A Column of Fire is the third book in Ken Follett's Kingsbridge series. It's not so much a sequel as the events in this book take place two hundred some years beyond the events of World Without End, which in turn took place hundreds of years beyond Pillars of the Earth. And to that end, Column of Fire seems hundreds of years short of the mark set by the earlier books in the series. Both of the earlier volumes dealt directly with the people of Kingsbridge and the drama contained within one town. There were clear simple villains and heroes and heroines to root for. The same is true in CoF, but instead of the character development driving the plot, here we had plot driving the characters and not much development. Characters were introduced and summarily killed off, or just never mentioned again as their narrative seemed to be tied up conveniently. Perhaps it's a necessity of the time period described that the scope of the novel would expand so much wider than Kingsbridge, but in the end, the narrative tension fell a bit flat. When you use plot points that are easily searched on google and the outcomes so easily found, then narrative tension cannot be maintained. Will the bad men succeed in their assassination attempts of Queen Elizabeth? Of course not. In the earlier books, the tension and climax happened to fictional people and the outcomes were unknown. Each character was in danger and suffered real harm. None of that occurred here and the novel was the worse off for it. I feel a little bit like Follett phoned this one in.
3/5 Stars.
“You must resist the common urge toward the comforting narrative of divine law, toward fairy tales that imply some irrepressible justice. The enslaved were not bricks in your road, and their lives were not chapters in your redemptive history. They were people turned to fuel for the American machine. Enslavement was not destined to end, and it is wrong to claim our present circumstance—no matter how improved—as the redemption for the lives of people who never asked for the posthumous, untouchable glory of dying for their children. Our triumphs can never compensate for this.”In February, I try to focus my reading on black authors and black history. Between the World and Me has been on my list for quite some time. I've seen Ta-Nehisi Coates in videos and on the daily show, and I've always appreciated his perspective on issues and the way in which he presents them. A letter from a father to a son. A letter from a black man to a black teen. A letter from a black man to white America. A letter from the soul of a person, to the unending silence that answers us in return whenever we share something so deep that no response is adequate.This is a very moving and illuminating look at race and racism in America. In the way that the belief in American exceptionalism requires an ignorance of the policies and practices which have propelled the American experience for centuries. “And they are torturing Muslims, and their drones are bombing wedding parties (by accident!), and the Dreamers are quoting Martin Luther King and exulting nonviolence for the weak and the biggest guns for the strong.”It would be wrong to say Ta-Nehisi Coates is the only voice discussing race, politics, and intersectionality in America. He is however, one of the most powerful voices to recently take up the conversation. It would also be wrong to assume that his view is representative of all African Americans. Or that he can speak for black women who have not gained the name-recognition, but still have powerful and illuminating stories all their own. But anytime we take a step outside ourselves and our known world to try to really hear and understand the experience of someone else, without judgment - whenever we are really open to listening with our ears and mind open, then the collective experience of being American is all the better. All the better that this audio version was narrated by Coates himself. I was moved by this book, truly moved. And humbled. And thankful.
5/5 Stars.
I give up. I'll admit it. I love Neil Gaiman. I seem to like everything he writes. Ever since American Gods was my top book of 2015 (you can read that review here), I've delighted in the bizarre and funny stories he weaves. Neverwhere was no exception. The result is a look into "London Below" - a place where the forgotten live parallel lives to those in London Above, the paths never really crossing.Poor Richard Mayhew is going nowhere in life. Engaged to a domineering woman with whom he has nothing in common, and plodding along in an everyday job, it seems that Richard will continue on his life of mediocrity until one evening, as he's walking to work with his terrible fiance Jess - sorry, Jessica - he happens upon a bleeding semi-conscious girl on the street. Richard, being a meek, but overall good person, decides to help the girl, despite Jessica's protestations that they are going to be late for dinner. In picking up the girl and choosing to help her, Richard tumbles into the confusing and disorienting world of London Below. Pursued by two incredibly creepy assassins, Richard must help the girl, Door, get in contact with someone she can trust. And because he's useless, Door aims to leave him behind and hope that she hasn't caused too much damage to Richard. Unfortunately, Richard becomes unrecognizable to those in London Above and must search out Door in order to regain his life. Along the way he meets with very interesting people and creatures of all kinds. What a rich, vibrant other world Gaiman has created. I can't wait to go watch the BBC series. You can read my review of Ocean at the End of the Lane here.
5/5 Stars.
