Ken Follet: The Evening and the Morning

[Brian G Turner]

Anyone tried The Evening and the Morning, billed as a prequel to Pillars of the Earth? I'm tempted to, but wasn't so keen on the sequels to the original - seemed to be a case of diminishing returns. I'm also put off by the fear of the obligatory rape scene just to show how villainous a villain is, and how strong the female character is to get past it.

However, maybe the book will surprise me... ? Especially considering it's one of the more interesting periods of history IMO.

 

[svalbard]

Waiting for you Brian

 

[SebMarksey]

Anyone tried The Evening and the Morning, billed as a prequel to Pillars of the Earth? I'm tempted to, but wasn't so keen on the sequels to the original - seemed to be a case of diminishing returns. I'm also put off by the fear of the obligatory rape scene just to show how villainous a villain is, and how strong the female character is to get past it.

However, maybe the book will surprise me... ? Especially considering it's one of the more interesting periods of history IMO.

In case you haven't read it yet and would benefit from input:

I'm glad to hear apprehension about reading because ofthe rape scene. I've just reached page 740 and I've been seriously disappointed because of that very thing.
I honestly personally recommend you don't read it...
I was so invested and jubilant about having found an amazing book, but I feel he's ruined it now.
Not only was the rape (a repeat event) entirely unnecessary, depressing and utterly infuriating to the reader, but it's backed up amd followed up by increasingly infuriating events that make the two other main characters suddenly seem like absent-minded idiots that can't use their - now apparently, by stark contrast - non-existent wits.
After all that build up of increasing love and affection, Follett has torn it apart (and the depth of the main characters), just to create a supposedly more rugged, raw and perhaps more realistic plot; at the cost of the enjoyment and satisfaction of the reader.
I'm utterly disappointed, and funnily enough quite angry.

 

[The Crawling Chaos]

The rape scene in Pillars almost ruined an otherwise enjoyable experience for me and I've put off reading the other books in the series for fear there might be more where that one came from.

Seriously, choosing to write a rape from the POV of the perpetrator raises questions. Unpleasant ones.

Anyway, what you write seems to suggest I was right to fear it, but I'm still hoping at least one book in the series was spared... So is there really a similar scene in every single book of the saga?