ARTFUL READERS CLUB
A COLUMN of FIRE by Ken Follett
APRIL 9, 2018
"The simple idea that people should be allowed to worship as they wished caused more suffering than the ten plagues of Egypt." (Ned Willard, fictional spy for Queen Elizabeth)
If you want to be hypnotized and completely engrossed in page-turning, compelling historical fiction, Ken Follett is THE author...A COLUMN of FIRE is THE book! The final book in the Kingsbridge trilogy (following "Pillars of the Earth" and "World Without End,") this 750+ page tome spans the years 1558 to 1620...some of the most turbulent and violent times in world history. It takes a look at the beginning of religious freedom in Western Europe. Religion, politics, war and European history come together in England, France, Spain and the Netherlands. We sense how our Kingsbridge community (and those beyond) feel about what they must do to live the kind of lives they wish to live. It's all about power, spying, violence and intolerance. (Sounds like today!!) The novel was hardly about the make-believe town of Kingsbridge and didn't dwell on its residents, differing from the other two trilogy volumes. Rather, it was about the developing world and the wider struggles between Catholics and Protestants. Perhaps this was because by this time, sea travel and exploration was becoming more common.
For the fans of the Kingsbridge series, A COLUMN of FIRE comes back to the town with the big Cathedral and some familial descendants of the colorful characters living in the first two trilogy books. In this volume, we experience the tumultuous reign of Queen Elizabeth and the battle of the Catholic and Protestant religions for the souls of the citizens of the West.
We meet a large cast of villains and heroes, both real and imagined, who want to impose their beliefs on all...tolerance was not an option! Follett weaves the happenings of the times into the story line and puts the reader in the middle of the action. It was a stormy time and the fact that it was caused by religious choice seems unimaginable to me. What was done in the name of religion... Yet, the intolerance we often see today by religious fanatics who, just like in Elizabethan times, murder and plunder in the name of God, makes me wonder...will we ever learn? Will this religious conflict (if it is purely religious,) ever end? Just as it was a difficult and dangerous time to live in 16th century Western Europe, it's almost as frightening and sad living in today's world!
A COLUMN of Fire by Ken Follett...it definitely lit a flame in my literary heart. I highly recommend it!!
Thanks for stopping by,
abbyj
