WORLD WITHOUT END by Ken Follett
Ken Follett is a masterful mystery writer. He made his first notable appearance in the world of literature with EYE OF THE NEEDLE and followed it with TRIPLE and KEY TO REBECCA. Even today he hits the best seller lists with thrillers such as WHITEOUT. Still it is when he diverts his path to historical epics that he has earned his greatest acclaim. THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH was the most popular of these side trips until he recently submitted WORLD WITHOUT END to the reading world.
There are not many thousand plus page books I would dare to tackle. As a book critic I am compelled to read at least one book a week. Most of the time I fly through the week's effort and leave myself plenty of time for the other obligations I have. But those are a three or four hundred page involvement. I knew WORLD WITHOUT END would be a huge challenge.
Before I made the first effort I looked at the description of the book in the flyleaf. It takes place during the fourteenth century and has something to do with a nun, a builder, a knight and a poverty stricken young woman. None of this was particularly attractive to me, but then I reminded myself how much I had enjoyed Follett's other books. I read the first one hundred pages, set it aside and raced through another book.
Eventually I returned and read another hundred pages, Then once more set it aside for another book. Finally I returned and picked up the book around page two hundred and couldn't put it down. Follett's story of medieval times is one of the most engrossing I have ever read. The characters are so lifelike and compelling they seem to jump out of the pages.
At the heart of the book is the love story between Merthin and Caris. We meet them when they are children and watch them mature into adults. Merthin becomes a builder while Caris is an influential business leader in the town. They love each other but obstacles of their own making or those made by others are continually keeping them apart.
Then there is Gwenda, a girl who is part of a destitute family. Her father forces her to steal so that the family can survive. Gwenda always aspires for a better life but it is difficult for a person in this time period to break the chains of poverty.
The evil person in this quartet of characters is Ralph, Merthin's brother. He wants to be rich and famous and he will do anything to achieve this goal; be it killing, stealing, lying or cheating. He keeps his eye on the prize at all times but his one weakness is Gwenda, a person who sees the evil in him and is disgusted by it.
The lives of these four characters are bound by destiny and seeing the interworkings of the relationships makes for fascinating reading of the highest caliber. Follett also gives us details about the villages and their governments, the building of structures and their significance, the role of the Church and how it impacted the villages, and finally the role of women and how they made advancements.
Ken Follett is so good at what he does that you never tire of these characters or of this story. At the end of the one thousand and fourteenth page you actually wish there were more. So psyche yourself up and take the plunge into this massive saga. It is well worth your time and the effort it takes. No Follett's folly this, it is Follett's masterpiece.
WORLD WITHOUT END is published by Dutton. It contains 1014 pages and sells for $35.00.