World Without End

World Without End is a novel by Ken Follett which takes place in the city of Kingsbridge in 1327. It is the sequel to his novel Pillars of the Earth. The story begins with four children: Caris, Gwenda, Merthin, and Ralph witnessing a murder in the woods on all hallow's eve. The book then follows the lives of these four characters as adults. Merthin, who is the son of a discraced knight and lady maud, grows up to be a carpenter and architect who builds the tallest building in kingsbridge and has a romance with Caris. As a child Caris wanted to be a pharmasist but was told she could not cause she was a woman. But when the plague broke out in Florence, she was able to prevent its spread using hygenic practices. Gwenda was sold into prostitution in return for a cow, but then killed a man who was raping her and escaped. The most fascinating part of this book does not have to do with the plot however, which I found to be somewhat boring and uninteresting. The redeeming factor of this book is Follett's writing style. Although this novel numbers over 1000 pages, it did not grow tiring because Follett's descriptive and unique writing style makes it enjoyable throughout. Follett clearly did a great deal of research before writing this novel, as it contained enourmous amounts of historical references which gives the novel a realistic quality.