Tag Archives: reviews

World Without End

As promised, as soon as I finished “The Pillars of the Earth,” I requested the stand-alone sequel at my library: “World Without End.” Three weeks later, I had it in my hands.

Follett published this book 18 years after the publication of “Pillars”–and I am so glad he chose to write a sequel. And that the sequel is 1,014 pages long. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I invest emotionally in what I read, so the longer it goes on, the better. If a story is over after a brief 200 pages, I feel like I have been from the womb untimely ripped. Like my relationship with that book didn’t have time to fully mature before I was torn away from it. You get the idea, quoth I.

I loved this book. The same disclaimer still applies (rape and pillage, and the occasional gratuitous violent hunting scene or punishment-of-a-thief description)–but overall it was extremely enjoyable reading. I knew what to expect of the writing style, which helped me get into this book faster: it’s an exciting narrative peppered with interesting historical tidbits, the plot is always on the move, and Follett spares us no measure of suspense, drama, and action. I’m not surprised that before plunging into historical fiction, he wrote spy thrillers. The writing won’t earn him a Pulitzer, but it’s top notch popular fiction.

The story takes place in the 1300s in the town of Kingsbridge, in the same location and two hundred years after his first novel. Many of the characters are descendants of the original cast from “Pillars.” At first, it seemed to me like the characters were very similar in occupation and persona to the ones in “Pillars”–the smart businesswoman who has a frustrated romance with a talented and innovative builder, the corrupt lord who rules by fear and tries to become the Earl of Shiring, the scheming monk who wants to become a bishop and uses his powers for evil, etc.–however, there are enough variations on their bare bones characteristics to eventually make their personalities distinct. Also, it’s not like there were a million occupations to choose from in those times–no web developers or massage therapists or corporate cubicle jobs. The way I see it, your basic choices are:

1) Nobility (king, lords, earls, knights)

2) Church (monks, priests, nuns, bishops)

3) Peasants (tenants, laborers or serfs)

4) Merchants/craftsmen (builders, masons, wool traders, innkeepers, etc.)

5) Outlaws

OK, there are a few other categories–let’s not forget the prostitutes, bailiffs, the occasional lawyer, and some other random occupations. But the choices were very limited, and frequently not even choices.

There are unexpected twists in the plot, and I love how Follett doesn’t kill off the main characters I had come to love via the Plague (all together now: “Thank you, Ken!”). I was really nervous about that, but I guess he loves his characters as much as I do and couldn’t bear to just finish them all off. In fact, I was more than a little nervous knowing that the Plague was going to play an important part in the story, since I have no desire to read detailed descriptions about people coughing up blood, getting disgusting lumps under their arms, etc. Well, I’m happy to say that the Plague part wasn’t so bad! As in, he didn’t use it as an excuse to write a series of horrific and elaborate medical passages designed to raise my hackles and give me gooseflesh. Hooray!

It is fascinating to learn about how the political system worked, how justice was administered, how the Church related to the State, and all the minutiae of daily life in the 1300s. Even though Follett doesn’t hide the ugly parts of life in that time, there is enough romance in the air that it almost makes me want to live in the Middle Ages . . . except not, if I really think about it. I mean, the women didn’t wear any underwear, and that would just feel weird. A little too breezy, if you know what I mean. Plus, I like my spice cupboard too much to give it up–I guess only the rich could afford expensive and exotic spices such as ginger or cinnamon. No Dhal Makhani or Pad See Ew were being made in England back in those days, which would cause me to rip my own hair out and immediately abort my time traveling project.

One thing that impressed me is that the Middle Ages are just so dang long! Follett could write a third book taking place 200 years later and still be in the Middle Ages! Any history buffs who can tell me when the Renaissance took over? . . . and then I remembered I’m currently on something called the ‘internet,’ which houses a site called ‘Wikipedia.’

Oh, the things I forget sometimes.

Looks like in England the start of the Renaissance is dated by the beginning of the Elizabethan Era, in 1558. So Mr. Follett, how about a 3rd book?

You haven’t heard the last of these books, by gum–my next project might be watching the miniseries and reviewing that. Has anyone seen it? Thumbs up or thumbs down? By the end of this you’ll have Follett coming out of your ears–that’s the plan.

