527. The Evening and the Morning
Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Recommended by:
Author: Ken Follett
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Foreign
913 pages, published September 15, 2020
Reading Format: Audiobook on Overdrive
Summary
The Evening and the Morning is a prequel to Ken Follett’s very popular Pillars of the Earth series which center on life in the medieval town of Kingsbridge, England. Set in 997 CE, it starts with the pillaging of a coastal English town by the ruthless Vikings. A young Edgar, who is a skilled boatmaker, survives along with his mother and two brothers. They start over as farmers in the town that will become Kingsbridge. Around the same time, Lady Ragna, a Norman noblewoman comes to England to marry Wielf, the man she loves. Finally, we follow the story of Aldred, a monk who dreams of transforming his humble abbey into a center of learning. The lives of Edgar, Ragna and Aldred intertwine to illuminate life in England during the end of the Dark Ages.
Quotes
“In dog philosophy it was always better to go somewhere than to be left behind.”
“Ma and Pa had taught their sons to keep themselves fresh by bathing at least once a year.”
“And so, Aldred thought, great ones sin with impunity while lesser men are brutally chastised.”
“And that would be sufficient, if we lived in a world that was ruled by laws.” Aldred sat on a stool, leaned forward, and spoke quietly. “But the man matters more than the law, as you know.”
“in the end there’s no way to get rich crops out of poor earth.”
“Coming to Glastonbury was like visiting the grave of his youth.”
“When the Roman Empire declined, Britain went backward. As the Roman villas crumbled, the people built one-room wooden dwellings without chimneys. The technology of Roman pottery—important for storing food—was mostly lost. Literacy declined. This period is sometimes called the Dark Ages, and progress was painfully slow for five hundred years. Then, at last, things started to change”
“In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum.” In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Aldred felt he could spend his life trying to comprehend that mystery.”
My Take
Having thoroughly enjoyed The Pillars of the Earth trilogy, I looked forward to reading Ken Follett’s prequel to the series. The Evening and the Morning did not disappoint. Well developed and intriguing characters interwoven with historical events make for a captivating tale in the hands of the master storyteller Follett. Well worth reading!
