Medieval mess (A Book Review: World without End by Ken Follett)





Over the years, I have randomly posted a couple of book reviews over this blog. This is a rare thing, although I do frequently post short reviews on my Instagram. Some books just need to be reviewed more, I think. Read this one about a month and a half ago. World without End (2007) by Ken Follett is by far the thickest book I have ever read (it was 1237 pages thick), but also one of the most intriguing. It is actually the second book in the Kingsbridge Series and is the sequel to Follett’s 1989’s Pillars of the Earth. Even if you have not read the first one, it's totally okay, because World without End is good even as a stand-alone novel. This is due to the fact that although set in the same town as Pillars of the Earth – Kingsbridge, the characters featured in it are the descendants of some Pillars characters 157 years later. 


Uh did they change the 'insert picture' option? Thank God I still have this image in my gallery


 

        I would say that the main focus of the novel is love, but also mainly, politics. It is set in the 14th century, so the Christian religion had a very powerful hold over the people’s way of life. Paired with the patriarchal society, this creates an imbalance in the society as a whole. There are interesting power dynamics between the priests who use the religion and people’s naivety to gain political significances and the more liberal, forward-thinking female characters. Seeing it in the perspective of a 21st century woman, it broke my heart and infuriated me. Infuriating because people of that time and age tend to think men as superior than women regardless of logical thinking. “Oh you are a man, you MUST be RIGHT. She is a woman, she MUST be WRONG.’ A man could make a thousand mistakes and never be condemned for them while an exemplary woman who saved the town's ungrateful tushes more times than I can remember could get hung by just having someone so much as spread a rumour that she is a witch.You, as a reader, is left sitting there, thinking “Are you out of your mind? SHE is clearly stating facts!” Many parts of the story left me feeling this exact way. Just goes to show how great the writing is as it could make a reader feels so much while reading. Other issues include how a bad monarchy could affect the peasants, how people in power take advantage of others, bribery and so on. Medieval society, as we know, was so screwed up by today's standards. 

 " A man could make a thousand mistakes and never be condemned for them while an exemplary woman who saved the town's ungrateful tushes more times than I can remember could get hung by just having someone so much as spread a rumour that she is a witch. " 

        As for the love story part, we get an array of it. Romantic love, self-love, family love and friendship. I would say that witnessing the main characters’ love story which spanned for decades (remember how thick this book is?) was very wholesome. We get to see the ups and downs of their relationship and conclude that this is life. It would not just be rainbows and butterflies, and that is okay. The other characters developments were fulfilling too. We get to see all kinds of relationships in all kinds of people. The girl who falls in love with a guy who loves someone else. The soulmates who obviously belong together but have so many obstacles that they have to brave to get there. The father who loves his family. The mother who sacrifices everything for his son. The brother who stands up for his douchebag of a brother. 

        One of the most intriguing parts of the story for me is that the plot incorporates two major historical events; the start of the Hundred Years’ War and Black Death. The latter is especially interesting since we are also currently experiencing almost the same thing. The Black Death or commonly known as the Plague was a bubonic plague pandemic (1346-1353) and is considered the most fatal pandemic in recorded history because it resulted in the estimated deaths of up to 75-200 million people in Afro-Eurasia. Covid-19 which was first detected about a year ago in 2019 has now claimed about 2 200 000 lives worldwide on the day this review is written. I went into this book not knowing that it would cover an issue of a pandemic, so imagine how freaked out I was when it dawned on me that the storyline was heading directly towards something similar to the thing that is happening right now in our world. We are a bit luckier though, because we are definitely more advanced in technology and medical sciences. Also, despite still having misogynists and a patriarchal society, we have evolved (we have tons of female doctors now) and know better to think logically, with scientific evidences for the good of the world. I hope we can get through this sooner rather than later. 

        Anyway, back to the book review, I would suggest anyone who loves historical fiction novels or television series like Game of Thrones and Merlin to read this book. I enjoyed it so much despite it being so thick. Took me about 1 week to finish, but it was worth it. Credit to the lovely Katie Mcgrath for recommending this in one of her HomeCon videos. 

        The Kingsbridge Series is made up of 3 books. I have mentioned Pillars of the Earth and World without End. The third book is A Column of Fire (2017). They have adapted the first and second book into television series. Pillars of the Earth (2010) had a star-studded cast: Hayley Atwell, Sam Claflin, Eddie Redmayne, Matthew Macfadyen and Donald Sutherland. You will get to see Mr Darcy as a priest, President Snow as Finnick Odair and Peggy Carter's  father, and Newt Scamander in one show xD I have watched the mini series and it was amazing (viewer discretion is advised). Couldn't compare it to the book though, because I haven't read Pillars yet. Hayley Atwell was ethereal and Eddie Redmayne wonderful. Also, Hayley Atwell and Sam Claflin as siblings? Most. Attractive. Siblings. Ever *-* (I would put a picture of them here, but since I am now unfamiliar with the 'insert pictures from the web' setting, you would have to Google them yourselves. Sorry). I tried watching World without End (2012) starring Cynthia Nixon, Miranda Richardson and Charlotte Riley but did not even make it through episode 1 because the series did not stay true to the book and was to be blunt, boring. The third book tv adaptation is said to be in development. 










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