound treatments: to treatment with clean washing and bandages. Particularly noticeable was plague victims being tended with nuns wearing masks, washing their hands in vinegar and being separated from other people.
Land usage was initially tightly governed by Lord of the manor rules. (All tied to getting the king his taxes - which did not alter). At the end of the period there was more flexibility for the peasant and labourer. Prompted by the thinking of land worers resulting from the plague - ie less people to work the land.
We see the emergence of entrepreneurs; driven by desire for profits. In this they slowly reduce the power of the church controlling their every day operations. But the king still gets his taxes.
Follett craftily used his characters to show all these changes. And he does it brilliantly. Using a powerful story with wonderful characters.
Unputdownable

n  "It was said that pilgrims should not spend too much time planning their journey, for they might learn of so many hazards that they would decide not to go."n

World Without End occasionally felt like a book without end, taking me close to a month to read. But the time invested felt appropriate, as Ken Follett leads us through a lifetime's worth of intrigue, love and hardships.



Set in 14th century England, this sequel to The Pillars of the Earth is set a 150 years later, featuring some descendants of the characters we got to know in the first book. Speaking of the first book, this one is strikingly similar in the way the story unfolds: we've got a doomed romance, overly ambitious men of the church, a town to re-build. While I'd criticise that about most authors (let's think Nicholas Sparks or Dan Brown), more in this specific case only meant something positive, as it gives the reader enough time to feel integrated into the story, slowly watching it all grow and evolve.

The Power of a Woman



One character I particularly enjoyed was Caris, who is the epitome of a strong and intelligent woman. I found myself cheering for her multiple times, solely because she didn't act as thick-headed as many women in historical novels do, throwing everything away for some random dude who winks at them. She is not easily fooled, has got her priorities in place, the desire to help, while not being afraid of standing up to men.

There's more than Black and White

But just like in The Pillars of the Earth, World Without End is full of diverse and layered characters. What I greatly enjoyed was the fact that even the bad guys (and believe me, there are some very bad guys) were pictured in a way where you'd at least understand where they were coming from. They're complex enough to feel like real people and the characters have ambiguous opinions about each other as well.



The Black Death is part of the story line, as is the beginning of the Hundred Years' War. Kudos to Ken Follett for being able to weave history into fiction so neatly with his flowing and accessible prose. I'm not surprised at all this series was made into a TV series, because with all its twists and turns it just has this kind of ongoing suspension that you get on TV shows. All that drama, all that drama and oh, how enjoyable it is.

Si los Pilares de la Tierra me encantó, este no se ha quedado atrás, a la altura, casi imposible de comparar.
Volvemos a Inglaterra, a finales de la Edad Media, justo en ese momento en el que la peste negra afecto a toda la población. Iremos conociendo la historia de unos personajes desde que son jóvenes y los iremos acompañando a lo largo de su vida.
Si en el libro anterior se basaba en la construcción de una catedral en este tendremos la similitud pero en la construcción de un puente, y si algo me ha gustado más en este libro ha sido que Follet explora más temas sociales y con más profundidad en lo relacionado a las mujeres.
Aparte de tratar el momento de la peste negra, en la parte mas política se centra en el momento en el que Eduardo II fue despuesto por su propia esposa y su amante.
Lo que corresponde a los personajes, como es de suponer hay muchísimos, pero unos de los principales son Caris y Merthin, testigos de un suceso traumático al comienzo de la historia y del que tendrán que guardar el secreto el resto de su vida. Una relación que parece una montaña rusa, por miles de motivos, y que hará que ciertos comportamientos no se entiendan.
Un libro que vas a encontrar de todo, “mamarracheo” entre el clero y la nobleza, amores y desamores, mentiras, venganzas, y todo lo que puedas imaginarte, una novela con sus mas de mil paginas, que te aseguro que para nada se hacen pesadas, todo esta perfectamente hilado y aunque es verdad que hay temas que alomejor interesan menos ( como es normal) por lo general, es una historia que te mantiene pegada a sus hojas…

I cannot find the words to express how disappointed I was with this book. Having enjoyed "Pillars of the Earth" twice I awaited the issue of the sequel with immense enthusiasm.

