World Without End question

I liked World Without End, but my main issue with the book had nothing to do with the erotica which I actually don't think was really that much, and it made perfect sense to me. No, my problem was that it was almost the same plot as Pillars of the Earth. I think Ken Follet tried a little too hard to make it a sequel that every character to me seemed like it was trying to be a character from Pillars.


As to your statement about evil winning, I felt like that reading both Pillars and World, it seemed like every time something good would happen for the good guys, some bad guy would come along and completely ruin everything the good guys had worked for and make it even worse.

But that's just me.

I think Mr. Follett is making statements about the importance of optimism and belief in oneself in human endeavors despite human follies. Although 'The Church' is front and central to the politics of the Middle Ages as well as the general way society set up social mores and standards, in practice you could be run out of town for superstitious reasons as well as human jealousies and vengeance and greed all in the name of God. The two books seem to make the point that despite prayers to God people controlled how things turned out whether for good or bad. If people had power and luck and hard work and the right friends, things turned out. While the story was fun and thriller-style, along with some boilerplate characters and soft porn, making it a vacation read, it also had some real research into the Middle Ages as well as authorial experience and insight into how the real world, then and now, seems to work. Then and now, people invoke through prayers and hope God's influence on events, but then and now, it appears events happen completely due to human influence and luck only. I think while Follett was writing a bestseller he was also making some quiet points about how religion works better as an argument against your enemies in conversation, as well as a way to recover from personal disappointments and tragedies and not kill yourself, rather than as a real partner in human events. It comes down to how hard people keep trying despite adversity and other people working against you. In baseball, a good hitter is someone who hits the ball three throws out of ten. I have a feeling that is also how often success happens in real life. I think these books were also making that point, as well as despite that, you gotta keep swinging.