The Evening and the Morning: A Novel (Kingsbridge)

I loved Pillars of the Earth. It is one of my top 3 favorite books. I loved the epic scale, the historical details, the amazing characters, the complex and fast paced plot. In contrast, World Without End and Column of Fire are somewhat distinctively different (and lesser) but still very good novels. Every few years I reread Pillars to relive it. I give myself some time to forget and then try to recapture the engrossing enchantment of the tale in a re-read. Now I’m adding this book to my arsenal as well. If you want a book that brought the same feelings, style, and even characters back to you, this is it. Pillars’ twin, the same, yet different and equally as enjoyable. In this book you have many of the “same” characters - the intelligent, inquisitive builder; the headstrong, lovely, and brave noblewoman; the determined and godly monk; and the evil bishop and grasping nobles. But they have their own struggles, character flaws, problems, their own plot lines - and it all keeps you at the edge of your seat without feeling like it’s a repeat, instead it’s like the characters you love coming back again to new adventures, new struggles, new love in a slightly different, more primal time. What made Pillars a masterpiece was how much it incorporated cathedral construction in a way that was awash with details but never boring. This book occurs earlier in truly truly dark ages. The English had lost so much knowledge and technology at time that even scraps of leather and rope were treasured. While the construction involved here is simper and the the villages really more like hovels, the politics, religion and society are unique to that era and fascinating. I’m so happy Mr. Follet brought that time to life in all it’s complexity

An emotional roller coaster set in the dark ages. It was great to understand the creation of Kingsbridge, and Ken Follett delivered again with strong characters and intense power struggles.

I've been a fan of the entire Kingsbridge series since Pillars of the Earth first came out, and this 4th book in that series is just as good, although at this point the plots of all 4 books seem startlingly familiar. I give it a hearty recommendation for fans of historical fiction. The fourth in the Kingsbridge series is actually a prequel to the first in the series, set right around the end of the first millennium AD and the beginning of the second, a period in Western Europe most would put squarely in the Dark Ages. The book follows three central characters as they navigate the feudal age. Edgar, the intelligent second son of a shipwright, is a skilled builder, carpenter, and strategist struggling to survive as a peasant in a land controlled by the Church and the nobility, most of whom are intimidated by his mind and his determination. Ragna, the daughter of a count of Normandy, is essentially tricked into marriage with a brutish English ealdorman named Wilwulf of the area in England that will one day encompass Kingsbridge; Wilwulf's brother, Wynstan, is a local bishop who is actually an ungodly lech, and his other brother, Wigelm, is a soldier bent on cruelty, and with their mother and other relations, that family holds a self-serving stranglehold on the region. Aldred, a kind, educated, and fair-minded monk, opposes Wynstan's rule of the religious life of the area, finding Ragna and Edgar as allies in their shared struggle. The book also includes historical characters (like King Ethelred) and events (like Viking invasions), along with political plots, love triangles, and plenty of conflict. Anyone who has read any of the other books in this series will recognize the plot: a lowborn, but intelligent artisan man meets and befriends a free-thinking and beautiful woman of a higher station, in the midst of religious factional fighting and oppressively dishonorable nobility; corruption and greed natural in the feudal world are opposed by intelligence and a desire to better the lives of all common people. While the plot may have merely changed the dates and names from the previous books, the story is still a great read, with lots of action, requiring the reader to keep going just one more chapter before putting it down for any length of time. It's a familiar plot, but well-told, and I enjoyed reading this re-telling of that same tale as much as I enjoyed its previous three incarnations. I'm writing this review almost 3 months after reading it, and my notes don't indicate any major problems with the mechanics of writing or the edit, and my memory of Follett's other works tells me that his writing is incredibly clean. All told, this was a great book, and the only reason it's not a 5-star review is because of the repetitious nature of the plots in all of the books of this series. I still give this a very large recommendation for fans of historical fiction set in feudal England.

