When I read a book, I am looking for a story, something fantastical. For the most part, I cannot stand teen fiction. Twilight is okay, but it should have never had a sequel. I despise (for the most part) realistic fiction, which is the typical teen novel. I absolutely adore historical fiction written for either adults or children. My favorite books include The Other Boleyn Girl, The Queen's Fool, The Pillars of the Earth, and now World Without End. The first two are written by Philippa Gregory and the last two are by Ken Follett.
I love Ken Follett's writing because it is direct and not overly descriptive (I would consider Jane Austen and Charles Dickens (my least favorite writer) as the most descriptive authors I have read from). The two novels I have read by Follett both are exemplory in that they are direct to the point, suspenseful, truly stories, and epic in proportion. I admire Follett's ability to write such well-developed books. I am intimidated by his ability, quite frankly. He tells the entire lives of multiple characters and manages to find endings to the stories without cutting them off short. I am also fascinated by his ability to write a sequel in which the characters are completely varying from the original characters in The Pillars of the Earth. I don't know how Follett is able to come up with solutions to so many problems the characters are presented with.
The most amazing thing about World Without End, that I did not find quite as much in The Pillars of the Earth, is that I became completely immersed in the story; I lost all consciousness with the world around me. I felt like an immediate observer of the events unfolding in the novel.
I also am astounded by Follett's ability to understand the workings of the human mind, especially for the female characters. I have never met a soul who understands people so well. Very strange for a Gemini, which, through my biographical stalking, I have discovered Follett to be.
I am also very intrigued by the depth of historical accuracy Follett gets into with this novel. I especially like that it is centered around the plague. I feel like the concept of the novel began with plague outbreak in Kingsbridge when it was written rather than with the letter the novel is supposed to be centered around. I think that the letter was just added to create a beginning and introduce an importance to the characters and a point to the story. By the end, I really didn't care about the contents of the letter, nor what was done with the letter. Also, overall the bridge was not that important nor was the cathedral's tower. Building was definitely not the defining ingredient in this novel.
Now about the ending of World Without End: I suppose everything is wrapped up because everyone is put in their rightful places. I have to admit, as well, that the ending surprised me, as did the ending of The Pillars of the Earth, but not quite as much nor in the same way. At first it seemed almost weak, but as I reread the last paragraph, I realized that it is actually very satisfying, although somewhat stereotyped.
Overall, I believe this to be one of the best stories ever told, and I would suggest this epic novel to anyone who is willing to take on the challenge of its proportion!
P.S.
Because of my obsession with astrology, I of course found myself making astrological archetypes of most of the characters, so here they are: Merthin (who I consider to be the main character) is a Capricorn, Caris is a Taurus, Godwyn is a Taurus, Thomas Langley (Brother Thomas) is a Virgo, Gwenda is a Gemini, Wulfric is a Leo, Petranilla is a Taurus, Edmund Wooler is a Capricorn, Elizabeth Clerk is a Capricorn, Mother Cecilia is a Libra, Sister Mair is an Aries, Ralph is a Sagittarius, David is a Capricorn, Annet is a Gemini, Samuel (Gwenda's son) is an Aries, Philemon is a Scorpio, Earl Roland is a Gemini, and Bishop Richard is a Libra. That's all I've got though, the rest I'm not sure how to determine which astrological sign they belong to.
From the soundtrack of The Pillars of the Earth:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quo2EIFQLhE
No comments:
Post a Comment