Reviewed by Ian Lipke
The book, Circle of Days, is another massive text that threatens to do the reviewer damage if he were foolish enough to drop it on an errant toe. Yet this book is a mere 600 pages, reasonably short by Follett’s standards. Unlike The Evening and the Morning where a pre-1000 AD time frame witnessed an interesting story that featured noble families and their ilk, Follett has confined this story to common people, herders and farmers.
No church buildings of great moment, no castles, halls or cathedrals are to be found. Wooden shacks are the common architectural structures to shelter a man and his family from the elements. We find that in these primitive family structures the strongest male figure rules the clan. The women fulfil the cooking and nurturing functions but, in the way of women worldwide and across time, make their influence felt. The female agenda is marked strongly throughout this story.
As is usual with Follett, safe writing is a feature of this book. The killing of a heifer and the subsequent murder of a priest is handled with the richness of a stable society. The heifer is slaughtered and the flesh distributed communally. The murderer and his family are isolated; that is, nobody will acknowledge their presence, let alone engage in conversation.
The use of isolation techniques to inculcate discipline is effective. What’s more, it is not commonly found among upper social ranks. The reverse argument, familiarisation, where the person to be influenced appears immediately to the subject, is less subtle. Follett has an example of this process far into the book where one of his characters pointedly suggests that the young woman seeking appointment to the position of second priestess always manages to sleep next to the High Priestess.
The book begins with a handful of people to carry the story. Joia and Neen and a few friends represent beauty and goodness, Seft is the honourable, thoughtful tradesman, Scagga is the firebrand, forever wilful and seeking a fight, while Cog hates his son, Seft. Many of these same characters appear throughout the book, in a more senior role but operating little differently from when they were children. For example, Joia was a trainee priestess about p. 140; late in the story she is in command, her portfolio has changed as she has grown into it.
This is a very long book. It is peopled by a primitive race. One would expect them to engage in simple tasks and never consider abstract argument or policies. Their information channels and law-making bodies routines would not be abstract. And so, the practice supports the theory. This evening the women and children will eat cold meats, tomorrow they’ll roast a cow. Huge stones are transported by shaking. The author restricts his engineering practices to what is possible on a localized basis.
This is a 600-word tome, written by a well-known author, whose career spans many decades. It is an imaginative effort about a group from the Stone Ages, their everyday life and relationships, yet Ken Follett has managed to make it an absorbing read.
Circle of Days
(2025)
by Ken Follett
Quercus Hachette
ISBN:978-1-52944-234-2
$55.00; 610pp