World Without End
Ken Follet did another amazing job. He wrote another extraordinary historical fiction. And as fabulous as World Without End is, I still think his first historical fiction Pillars of the Earth is better. Although World Without End would sit at the top of my top ten choices for books to read.
The only negative thing that I had with this book, if you can even claim it to be a negative, would have to be that the introduction of characters in the beginning was numerous and confusing at first. I was into several chapters before I had them all straight. I would suggest just for some clarity to write down the characters as you come across them and who they are related to. I think if I had done that in the beginning I would have breezed through all of the introductions sooner.
I really enjoyed the stories of all the characters. There was romance, ingenuity, friendships, deception, and some violence. The violence was not easy to read but it seemed to have some necessity to understand the day to day turmoil that the characters suffered with. It grabs your attention and baits you to read more and more. As Pillars of the Earth centered around the building of their grand Cathedral, World Without End seemed to center around the building of the towns’ Hospital. This book also focused a lot on the construction of its’ town and made for a great story and progressed with the times.
As a reader, I really enjoy the way that Ken Follett tells a story. Pillars of the Earth was his first historical fiction as he had focused his career mainly on mysteries. He certainly stepped out of the box and succeeded with Pillars of the Earth and World Without End. His stories flow so easily and doesn’t jump around all over the place. I have read many other books and never quite appreciated dialogue in a story before. I admire the way he writes his characters’ thoughts as well as their dialogue amongst each other. I really think he is a brilliant writer.
I know that some reviewers though felt that his books were not exact to history. From my perspective as a reader, it wasn’t ever suppose to be an exact historical book. His point was more about the characters’ personalities and lives that he created during the history that he imagined. Again, note that both Pillars of the Earth and World Without End are categorized as a historical fiction. I hope this helps the die hard history buffs so that you aren’t disappointed with any historical inaccuracies.
I would highly recommend reading World Without End. But if you had to choose between reading World Without End or Pillars of the Earth, I would recommend reading Pillars of the Earth first. Although not a necessity, I think there is some important historical information that gives you as a reader a better appreciation for the stories that happen within World Without End. I hope that you enjoy this story as much as I did!
Here is a link to the author, Ken Follet’s web site
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