Ken Follett's magnificent historical epic begins as five interrelated families move through the momentous dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women's suffrage.
A thirteen-year-old Welsh boy enters a man's world in the mining pits. . . . An American law student rejected in love finds a surprising new career in Woodrow Wilson's White House. . . . A housekeeper for the aristocratic Fitzherberts takes a fateful step above her station, while Lady Maud Fitzherbert herself crosses deep into forbidden territory when she falls in love with a German spy. . . . And two orphaned Russian brothers embark on radically different paths when their plan to emigrate to America falls afoul of war, conscription, and revolution.
From the dirt and danger of a coal mine to the glittering chandeliers of a palace, from the corridors of power to the bedrooms of the mighty, Fall of Giants takes us into the inextricably entangled fates of five families-and into a century that we thought we knew, but that now will never seem the same again. . . .
This is the 3rd Follett novel I've read. Previously I had tackled The Pillars of the Earth, which I really enjoyed, and World Without End, which was a re-hash of The Pillars of the Earth. Knowing little about WWI, I found the book to be a bit dry. In the last 100 pages or so, I couldn't wait for the war to wrap up so the character's storylines would be tied up. The ending was satisfying and open-ended enough (political turmoil in Germany, women serving in Parliament in Britain) that it will be intriguing to see where during WWII, Follett picks up with Book #2.
Reading updates
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14 February, 2011:
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14 February, 2011:
Reviewed