Name: The Evening and the Morning
Rating: 5 (2 reviews)
Author: Ken Follett

About this book

Summary

Book Summary

Thirty years ago, Ken Follett published his most popular novel, The Pillars of the Earth. Now, Follett's masterful new prequel The Evening and the Morning takes us on an epic journey into a historical past rich with ambition and rivalry, death and birth, love and hate, that will end where The Pillars of the Earth begins.

It is 997 CE, the end of the Dark Ages. England is facing attacks from the Welsh in the west and the Vikings in the east. Those in power bend justice according to their will, regardless of ordinary people and often in conflict with the king. Without a clear rule of law, chaos reigns.

In these turbulent times, three characters find their lives intertwined. A young boatbuilder's life is turned upside down when the only home he's ever known is raided by Vikings, forcing him and his family to move and start their lives anew in a small hamlet where he does not fit in... . A Norman noblewoman marries for love, following her husband across the sea to a new land, but the customs of her husband's homeland are shockingly different, and as she begins to realize that everyone around her is engaged in a constant, brutal battle for power, it becomes clear that a single misstep could be catastrophic... . A monk dreams of transforming his humble abbey into a center of learning that will be admired throughout Europe. And each in turn comes into dangerous conflict with a clever and ruthless bishop who will do anything to increase his wealth and power.

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Media Reviews

"[A] richly told, complex story ... Follett is a powerful storyteller ... [whose] fans will enjoy this jaunt through the days before England was merry." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Follett has done it again. Readers will gobble up this exciting prequel." - Library Journal

"[An] absorbing and lengthy saga of life in a chaotic and unstable England on the cusp of the Middle Ages ... Fans of Follett's ever-popular Kingsbridge series ... will flock to this ... while intrigued newcomers can start here."- Booklist

"Follett vividly re-creates the ancient era ... in this feast for his fans." - AARP

This information about The Evening and the Morning was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Write your own review

Cathryn Conroy

Read This Incredible Book to Be Entertained. Finish It and You'll Learn About the Dark Ages.
Before you start reading this book, here is some advice: Clear your calendar, and stock up on dinner leftovers. You won't want to stop reading. Yes, it's that good.

This prequel to Ken Follett's hugely successful "Pillars of the Earth," begins in 997, which is closing in on the end of the Dark Ages in England. The multilevel storyline is riveting with entrancing plot twists and turns, characters so well created they seem like real people, and such detailed and colorful descriptions of the setting—from castles to cathedrals and monasteries to alehouses—that it drops the reader into the middle of the action.

The multiple storylines of love, sex, violence, politics, good vs. evil, and extreme power plays make for a riveting tale. The main characters around which this complex plot revolves are:
• Ragna, the daughter of a wealthy Norman count, falls in love with the English ealdorman Wilfwulf. Her parents reluctantly agree to the marriage, and Ragna moves to the English village of Shiring where a few months after her wedding she discovers a heartbreaking secret her husband has been hiding from her. Meanwhile, she is in a political battle for power against Wilf's formidable brothers and stepmother.

• Edgar is only 17 and a poor workingman, but he knows how to build things—from boats to brewhouses to bridges. In the first pages of the book, a Viking invasion levels his hometown of Combe, and he loses everything except his life. How he rebuilds and comes of age is a central part of the book.

• Aldred, a monk in Shiring, happily labors in a small scriptorium making illuminated manuscripts. Since Aldred is a moral, ethical man who is living in a corrupt society with dishonest superiors, he finds himself in constant conflict as he attempts to do the right thing and is punished repeatedly.

This is fiction. It is a made-up story. It isn't real. But the book's superpower strength is the threads of nonfiction woven throughout. Read this book to be entertained, but when you are finished, you will be just a bit more knowledgeable about what life was like more than 1,000 years ago for slaves, peasants, the working class, women, clergy, and nobles.

And while this is not great literature, it is a great story. It's all plot and not much else. No underlying themes. No imagery or symbolism to analyze. But wow! What a plot it is. Read and enjoy.

Chris295

Amazing
It was hard to put this book down. This is my favorite fiction author and I love his two trilogy series books!

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Author Information

Biography
Books by this Author

Ken Follett Author Biography

Photo by Barbara Follett

Ken Follett is one of the world's best-loved authors, selling more than 188 million copies of his thirty-six books. Follett's first bestseller was Eye of the Needle, a spy story set in the Second World War. In 1989, The Pillars of the Earth was published and has since become Follett's most popular novel. It reached number one on bestseller lists around the world and was an Oprah's Book Club pick. Its sequels, World Without End and A Column of Fire, and prequel The Evening and the Morning, proved equally popular, and the Kingsbridge series has sold more than fifty million copies worldwide. Follett lives in Hertfordshire, England, with his wife, Barbara. Between them they have five children, six grandchildren, and three Labradors.

Link to Ken Follett's Website