What a letdown! The characters, the plot,the writing are all dreadful...Mr Follett has tried to bring the 13th century into the 21st and it hasn't worked. The gratuitous sex and foul language spoil the book from the first chapter and for the first time in years, I will not be finishing this novel!

Very sad to see a good author with good ideas go down the path of populism.

4.5 stars.
One should applaud Follett for penning down a 1000 odd paged tome which is riveting from page 1, and which is able to sustain the flitty reader's (mine) attention till.the last.
This epic saga shows us how Kingsbridge is, a couple of decades after Jack.the builder built the church and csthedral(happenings of book 1). This story tells us about the lives of Merthyn, Caris, Gwenda, Ralph, Philemon, Wulfric and scores of others living their dramatic lives full of twists and turns and reads like a soap opera showcasing the lives in nunnery and priory, the trials and tribulations of noblemen, earls, traders as well as the poor; and how morality as well as cunning can indiscriminately choose to dwell in the minds of rich, poor, noble and saints alike.
Lots of info about bubonic plague, medieval treatment methods and bloodletting which I relished.
I thoroughly enjoyed the rich tale, spent nearly a month in Kingsbridge and feel a bit homesick for the small cathedral town and its occupants.

Well, Pillars of the Earth is one of my favorite books and I was looking forward to completely enjoying this without reservation. But way back when it first came out, I stumbled onto an online discussion that cited a passage with anachronistic vocabulary, which bothered me. It was very anachronistic. So it was a single passage, but it added some reservation to my anticipated complete enjoyment. And then I got to page 15, and there's this conversation that no two people would ever have under any circumstances that served only for the author to show off some detail about the time period. That doesn't bode well, at least not on top of sloppy word choice. Finally, there's a character in this book that might as well be a character from Pillars, which makes me worry that other character types will be recycled. PLUS there's a major plot point hinged on the kind of intrigue that drove the motivations of some characters in Pillars--derivative! derivative! So I have four things in my conscience mind to have to suppress as I am reading. Fortunately, I have been able to do so, at least through the first part of the book.

I am sad that people who are sort of shabby and bumbling are the descendants of people who were just fantastic in Pillars, but I accept that family fortunes rise and fall. I think it will color my feelings about those Pillars characters next time I read the book, but not necessarily my feelings about the book.

UPDATE APRIL 5:
Uh-oh. I had really hoped the Great Mumbo Jumbo Kerfuffle of Aught-Seven was an anomaly, but I just encountered the word "sexy" in a character's thoughts and I'm not even at page 100 yet. Is two a pattern?

UPDATE April 12:
The book tanks. It becomes extraordinarily boring around the plague and then it just doesn't pick up again. The second half of the book is like a checklist of all the social changes that the plague triggers. The characters turn into mirror images of the characters in Pillars, and some of them in that book were a little silly. The final scene between Gwenda and Annet is just goofy; there is a rebellious teenage girl running around with a bad crowd; I skimmed the last 200 pages while fooling around in a chat room.

I will forget I have read this book. I was sad for a while to see what became of Jack and Aliena's descendants, but it doesn't matter. The book is inconsequential.

Also lesbian nun sex.

A worthy successor to PILLARS OF THE EARTH!

WORLD WITHOUT END continues the story of Kingsbridge, a medieval town noted for the awe-inspiring Gothic cathedral designed and built some 200 hundred years earlier in the 12th century by Jack Builder.

Gwenda, a female medieval version of the Artful Dodger, is one of five starving children in a very poor family. Despite the horrific punishment that sees the hands chopped off a convicted thief, she's being raised by her father to be a cut-purse and a pickpocket. Ralph is a tall, strong boy whose hopeful family see him as destined for greater things. They imagine him as the young squire of a noble knight or (dare they wish for such an impossibility?) perhaps even elevated to the rank of knighthood and nobility itself. But Ralph is an aggressive bully and although he certainly seems to have the strength and the warlike skills to achieve such an ambition, he is sadly lacking in the ability to soak up any academic learning at all. Descended from Jack Builder, Merthin seems to be the polar opposite of his stepbrother, Ralph. Merthin is a kinder, gentler, more intelligent person whose innate pragmatic genius drives him to wonder how things work and how things are built. Caris, also a descendent of Jack Builder, shares in Jack's and Merthin's intelligence but she is determined to use that academic brilliance to study medicine, an activity strictly forbidden to mere women in the 14th century.

