A World Without End

World Without End takes place 200 years after Pillars of the Earth (which I haven’t read).  The book takes place in the 1300’s in the town of Kingsbridge in England.  We start with 4 children.  A wealthy merchant’s daughter Caris, a poor thief Gwenda and brothers of a shamed knight Merthin and Ralph.  They witness a shocking scene that basically sets the stage for the rest of the book.  We follow each of the four over decades of their lives as they choose the paths they will take that lead them to success or failure.

The book is long.  That is honestly the first thing I think of when describing this book.  It is long.  And I’ve read really long books before, but I think because it spans so much time it really feels longer.  Not to say I wasn’t interested the whole time I was reading…it was just long.

I wasn’t really a fan of too many characters in this book, but the ones I did like I rooted for enthusiastically.  The villains we especially villainous.  I put the book down a few times when what I really wanted to do was throw it.

I’ll probably pick up Pillars of the Earth now.  I’m interested to see what Kingsbridge was like 200 years before.

All in all, I’m glad I read it.  Would I read it again?  Probably not, but I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.