World Without End
by Ken Follett
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Book Summary Information
Author: Ken FollettEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-10-09
ISBN: 0525950079
Number of pages: 1024
Publisher: Dutton Adult
Product features:
- Collectible First Edition, First Printing Novel
Book Reviews of World Without End
Book Review: "When a man is proud, that counts for more than common sense."
Summary: 4 Stars
When four children meet in the forest to practice shooting the arrows made by one of them, Merthin, none can imagine the way their lives will intersect over the years. After a solemn promise to a wounded knight, Merthin honors the confidence and remains forever enamored of Caris, who encounters many obstacles in determining her future, many the result of her inordinate intelligence in a world that gives short shrift to women; Ralph fulfills his destiny as a man of action rather than logic, successfully brutalizing those who stand between him and his impulses; Gwenda, the poorest and least likely to achieve, is trapped in her heritage, a peasant with simple dreams, none of which comes easily or without tremendous personal cost.
Using characters in the same manner at Edward Rutherfurd (Dublin, The Princes of Ireland, The Rebels of Ireland), the four animate the plot in 14th century Kingsbridge, all activities revolving around the priory of Kingsbridge Cathedral and the petty jealousies of the priors and noblemen who are restricted only by opportunity. Greedy and ambitious, the nobles anticipate war with France to fill their coffers; meanwhile the priory, under the stewardship of Godwyn, Caris' cousin, remains steadfast in its small-minded, tight-fisted hold on power, limiting the growth of the city, the prior surrounding himself with sycophants, turning a blind eye to the demands of the future.
Follett defines the logjam of God vs. progress in the conflict between priory and growing city. As long as the Church retains the final decision, local politics will be determined by religious influence; it will not be until the reign of Henry VIII that the status quo is significantly challenged. It is no surprise that by the reign of Richard III, brother of Edward IV, the peasants and townspeople welcome the sweeping changes to existing laws, citizens long inured to suffering at the hands of noblemen who govern their lives and livelihoods. Meanwhile Kingsbridge endures wars and embraces trade opportunities, defeated at every turn by a prior unable to govern without the comfort of personal grievances. It remains to Caris, in all her incarnations, and Merthin, who must make his fortune elsewhere before earning the respect of the Guild, to push for change, time and again running afoul of Prior Godwyn and his right-hand man, Philomen.
With over a thousand pages, this novel is filled with the mendacity of small men who seek only personal aggrandizement, the prosperity of Kingsbridge ever in thrall to ambition married to limited imagination. The story is often ponderous rather than driven, the weight of an intransigent prior burdening the tale with the inevitability of failure; yet Follett's sequel to Pillars of the Earth does illuminate the petty governance and grinding bureaucracy that inevitably metes out injustice to the powerless. Bad luck dogs certain characters, the predictable defeats frequently tedious, as well as an endless contretemps between Merthin and Caris. In the end, Death is the great leveler of every injustice, striking with a deft hand and with impunity. Luan Gaines/ 2007.
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