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Fall of Giants (The Century Trilogy, #1)

Ken Follett

Why we're reading this: Ken Follett is of the old school of informative novelists, combining a boisterous tale with an uplifting …more
[close] Ken Follett is of the old school of informative novelists, combining a boisterous tale with an uplifting lesson in history and civic groups.
He takes us to England, Austria, Germany, to the Russian Revolution and the beginning and end of WWI. He understands that his average reader’s knowledge of both is probably rusty, to say the least; accordingly, he meticulously recreates an era and leads us through the follies and occasional heroics of its protagonists real and imaginary. This is one of my favorite books I've read, I highly recommend it.

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Mar 31, 2013 Sanskriti Nagar rated it liked it

Shelves: war, series, read-in-2013, epic, adult, rating-3-stars, historical-fiction, adult-fiction, novels, book-club

Fall of Giants is one epic novel. Set mostly in Wales and Russia with some action taking place in America, France and Germany, Ken Follett's 900 pager is set during Wold War I. Five families come together throughout the war years, sometime as friends and sometimes as enemies.

The story begins with Billy William's induction to the mine pit. The Williams family are Welsh miners. The daughter of the family, Ethel is a housemaid at the Fitzherbert's, an aristocratic family. Ethel gets involved in a r Fall of Giants is one epic novel. Set mostly in Wales and Russia with some action taking place in America, France and Germany, Ken Follett's 900 pager is set during Wold War I. Five families come together throughout the war years, sometime as friends and sometimes as enemies.

The story begins with Billy William's induction to the mine pit. The Williams family are Welsh miners. The daughter of the family, Ethel is a housemaid at the Fitzherbert's, an aristocratic family. Ethel gets involved in a romance with the Earl which is soon to lead to a scandal. The Earl's sister, Maud, is a rebel, a supporter of women suffrage. Her destiny is entwined with that of her German friend, Walter. Gus Dewar, an American, is a friend of both Walter's and Fitzherbert's. His life is connected with those of two Russian brothers, Grigory and Lev Peshkov.

In this novel of immense proportions, there is often a conflict, conflict of interests, conflict of choices and conflict of friends having to fight each other behind enemy lines. There were parts that made me want to keep reliving some scenes. Maud and Walter share a beautiful love story, one which they must keep secret from all and have to contend with separation for they belong to two different warring nations. But their love for each other stands the test of time which makes their story a remarkable one.

The one character I detested above the rest was Earl Fitzherbert. His passion turned hollow, his war experience made him a bitter man and he identified with the war faction. His treatment of Ethel only made me want to see him hurt and torn apart in the end.

Ken Follett chose a daunting talks when he decided to pen down this book. The story of the war, the politics behind it, it's ramifications and most of all the individual experiences, none of it could have been written in a shorter book. So the author has very intelligently carved out the stories by revolving them around the five families.

My problem however was that it was too lengthy for my liking. There were parts the book could have done without. I couldn't understand at times what purpose was a prolonged description serving. There were paragraphs I skimmed through and the last 100 pages my patience was all but gone. I simply flipped through to get to the end just so that I could move on to another book. That for me doesn't mean a happy ending. Thus the average rating.

Still, for fans of historical fiction, who aren't shy of big books and who can digest large chunks of the book in a single session, this novel wouldn't disappoint. In fact you might end up enjoying it very much.
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