World Without End

A little over two years ago, the miniseries, Pillars of the Earth, aired on Fridays on Starz. I enjoyed the series, so I decided to read the book. This, by the way, seems to be my curse: if I like a show or movie and it happens to be a book, I'll read it. Most of the time, it works out ok. There were two memorable instances where it did not: Carrie by Stephen King, and Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote.

Anyway, back to the point.

Not long after I read Pillars of the Earth, my quasi-sister-in-law purchased World Without End by Ken Follett for me. It is a sequel of sorts. It also takes place in the village of Kingsbridge, England, but it is 200 years after the events in Pillars. This time, they are building a bridge instead of a cathedral, at least at first. Instead of the long, drawn out love story of Jack and Aliana, it's Merthin and Caris.

The main thing I got out of this book is that monks are bad guys. Seriously. Caris' cousin, Godwyn, becomes prior of the cathedral after his uncle dies, but he is a most unscrupulous character. He steals from the nuns, lies, blackmails people, and instead of working for the good of the village, he does everything he can to thwart their efforts. His right hand man, Philemon, is just as bad.

When I was reading, I genuinely wanted to know what happened with/to Caris and Merthin, and Gwenda and Wulfric. I would go to bed at night wondering what was in store for them. Some of the characters I couldn't care less about, like the aforementioned monks, and Merthin's brother, Ralph.

There was one whole section that took place during a war, which just happens to be where I was when school started back. I have no problem watching wars and battles in movies, but I find them tedious to read about. So, when school started, I didn't feel too compelled to read because I was stuck at a part that was boring to me. I was so glad when I pushed through it.

A week ago, I was halfway through the book; today I finished. This was an ok book. Not my favorite, and definitely did not live up to its predecessor. However, I am glad I read it.