By Paul Carrier
This hefty brick of a book is a real page turner, thanks to Follett's take-no-prisoners plotting, which stuffs World Without End with all manner of mischief, madness and mayhem over a period of several decades in 14th century England.
I found the storytelling compelling. This is a heck of a tale. But Follett's extraordinary popularity notwithstanding, he isn't the greatest stylist, and that does detract slightly from the experience of reading World Without End.
The comings and goings of the characters often read as if they were lifted from a play, creating the impression that the stilted entrances and exits are akin to those of actors on a stage rather than characters in a novel.
Yet this sweeping tale moves along with such speed, force and drama, and it is blessed with so many twists and turns, that the strength of the plot overcomes any other deficiencies.
That makes World Without End a fascinating novel and a fun read that immerses readers in a world at once radically different than our own and yet remarkably similar as well.
The behavior of Follett's characters, carrying as it does the ring of truth, suggests that the complexities of human nature have changed little since the Middle Ages. Then, as now, the forces of darkness and light, evil and virtue, battled for supremacy.