Golden Pacific Market: a treasure trove

I love–and let me emphasize love–my local Asian grocery store. Since college, I have shopped at many: the 10th street store, Saraga, and the College Mall store in Bloomington, Indiana. Wang’s Oriental Food in Newark, Delaware. And now, here in Chicago, I have found this blissful paradise: Golden Pacific Market on Broadway Avenue, merely 2 El stops south of us.

It’s the best Asian grovery EVER. It’s large. It’s well lit.

Lemongrass, Thai basil, shiitake mushrooms, Chinese broccoli, galangal, Chinese cabbage, baby eggplant, Japanese eggplant, Thai red chilies . . . it’s enough to send me into a fit. A fit of Asian joy.

The employees (or maybe they are the owners?) speak English, and can help me find hard-to-locate ingredients. They accept credit/debit cards with no minimum charge. The aisles are wide enough for a cart. They have absolutely everything. When I go there, I’m in heaven.

The only less-than-heavenly part is climbing onto the Broadway bus with 6 bags of groceries that you can barely carry.

Yes, you will always leave with way more than what you planned on getting. But the red welts on your arms and hands will all be worth it as soon as you get home to your kitchen and can create the most fabulous dishes: Panang curry. Thai red curry. Pad See Ew. Delectable stirfries.

I went there a couple weekends ago to stock up on my basics, and ended up with a tablefull of stuff for a $58 total:

The prices are unbeatable: dark and light soy sauce, for about $2 per bottle.

Ok, the Wasabi peas were a spontaneous buy. But at $3 for a large, large tin, I couldn’t resist.

Have you ever tried them?

Pure green addiction.

These lime leaves will go into my Panang curry–I can’t wait.

Cheap ground pork for Ma Po Tofu.

Coconut cream (not to be confused with cream of coconut or creamed coconut) for a thick, wonderful Thai curry.

And of course, I couldn’t resist getting some new things to experiment with: glutinous rice (to make sticky rice). I’ve been adoring it from afar for way too long–it’s time to get down and dirty with that rice in my own kitchen.

Ginger syrup.

How helpful–the bottle informs me that it’s an ‘all time favourite.’

It is such an inspiration to come home with new ingredients–cheap ingredients–that you can experiment with to your heart’s content. I’ve been reading about Sriracha sauce for ages. It’s all over the blogging world, and now I’m going to try it myself.

These mushrooms are funky.

I bought four varieties to make some kind of delicious mushroom fry–crimini, shiitake, and white beech, as well as the weird little guys above, known as either “Enoki” or “the freak-shaped thingamagings.”

Though I must admit I’m afraid to ask the question that the above picture begs: what does it mean when a mushroom is described as ‘high tech’?

Maybe they are so high tech that we should start preparing our defenses against their carefully planned attack of the world, which will start in my very own refrigerator while I am sleeping tonight. I guess if I don’t show up with a post on Monday at 7am sharp, you can assume these mushrooms have something to do with it–in that case, please send a SWAT team at your earliest convenience.

And the pre-peeled garlic: yes. Yes, yes, yes. It makes me add 8 cloves where I would normally use 5. Peeling garlic is one of my banes. I always do it when my hands are kind of wet, the peels stick to my fingers, and I get extremely claustrophobic.

I knew I’d be hungry by the time I got home, so I also bought some instant soup with udon noodles. You prepare it just like ramen noodles, but it’s 50 times better.

As I boiled some water on the stove, I noticed that the stovetop was getting quite greasy.

“That’s disgusting!” I exclaimed. “Who’s responsible for this disgrace of a kitchen!?”

Then I realized that it was me. “Well,” I muttered, “it’s getting completely out of control. Someone had better clean up his or her act.”

I find it comforting to sermonize myself. It makes me feel very wise. Wise and prudent.

I chopped up part of a green onion for some fresh crunch. It was the perfect lunch: quick and satisfying.

Do any of you shop at your local Asian grocery stores? What are some of your recent ingredient finds?

Tuesday I will be posting a recipe for Pad See Ew, made from some of the lovely ingredients purchased: wide, flat rice noodles. Soy sauce. Garlic. Chinese broccoli. You don’t want to miss it.

In case you’re confused, the message of this post can be boiled down to the following: get your buns to your nearest Asian grocery and indulge your creative side.

And I’m sorry I just ordered your buns around–but try to remember that it’s for a higher good.

Have a great weekend everyone!