In 1327, these four children slip away from the confines of Kingsbridge and play in the forest, a dangerous activity forbidden to them by their parents. But who among us hasn't ignored a prohibition like that at one time or another? When, to their horror, they witness a killing that they cannot understand, their lives become inextricably entwined together and it is not until many, many years later that any of them will understand the dark motives behind the brutal event in the forest that unfolded before them that day.

Of course, WORLD WITHOUT END is a sequel to Ken Follett's runaway bestseller, PILLARS OF THE EARTH and, as you might expect, Kingsbridge Cathedral, the priory and Merthin's skills as an engineer, a mason, a designer and an architect, all play a central role in the continuing story. Caris' cousin, Godwyn, also a descendant of Tom Builder, becomes a monk at a very early age and sets his career sights very high indeed. With an abundant supply of self-confidence and arrogance, he is absolutely convinced that it is in Kingsbridge's and his own best interests that he become no less than the Prior of the cathedral. Of course, this is still the 14th century and, clearly, Godwyn, the priory and the authority of the Catholic Church will have no small part to play in the history of Kingsbridge as the story of the four children's lives begins to play out against the rich medieval backdrop that Follett provides.

Feudalism, medieval law, the iron hand of the Catholic Church, the innate male chauvinism of the day, the nobility, ongoing war against France and, of course, the Black Death that savaged Europe in the second half of the fourteenth century, all play a major role in Follett's epic tale, WORLD WITHOUT END. Given the setting of the story in terms of time and place, this shouldn't come as a surprise. What may come as a surprise is that, although readers of PILLARS OF THE EARTH who waited so long for this sequel were desperately afraid that Follett couldn't possibly repeat such a literary triumph, their worries were quite groundless. Follett has provided his fans with an epic tale that veritably leaps off the pages - bloody war and battles; greed, ambition and power; lust, love and loyalty; suspense and intrigue; and, of course, a realistic, astonishingly well developed historical setting that will transport delighted readers to the heart of medieval England.

WORLD WITHOUT END is a doorstopper weighing in at a hefty 1000+ pages. But, without a doubt, it's the fastest 1000 pages that you're ever going to read and you'll still be sorry to see it end. What a story!

Paul Weiss



Paul Weiss

Put some towels down because I sense a fully formed gush geyser about to spill all over this review. This book was fantastic and really did it for me. I loved it, all 1000+ pages, and I wouldn’t have minded if it was considerably longer (TWSS).

After more than loving The Pillars of the Earth (that’s right, I lurved it), I had tall hopes for this sorta sequel and let me tell you it was more than up to the task.

I was parched and hungry for a good meaty read. Well consider me gorged and my story thirst completely slaked.

Now before I continue operation lick-spittle on Mr. Follett for his 2nd delightfully voluptuous epic, let me shine some context on this review so it will better help you decide whether this book is right for you:

1. As I mentioned above, I thought The Pillars of the Earth was pure, uncut awesome I my satisfaction gauge red-lined while I was reading it. If you had similar feelings for Pillars, than World Without End is going to make you happier than…
n  n

Alternatively, if (heaven forbid) you thought Pillars was a Meh-filled bore fest or it just didn’t push your joy buzzer, I see no reason why this book will be any different as the books are almost identical in tone and structure. Thus, you might look want to go elsewhere.

2. Assuming you haven’t read Pillars (which is certainly not a prerequisite for this book), if you get through the first 100 pages or so and find yourself anxious for “something” to happen, again this may not be your kind of book. In my opinion, the book should grab you roughly and carry you away and if that doesn’t happen or if you find yourself disconnected from the characters, then this could be a real slog for you.

3. I listened to the unabridged audiobook (all 45+ hours of it) read by the incomparable John Lee (who also narrated Pillars). John’s narration is masterful and definitely enhanced my happy with the story. I don’t know if I would have had quite the level of appreciation, but for John’s involvement. If you are a fan of audio books, I would highly recommend this one (or anything else read by John Lee).