This book takes place around the year 1000. Like the other 3 in the series, it's set in the same location, a (probably fictional) small town on a river, inland, but the river is navigable for small craft. Like the others, it takes place over several years. Characters die, give birth, grow up, and quickly are established as good or bad, except for one character who is more genuinely human with both good and bad qualities. The town of Shiring is the seat of local government and the ealdorman of shiring is the ambiguous character. He and his two half brothers all have similar sounding names beginning with W so that it's hard to keep them straight. Note that the terminology changes later, after the Norman Conquest, with the lord of Shiring styled an earl. I'm sure that's correct. For readers who enjoyed Mr. Cornwell's Saxon Tales, it might help to imagine the world of Kingsbridge, er, Dreng's Ferry, being the same as that of Wessex and Bebbanburg. The strengths of the other volumes continue here. Main characters are a Norman princess who marries the ealdorman of Shiring, Ragna, and Edgar, a boatbuilder from Combe who is made homeless and fatherless in a viking raid. He flees inland with his two brothers, whose names also begin with E and sound a little similar. I'm not sure if that actually was a custom at the time. Edgar's mother farmed before she married his father, the master boatbuilder, and at Dreng's Ferry they manage to lease a farm and return to the land. Edgar still feels a consuming desire to build things, in common with the characters who build the cathedral in the first volume. So, people are powered by simliar drives to those we deal with today, as they should be. It's not hard to get into the story. The relatively loose control of the king (Ethelred, who I think is "The Unready" from my schoolboy days) and the church results in priests and abbots having affairs and divorce and polygamy (polyandry, too) being tolerated. If you remember the Lord Uhtred, you'll be aware that Britain has been recently challenged by the pagan Vikings and Christianity has a rather precarious hold. So, I easily swallowed that situation and read on. This short a time before William the Conqueror, I suppose having commerce between the French and English coasts is not surprsiing. The period atmosphere seems authentic and in accord with what I know about the period's history. An additional praiseworthy element is that since the previous volume I read, the size of the book and the readability of the text has been dramatically upgraded. There's no difficulty reading the text even if your eyes are not quite so good as they used to be. Things I didn't like? The rather black-and-white portrayal of the characters seemed a little overdrawn, especially 2 of the half brothers to the ealdorman of Shiring and Dreng, the owner of the ferry. My naval architect's conscience says I also need to reiterate that Mr. Follett is a landlubber and even in a riverine environment he plays fast and loose with Archimedes's Law. It is hardly likely that a raft narrow enough to fit in the canal Edgar builds could hold up a load of building stone just with the buoyancy of the trees it was made of -- it would have to be a watertight boat, and Edgar could certainly build such a boat. He has the necesary skills. I don't understand why Mr. Follett wanted the vessel to be a mere raft. It took me a while to realize that Dreng's Ferry was Kingsbridge, and of course when Edgar starts talking about building a bridge there I'd already realized that would happen. That this was a fitting engine to power Kingsbridge's economy into high gear is clear from the story although it is implicit rather than obvious. Altogether, it gives the reader a very good idea what the start of England must have been like before the Normans came.

Another Perfect novel by Ken Follett. It captured me in the first few pages and despite being over 900 pages long, I read it in 1 week. I needed to know what happened, it was that intriguing. The characters are well defined making you root for some and wanting to destroy others.

So far, I’ve read “Pillars of the Earth”, “World without End” and “A Column of Fire”. And now, “The Morning and the Evening” (the 4th book in the Kingsbridge series, even though written as a prequel to “Pillars of the Earth”). I enjoyed this book. It didn’t seem as grand-in-scope as Pillars of the Earth – though, being a 900+ page book, it was certainly grand enough. The storyline seemed more “focused” than was “Pillars of the Earth”, making this book’s story simpler, and yet also a more “fun” read to me. Another plus for this book was that, being a prequel that takes place around the year 1000 AD, the storyline is not constrained by trying to incorporate actual historical characters and events into the story (as did “A Column of Fire”, somewhat to its detriment). And note that, being a prequel, this book can be read and enjoyed without having read any of the other books in the Kingsbridge series. The book’s villains, like many of the villains in other books in the Kingsbridge, are truly heinous. Indeed, author Ken Follett seems especially talented at giving the reader villains so capable of punishing or stymying the protagonists that the reader can actually get frustrated at how the villains can constantly act so villainously with utter impunity. But of course the villains are people protected by high ranking powerful nobility or religious leaders, making them nearly untouchable. Meanwhile, the protagonists can only persevere, not giving up, and hope the villains may defeat themselves. Bottom Line: All of author Ken Follett’s Kingsbridge books have a somewhat similar plotting and style. And that’s fine with me. “The Morning and the Evening” is a welcome addition to the Kingsbridge series.

