THE EVENING AND THE MORNING – KEN FOLLETT – REVIEW

*This review contains some minor spoilers for The Evening and The Morning*

Ken Follett likes to start his Kingsbridge novels by establishing his characters in new towns. The first part of The Pillars of the Earth is characterised by the arrival, first temporary and then permanent, of Tom Builder in Kingsbridge. In his new prequel, The Evening and the Morning, a shorter introduction takes precocious Edgar and his family to Dreng’s Ferry. Only once the characters are in position can the novels begin in earnest. So, let me begin this review by setting out my own starting point.

I am a huge fan of Follett’s series. A first edition of The Pillars of the Earth is one of my most treasured books. I read and devoured each of the sequels. So, this review comes from a place of both high affection and high expectation for the series.

I say this because the inescapable conclusion is that, despite offering hours of vivid escapism to Dark Ages England, The Evening and the Morning doesn’t pack the same page-turning emotional punch as The Pillars of the Earth. That is hardly surprising. Very few books do. The more interesting question is whether Follett’s decision to adhere so closely to the formula that made Pillars such an overwhelming success makes him more or less likely to achieve that level of alchemy again?

Readers familiar with the three previous Kingsbridge novels, The Pillars of the Earth, World Without End and Column of Fire will recognise more than a few repeated beats in The Evening and the Morning. Once again, we witness the story of a good monk and a precocious builder teaming up against a scheming bishop and a brutal but dense landowner. It is, Follett tells us, in a message it is hard not to want to believe, the generous and the industrious who will rise up against the robber barons and pompous elites.

It is not just that Follett’s central hook repeats itself, but individual plot points get new outings too. These include the moment where the hero, lovelorn but still talented, flees to the continent, where he meets another woman who cannot compete with the one he sailed away from. Similarly, the talismanic structure comes apart, before being rebuilt better. There is even an off-page moment of sexual violence that recalls Aliena and Gwenda’s fates.

There is nothing wrong with playing the hits, and fans of the series will enjoy watching the origin story of how Kingsbridge gets its name. They will enjoy learning how the monastery which will eventually become home to Prior Philip and others, gets its power and income. There are other Easter eggs too, to places including Wigleigh and Cherbourg that will be vital in the novels that cover later eras.

Follett’s readers often point to two essential pillars of his work, plot and character. His heroes are feisty and constant, his villains constantly plotting. His plots swirl. They characters in knots, initially heaping punishment on the good, before the villains eventually get their comeuppance.

Often overlooked is the writing talent that allows the reader to focus on these elements. Follett has a gift for providing a knowingly oversimplified vision of history, but one which has huge power. It is clear and visceral enough to immerse readers in his period, but never so detailed that it distracts from the constantly whirring plot. It allows Follett to manoeuvre his characters around a stage that feels huge, but is actually quite small. This same technique that allows his protagonists to enjoy eureka moments – new ways to trade or build or outmanoeuvre – that could not possibly occur to his antagonists, solving problems in creative, logical ways that have never occurred to the generations of men and women praying, working, trading and building in the village. It allows him to establish hierarchies and signal clearly to the reader who to root for and who to hiss off stage. From a reader’s point of view, it all moves fast enough to allow you to promise yourself one more chapter, over and over again, until you realise you’ve flown through the book. It sounds easy, but to do it, and sustain it over one novel this rich is immensely difficult. To do it in four is hugely impressive, albeit the use of repeated tropes does make it easier to forecast what is going to happen, which in turn does lessen the suspense.

It is only partly because of this though that it does not match the magic of The Pillars of the Earth. Where you place it among the others will likely depend on personal preference for eras, although even as a fan of the Saxon period, personally, I would place it alongside Column of Fire, but certainly behind the first two entries in the series. It lacked the same breadth of motivation and emotional wrangling as World without End, which is the closest in quality to Pillars of the Earth in my opinion. Subplots like the Ironface mystery didn’t measure up quite as well as previous diversions. The supporting cast outside monk Aldred, builder Edgar and noblewoman Ragna didn’t feel as strong or well knotted together as characters in previous books. Perhaps more obviously, the external conflicts, in this case Viking raids, didn’t intrude as effectively to derail or advance the hopes and dreams of the characters as the anarchy or the Black Death do in the first two novels. Nor, importantly, is there a compelling central secret like the White Ship or Sir Thomas Langley’s letter to sustain a sense of mystery.

It is still immensely enjoyable. If you enjoyed the previous books, you won’t regret reading The Evening and the Morning. But, if you haven’t had the joy of Kingsbridge in your life, The Pillars of the Earthis still the right starting point.