Okay, I just wanted to get that out there, because the rest of the review is pretty much a Ken Follett, fanBOYatic extravaganza…so let the man-crushing begin:

This story is prodigious, sprawling and more addictive than caramel-covered crack. This is big, bad historical soap opera at its full on finest complete with everything that makes a great period piece: politics, intrigue, alliances, betrayals, fortunes won and lost, life-long grudges, loves, jealousies, deaths, plot-twists, unspeakable crimes (e.g., rapes, murders, etc.), conflict between major powers, reformers versus status quo, good vs. evil and a mysterious letter the contents of which could shake the foundations of the Monarchy itself.

Boo Yah!!!

Set approximately 200 years after the events of The Pillars of the Earth in the same fictional town of Kingsbridge, England, this story is set against the backdrop of, and incorporates into its narrative, the beginning of the Hundred Years War and the outbreak and spread of the Black Plague. These events intersect with the lives of the inhabitants of Kingsbridge in significant ways and Follett does an amazing job painting a credible and highly entertaining portrait of life during the period.

Follett introduces and weaves into his vast tapestry dozens of well-drawn, intriguing figures who each play a critical role in the outcome of the epic. However, the narrative flow centers primarily on the lives of four key people. The first of these is Caris, a strong, intelligent, enlightened woman who is the primary proponent for change in Kingsbridge and the main enemy of the old guard “status quo” represented by the Kingsbridge monastery and Prior Godwyn. Caris strongly desires to be a healer and treat the sick at a time when only men may be physicians and the remedies supported by the Church are as bad as the illnesses they seek to cure. Caris is out to change that.

Merthin is a smart, extremely talented architect whose innovative and radical designs are instrumental throughout the story. Merthin and Caris are deeply in love but events and their own personal integrity constantly conspire to keep them apart. Next is Gwenda who is a favorite character of mine. Gwenda suffers more unimaginable heartache and grief than any other character in the story and yet remains unbowed by what life throws at her. Sold by her destitute father for a cow (yes, a cow), Gwenda finds herself on her own early in life and ends up thriving through her wits and huge reserves of inner strength. She goes through some horrendous events as part of the story.

Finally, we have Ralph, Merthin’s younger, stronger brother and main (though by no means only) villain of the story. A rapist, a sadist and a murderer, Ralph is as devoid of empathy as it is possible to be. He is the Lord of Scumbaggery and the epitome of callousness and abject cruelty. Some of the things he does throughout the story are truly shocking and get worse as he gains more and more influence.
On a side note…how cool is it to have a main nemesis named….RALPH.
Joining the above is a stellar cast of supporting characters that all engaging and complex. Follett has a real knack for showing us villains through there own eyes and making them seem more human…and thus all the more evil.

As for the writing itself, Follett really gets the hat tip from me on this point. Not for its poetry or majestic beauty though I thought his prose was excellent. Rather for its incredibly engaging, breezy readability. Despite being over 1000 pages long and having almost the whole story take place in a single small town, I was hooked from the very beginning and never had a moment in which my attention wanted to stray.

Follett’s prose is like a strong but gentle current that just picks you up and carries you through the story until you eventually reach the end and realize how very far you’ve traveled. It was a greatly impressive feat.

World Without End is sublimely entertaining and I have rarely been this completely snatched and cloistered inside its narrative as I was from the very outset of this. I don’t know that I liked this quite as much as The Pillars of the Earth, but that’s trying to discern gnat crap from pepper and is due completely to the fact that I read Pillars first. Given how similarly both books are structured it makes sense that this one wouldn’t feel as fresh and new.

That said, Mr. Follett…PLEASE don’t go messing with the formula because it is working like a charm. This is quintessential story-telling and a masterful piece of historical fiction.

More please!!!

5.0 stars. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION.

It made my head hurt a bit, but this was great.

Alla fine deciderò di non leggere più Ken Follet! ma non è possibile essere così banali...i protagonisti buoni vengono vessati per 1000 lunghe pagine poi nelle ultime 100 trovano la scala reale pigliatutto e vincono il piatto. Meglio il Ken Follett delle spie: se ho dato 3 stellette è perchè comunque l'ambientazione medievale è ben resa, l'atmosfera storica rispettata e i personaggi non sono burattini senza vita propria.