📖 book review 📖 The Evening and The Morning, Ken Follett 913 pages Read from 9/16-9/19 When I first heard of the prequel coming early this year, I was a bit dubious, at best. How could anything be better than the Kingsbridge trilogy? But, I should have known better than to doubt, especially a master craftsman, such as Mr. Follett This book predates Pillars and takes place from 997 C.E to 1007. As with previous Follett works, he's created super engaging characters, including wonderful ones such as the noble boatbuilder, Edgar, headstrong and formidable women characters, such as Ma and Ragna, and the wonderful Monk, Aldred, who are constantly usurped and tested by the more nefarious characters at every turn, such as Bishop Wynston and his brothers. The only small caveat I didn't care for was having characters with similar names: Brothers Edgar, Erman and Eadbald and the brothers Wynstan, Wighelm, and Wilfwulf. I didn't like that the names were so similar, and felt this book, especially, had some really weird/ unusual names. That small thing aside, having been pretty disappointed in the past by prequels that haven't lived up to my high expectations of others' more successful, works [here's looking at you, Ballard of Songbirds and Snakes] I was initially hesitant to give this a shot. But I never should have doubted, for a minute, Follett's abilities. He draws you in to every epic saga he creates, it seems, and The Evening and The Morning is no exception. For me, this book was just as captivating and enthralling to read as the rest of the Kingsbridge series, so if you're a fan, definitely give this a go. THIS is how prequels should be done. Other authors, take note! 5 stars

The Evening and the Morning By Ken Follett Wedged in a ten year time span (997 to1007), Ken Follett’s epic novel “The Evening and the Morning (TEATM),” is essentially a love story. The story is woven around the attraction, then friendship, and finally an uncompromising devotion and love between Edgar, a gifted builder and craftsman and Lady Ragna a brilliant and beautiful noble woman. TEATM unfolds in the context of the complex class and power struggles of the Dark Ages of Europe. Follett weaves his story around four classes of European people. First is the richest and most powerful class, that is, the Kings, Queens and the various noblemen. Ragna’s father, a nobleman, is the Count of Cherbourg a French area along the English Channel. Second is the clergy. The novel is ripe with Follett’s depiction of the customs and rituals of Christianity as practiced during that era. The powerful in this class are the church leaders such as archbishops, bishops, and leaders of various other church and monastic institutions. However, within this class a range of diversity exists. Among whom we first meet Wynstan, bishop of the English town of Shiring who is clever, ambitious and treacherous. Wynstan uses his religious status to enhance power and wealth for himself and his family. Wynstan is contrasted with Brother Aldred, a pious monk who early in his monastic career committed a moral sin for which he was seriously condemned but who now, has devoted himself to the moral and material enhancement of the people. Aldred’s ambition is the development of edifice devoted to the translation of the bible and the education of the monastery. The third class in TEATM is the merchants, craftsmen, farmers, men of arms, and others. This class includes the greedy and mean spirited Dreng, the owner of an alehouse, a place which provides food, wine, short-term accommodations, and prostitutes to travellers and others who visit this struggling village in coastal England called Dreng’s Ferry. Dreng is a cousin of Wynstan. Finally the lowest class is that of the slave. Most slaves are the booty of wars between the various territories. Blod, a slave captured by the English during a conflict with the Welch, belongs to Dreng. Dreng prostitutes her and subjects her to indescribable brutalities. Classless are the known thieves and outlaws who play a role in the narrative and are loathed by all. They are observed to be even lower than the slave class Early in the story we have the marriage of Ragna to Wilfwulf (Wilf) a nobleman of Shiring, England and the half-brother of Wynstan. This marriage is both political and romantic. The political aspect is that it enhances an alliance between the English and the French. The theme of constant war --between the raiding, pillaging and Odin-worshipping Vikings vs. the Christian French and the Christian Englishmen-- is central in this story. Ragna who is very young at that time falls madly in love with Wilf when he visits her father to barter a political alliance. She is happy to be used as a political pawn in the transaction. And Wilf, as is his nature, is happy to have a young beautiful sex goddess as a wife. The marriage agreement is consummated in Cherbourg. Ragna happily moves to England to take on her role as the wife of a substantial nobleman. This is where she eventually meets Edgar, the young lower class builder. Over the span of ten years the novel weaves plots within the classes and between the classes for power, riches, and love. There are alliances formed among the competing factions. And, Follett allows that even the “good guys” in TEATM have faults. Wilf is murdered and Wynstan and Lady Ragna become even more bitter rivals for control over Wilf’s power and fortune. Eventually Father Aldred and the church diminish Dreng and become the overseers of Dreng’s Ferry. With financial support from Lady Ragna and Edgar’s building genius, Aldred is able to transform Dreng’s Ferry into a flourishing prosperous town. The river ferry owned and operated by Dreng is replaced with a more efficacious bridge designed and built by Edgar. With this new prosperity the name of the town is changed to King’s Bridge. Note that is a town in Follett’s outstanding novel “Pillars of the Earth.” In the last phase of the novel Edgar oversees the building of the most massive church in the region encompassing the dreams and plans of Brother Aldred. With “Pillar’s” focus on the architectural detail early churches, it’s obvious why Follett calls TEATM a prequel to “The Pillars of the Earth.” I highly recommend this novel. dmcdet

