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Ken Follett

Ken Follett Books

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Fall of Giants

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Code to Zero

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Hornet Flight

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Nunca

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“I'm not a religious believer, yet despite that I go to church. I love the architecture, the music, the words of the Bible, and the sense of sharing something profound with other people. I have long found deep spiritual peace in the great cathedrals, as do many millions of people, believers and nonbelievers alike.”

SpiritualityChurchMusicBibleArchitectureUnbelief
Book:Notre-Dame: A Short History of the Meaning of Cathedrals
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“Jack was too absorbed in his work to hear the bell. He was mesmerized by the challenge of making soft, round shapes of hard rock. The stone had a will of its own, and if he tried to make it do something it did not want to do, it would fight him, and his chisel would slip, or dig in too deeply, spoiling the shapes. But once he had got to know the lump of rock in front of him he could transform it. The more difficult the task, the more fascinated he was. He was beginning to feel that the decorative carving demanded by Tom was too easy. Zigzags, lozenges, dogtooth, spirals and plain roll moldings bored him, and even these leaves were rather stiff and repetitive. He wanted to curve natural-looking foliage, pliable and irregular, and copy the different shapes of real leaves, oak and ash and birch.”

ArtArtist
Book:THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH
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“I say, don't cry," he said. "It's all over now." She shook her head. "It's not the riot," she said. "I've seen fights before. But this is the first time anyone ever took care of me. All my life I've had to look after myself. It's a new experience." He did not know what to say. All the girls he had ever met assumed that men would take care of them automatically. Being with Maisie was a constant revelation.”

LoveRomanceRelationship
Book:A Dangerous Fortune
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“the war taught me that nothing counts as much as loyalty" "Bullshit. you still haven't learned that when humans are under pressure, we're all willing to lie" "even to the people we care?" "we lie more to our loved ones, because we care about them so damn much. why do you think we tell the truth to priests and shrinks and total strangers we meet on trains? it's because we don't love them, so we don't care what they think.”

LifeInspirationalTruthCareLie
Book:Code to Zero
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“That's when I joined the circus. I started as a stablehand and eventually became one of the riders." She sighed nostalgically. "I liked the circus. The people are warm." "Too warm, I gather." Maisie nodded. "I never really got on with the ringmaster, and when he told me to gam him it was time to leave. I decided that if I'm going to suck cocks for a living I want a better wage. And here I am." She always picked up speech mannerisms and she had adopted April's unrestrained vocabulary. April gave her a shrewd look. "Just how many cocks have you sucked since then?" "None, to tell the truth." Maisie felt embarrassed. "I can't lie to you, April-I'm not sure I'm cut out for this trade." "You're perfect for it!" April protested. "You've got that twinkle in your eye that men can't resist. Listen. Persist with Solly Greenbourne. Give him a bit more each time. Let him feel your pussy one day, let him see you naked the next. In about three weeks he'll be panting for it. One night when you've got his trousers down and his tool in your mouth, say: 'If you bought me a little house in Chelsea, we could do this any time you wanted to.' I swear to you, Maisie, if Solly says no to that, I'll become a nun." Maisie knew she was right, but her soul revolted against it. She was not sure why. It was partly because she was not attracted to Solly. Paradoxically, another reason was that he was so nice. She could not bring herself to manipulate him heartlessly. But worst of all, she felt she would be giving up all hope of real love-a real marriage with a man she really burned for. On the other hand, she had to live somehow, and she was determined not to live like her parents, waiting all week for a pittance on payday and forever at risk of unemployment because of some financial crisis hundreds of miles away.”

MoneyProstitutionSex Work
Book:A Dangerous Fortune
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“She was dressed in white, and her tunic had amazing flared sleeves which trailed on the ground behind her as she glided down the stairs. Her hair was a mass of dark curls tumbling around her face, and she had dark, dark eyes. Jack realized that this was what the chansons meant when they referred to a beautiful princess in a castle. No wonder the knights all wept when the princess died.”

BeautyAffectionPrincess
Book:THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH
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“Besides, even that much money would not buy them the right to leave the country. They would probably be kept under house arrest in Tehran—white the mobs took over. Bail sometimes seemed more like a trap than a way of escape. It was a catch-22. The whole experience was a lesson in values. Bill learned that he could do without his fine house, his cars, fancy food, and clean clothes. It was no big deal to be living in a dirty room with bugs crawling across the walls. Everything he had in life had been stripped away, and he discovered that the only thing he cared about was his family. When you got right down to it, that was all that really counted: Emily, Vicki, Jackie, Jenny, and Chris.”

