Dana Ilie's Reviews > World Without End

World Without End is written in the third person but isn't choppy like some third person books are. I loved that we get to see the characters grow up and mature. They all encounter hardships (war, death, disappointed hopes and dreams, the black plague) but never stop fighting and never give up hope.

I really enjoyed reading about the advances in medicine and what people believed to be cures (bloodletting, poultices made with dung, balancing the "humours" of the body). Physicians believed that diseases could be transmitted by looking at a sick person because the eyes have "feelers" that touch things in order to see them. Isn't that wild? When the black plague befalls the country, one of the nuns wants to wear a mask over her nose and mouth to prevent transmission of the disease and this is treated like heresy!

I also enjoyed reading about the politics of the church. There was definitely more corruption in World Without End than there was in The Pillars of the Earth. Of course, the fact that The Pillars of the Earth's main character was a humble and worthy prior may have something to do with that.

I am in awe of Follett's plot. He weaves the stories together in a way that they all make sense and seem cohesive.

The last thing I enjoyed reading about was the architecture. Now, the descriptions were hard to read, which they were but they were also really informative and practical to the story. I'm not a fan of architecture, but reading about how they had to build things back then was pretty fascinating to me.

When I finished the book, I was left with a feeling of hope. I think the ending is totally appropriate. It's not so perfect that it's unrealistic. I think that's the special thing about Follett's writing---he makes you feel what his characters are feeling.