The Evening and the Morning (Kingsbridge)

Ok, I'll let you in on a little secret, that statement isn't quite as impressive as it might seem (if it does indeed seem that way). The reason is because, now having been an avid reader for nine and a half years, I just haven't really ever been a series kind of guy. I did manage to make it through some of the fourth book of King's The Dark Tower series, but stalled. I've owned all seven (eight if you include Odd Interlude) of the Odd Thomas novels for years. I loved the first book, and really loved the film adaptation (R.I.P. Anton Yelchin), and I love Koontz, and yet, I've not cracked the second book. I have read five of the Foundation novels, but them, like the Kingsbridge series, aren't exactly one continuous story.Still, I've managed a little bit of series reading, and overall have knocked off almost three hundred books from the time I got really into reading in mid 2011. And still, despite being one of the first books I read then, Pillars of the Earth has always stood head and shoulders above 99.9% of the books I've devoured. It always will. It simply is one of the greatest novels I'll ever read, and ironically enough, did my Dad not hand me gold-colored trade paperback, I may not have become the utter bookworm I am today."In a broad valley, at the foot of a sloping hillside, beside a clear bubbling stream, Tom was building a house." With that sentence, I was unknowingly falling into a loving relationship with historical fiction.Pillars of the Earth was such a good book, such an incredible experience, that I would have given anything to have read it again for the first time, to recapture that magic. Well, thankfully for me, years before I got back into reading, Ken Follet wrote the astounding World Without End, and, my God, it may have even outdone Pillars. I was HOOKED, and loving every single one of its massive 1100 pages. It was heaven. I still give Pillars the slight, slight nod as my favorite only because it came first.In between I knocked off other Follet novels, almost every one an excellent reading experience.But wow, I was the luckiest guy in the world when, a few years ago, A Column of Fire was announced. I bought it brand new, devoured it, and now finally, we have The Evening and the Morning, another installment in the greatest series I've ever read, and this time we are taking a step back in time to before the characters of Pillars existed.this book is simultaneously amazing and also disappointing. It's amazing because everything in the Kingsbridge series is, but more specifically, it's amazing because when Ken Follet writes historical fiction, he does it with such richly imagined details and such smooth prose that you may be physically reading the book in 2020, but you're mind and soul is living over a millennia prior. He's a great world builder, and you can almost taste the rain that falls, and the winds that blow can almost transpire through the page and make you shiver.I don't really want to get into each of the characters and stories. Some of the book is formulaic, which isn't a bad thing. You should be expecting drama, conflict, war, religion, sex, and other similar themes found in the other books in this series. Follet will most certainly deliver on that. But the book also differs from the others, as it takes place over just one decade as opposed to several. Initially I was bummed about this, but it's still a terrific novel, and I can appreciate it for being different in that regard.My other complaint is that the book is too short. Yes, it's over 900 pages (although the words are big and blocky and you can knock off 50 pages an hour on average), and I'm complaining that it's too short. It seems edited down to keep the pace fast, and thus the reader more engaged, and I found myself reluctant to keep reading (which of course isn't so easy with this series) because I don't want it to end. I would love a complete and uncut edition of this, like King's The Stand. I don't care if the publisher, or even Follet himself thinks it was extra, unnecessary fluff, I'll glady read hundreds of pages, and hundreds of thousands of words of Kingsbridge fluff all day and all night before I'd crack open a million other books.I think, for someone to complain that your 900 page novel wasn't nearly long, that you'd be hard pressed to find a bigger compliment then that. I love this series, particularly Pillars and World Without End, but The Evening and the Morning can proudly be the bridge (pun intended) that a reader must cross to get into the rest of the series.Yes' it's more of the same in a sense, and yet, it's still not enough, not by a long shot.Thank you Ken, for blessing me with roughly FOUR THOUSAND pages of incredible storytelling, that I not only can learn from, but can be transported from the stresses of everyday life to a world that, while it did exist, seems to be a place so perfectly crafted I couldn't personally imagine anything better.

The Evening and the Morning By Ken FollettWedged 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 classEarly 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

As usual for Ken Follett Novel. Set around 1000BC, the main characters, Edgar and Dragna are priceless. The storyline is as good as his earlier novels (that occur in later centuries in the same area). This was is the bigining (Edgar) of this “Builder series”, all classic reads. Evil bishops and good monks, constant horrid Viking raids but also evils committed by English kings and lords too, baths caused disease, U get the idea. Highly recommend.

I am so glad a friend recommended the Fall of Giants! I have since read nearly every book written by Mr. Follett. The Kingsbridge series are masterfully written and I just cannot put them down. Book 4, this novel , is my favorite of the four. I want more. I love the characters and Ken Follett's ability to weave amazing storylines through history is astounding. Read all his books. They are works of art!

As usual Ken Follett tells a good story. It’s not Pillars of The Earth but it is still pretty good. My only complaint is the names given the characters. I found many of them confusing, so many beginning with W or D or even E. I was glad it was on my Kindle so I could search for what was last said about a certain person. Don’t know if this was an old English custom but it was annoying

Follett is a wonder. This is Follett at his best.This is the prequel to Pillars of the Earth (an incredible book on its own)A page turner, hard to put down. The level of detail always amazes and all of it woven into a story that leaves you wanting more ..always “more please”

Me gusto mucho el libro Evening and the morning. es la historia de antes de pillars of the earth, cuando Kings Bridge era un caserio insignificante, ni siquiera se llamaba Kings Bridge, sino algo como Berns crossing y no habia ningun puente. Muy interesante imaginar la vida de los abuelos de los personages de Pillars of the earth

Se "The pillars of the earth" é excelente, este livro não lhe fica atrás. Uma história bem contada, com os detalhes necessários para começar a ler e não largar. É de ler e não conseguir parar. Recomendo.

History, love, politics, marvellous! I could not put it down and now regret that it is finished - thank you Ken Follett

Il signor Follett è una garanzia.Questa è una bella storia da leggere