Muito boa a qualidade do livro! Já o recebi em 26/05, mas no site não aparece como entregue.

Nice & long story

The Pillars of the Earth で始まった Kingsbridge シリーズの４昨目。『大聖堂』の題名で出版された The Pillars of the Earth は日本でも大ベストセラーとなったが、それに続く World Without End と Column of Fire はちょっと期待はずれだったと思われた読者も多いのではあるまいか。しかし今度こそは――期待を上回るとは云わないものの――期待を裏切らない作品に仕上がっている。 先行する方々のリヴューを読んでいただければ作品の内容・面白さは御理解いただけると思うので、ここではケン・フォレットの英語を中心に述べる。 The Evening and the Morninng の文体は、他のケン・フォレットの作品同様、簡潔・明晰である。また、知らない単語があっても前後関係から意味が推測できるものが多いから、速読の練習にはもってこいの本だろう。（勿論、意味が推測できない単語は辞書を引かなくてはいけません。それが外国語学習の鉄則です。）全817ページに及ぶ英語を読み切れば、この先英語を読んでいく上での大いなる自信となるだろう。 １つだけ厄介なのは、登場人物たちの名前に現在の英語圏ではお目に掛からないものが多く、どう発音するのか分からないことだ。おそらく英国人に訊いても分からないのではあるまいかと思われるものもある。この本を翻訳する人はそこで苦労するだろう。例えば Ragna の２番目の夫 Wigelmは「ウィゲルム」なのか「ワイゲルム」なのか「ウィーゲル」なのか、はたまた別の発音になるのか。まあ私達一般読者は、ローマ字読みでもいいから、自分なりに決めてしまうことだろう。 これまでにも申し上げてきたことだが、ケン・フォレットに文学を期待してはいけない。文学は速読できるものではない。じっくり時間を掛け、辞書と格闘しながら読み進めなければその真の価値は摑めないものだ。しかし、とにかく面白い本を英語の原文で読んでみたいと思っている人には、ケン・フォレットはジェフリー・アーチャーと並んでお勧めの作家である。誠実な人柄と己の才覚で、数多の困難を克服し、道を切り開いてゆく物語は、大衆小説の王道の一つだが、ケン・フォレットの Kingsbridge シリーズをを手短に表すれば、その王道を進んでいる作品と云えよう。（裏返せば、そうした人柄も才覚も持ち合わせず、人生に苦しんでいる人の姿を描くのが文学と云うことになろうか。また、詳しくは述べないが、文学では文体がきわめて大切な要素となるのだが、ケン・フォレットは、文学に欠かせない、深みを感じさせる文体は残念ながら持ち合わせていない。どこまでも表面的である。まあ、それ故に読みやすいのだが。） 未だ The Pillars of the Earth をお読みでない方は是が非でもそれも読まなくてはいけないし、読まなければ随分と勿体ない。だから、もし試しにどちらか１つだけ読んでみたいと云うなら The Pillars of the Earth をお勧めするが、２つとも読みたい人は、順序として、先に The Evening and the Morninng を読んだら如何かと思う。理由は２つ。１つ、時代順であること（Kingsbridge という地名の由来はこの作品で判る）。１つ、これら２つの作品を比較すれば The Pillars of the Earth の方が断然面白いのは間違いないから、そちらを後の楽しみにとっておいた方がいいだろうと云うこと。

Bought as a Christmas present. Delivered fast and in good condition. Have bought copy also for myself. Can't wait to be transported to another lifetime.

Kept me glued for long hours- Most enjoyable- can recommend it to everyone without any hesitation. Ken Follett at his best!