Well, I just finished another book last night as required for the new book club I've joined and as is my custom, I'm here to report on it. Ken Follett's lengthy A World Without End, while not a masterpiece in literary rendition is still quite entertaining. I read the 1000 + book in less than a week so that seems to prove that it was far from tiresome. I've come to realize that for purely entertainment purposes, Ken Follett's novel is just the sort I tend to turn to. It's an historical fiction set in the mid 14th century. The story focuses on the lives of several characters in the made-up town of Kingsbridge, England. The reader is thoroughly informed of medieval architecture, religious practices and beliefs, and trade customs all while being drawn into the lives of peasants, noblemen, smiths and craftsmen, and the clergy. And while the characters might appear superficial at first, over time they become much more fleshed out and believable. Of course there are the clear-cut villains and heroes as is typical with "supermarket" fiction, but I found that I didn't entirely sympathize with the plight of the "good guys." In fact, for the first half of the book, I was quite annoyed with the two main characters, Caris and Merthin. The lovers are doomed due to both fate and themselves. They hit obstacle after obstacle and just when they seem to overcome one hardship one of them throws a wrench into the mess. They just can't get their shit together! I did enjoy that Caris refused to fall into the traditional role of the subservient housewife, but oftentimes, she seemed to take her liberal stance a bit too far. Sometimes I wanted to strangle her. And Merthin is mostly an intelligent, morally sound man but he is so easily reduced to a male bawd at the sexual whims of any attractive female. Something I really enjoyed about the book was the detail in which things such as architecture and construction were explained. Follett did an incredible amount of research in order to convey not just the appearance but structure of churches and bridges of the times. The reader also learns of wool making and dying and medieval medical procedures. There is also a fair amount of sex, which in my opinion, aids in making a good book even better. Finishing a book like this is always difficult for me. I become so engrossed in the characters, story, setting, etc. that I hate to let it go. I don't like to move on. I just want to keep reading about them. It doesn't happen often so when it does, I know something magical has happened.