Family
Book:On Wings of Eagles
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“Today he had on a silver-gray tweed suit that matched his silver-streaked hair, and a bright blue tie the color of his eyes. He was heavier than he used to be but he still had a mischievous grin which appeared now and again. They made an attractive couple-but they were not a couple, and the fact that they looked and acted like one was what made her so sad. She took his arm as they walked into Windfield School, and she thought she would give her soul to be with him every day.”

LoveRegretPartnership
Book:A Dangerous Fortune
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“Always remain calm and unruffled, no matter what happens. If your coachman has a heart attack, your carriage crashes, your hat blows off and your drawers fall down, just say: 'Goodness me, such excitement,' and get in a hansom. Remember that the country is better than the town, idleness is superior to work, old is preferable to new and rank is more important than money. Know a little about everything, but never be an expert.”

RichnessBourgeoisieSocial ClassEliteProtege
Book:A Dangerous Fortune
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“I went to the doctor," said the woman next to Ethel. "I said to him, 'I've got an itchy twat.'" [...] She went on: "The doctor says to me, he goes, 'You shouldn't say that, it's a rude word.'" [...] "I says to him, 'What should I say, then, doctor?' He says to me, 'Say you've got an itchy finger.'" [...] "He says to me, 'Do your finger itch you all the time, Mrs. Perkins, or just now and again?'" Mildred paused, and the women were silent, waiting for the punch line. "I says, 'No, doctor, only when I piss through it.”

HumorAdult Humor
Book:Fall of Giants
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“I have to go into town," Hugh said as he put on a collar and tie. "Who's going to look after the boys, then?" she said. "You, I hope." "No!" she screeched. "I'm going shopping!" "I'm sorry, Nora, but this is very important." "I'm important too!" "Of course you are, but you can't have your way about this. I have to speak to Ben Greenbourne urgently." "I'm sick of this," she said disgustedly. "Sick of the house, sick of this boring village, sick of the children and sick of you. My father lives better than we do!" Nora's father had opened a pub, with a loan from Pilasters Bank, and was doing extremely well. "I ought to go and live with him, and work as a barmaid," she said. "I'd have more fun and I'd be paid for doing drudgery!" Hugh stared at her. Suddenly he knew he would never share her bed again. There was nothing left of his marriage. Nora hated him, and he despised her. "Take your hat off, Nora," he said. "You're not going shopping today." He put on his suit jacket and went out.”

RelationshipsResponsibilityMarriageExes
Book:A Dangerous Fortune
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“Madge s'approcha du buffet, où trônaient une cruche et des bols. Les yeux fixés au mur, elle enchaîna : "Voulez-vous savoir le plus étrange ? Après leur mort, je ne pouvais plus réciter le Notre Père... Fiat voluntas tua : 'Que votre volonté soit faite.' Ces mots, je les comprends, ajouta-t-elle la gorge nouée ; mon père m'a appris le latin. J'étais incapable de les prononcer ! Dieu m'avait enlevé ma famille. La torture était suffisante sans que j'y rajoute de mon propre chef celle de l'approuver." Ses yeux s'embuèrent de larmes au souvenir de cette terrible épreuve. "Je n'avais pas envie que la volonté de Dieu s'accomplisse ; je voulais retrouver mes enfants. 'Que votre volonté soit faite !' A la fin de la prière, je ne pouvais me résoudre à dire : 'Ainsi soit-il', quitte à aller en enfer.”

MortDieuPrièreDécès
Book:World Without End
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“- ¿Recuerdas la historia de Rut, en la Biblia? - Desde luego. ¿Por qué...? Maud la había leído muchas veces en las últimas semanas, y en ese momento citó las palabras que tanto la habían emocionado: - "Dondequiera que tú vayas, iré yo, y dondequiera que vivas, viviré; tu pueblo será mi pueblo y tu Dios, mi Dios; donde tú mueras... -Se detuvo, incapaz de hablar por el nudo que le cerraba la garganta; después, tras un momento, tragó saliba y continuó-: Donde tú mueras, moriré yo, y allí seré enterrada".”

Spanish Love
Author:Ken Follett
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