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b0hemian_graham's review against another edition
5.0
Follet did it. He managed to condense essentially 47 years of history and political turmoil into approximately 1000 pages. I enjoyed this one the best out of the entire trilogy. I especially liked how music was employed as a political tool and tied everything together. There was some sensationalism, and some rather ridiculous plot points, but at the same time, they worked within the frame of the novel as 1961-1989 (with the 2008 epilogue)were pretty sensational, and at times, utterly ridiculous in so many ways.
I'm also very surprised and slightly disappointed over the lack of Britain other than the music scence of the 1960s. You'd think there would be more on Thatcher in this novel.
I'm still trying to adjust my thoughts on this one, but it's definitely a trilogy I wouldn't mind seeing adapated into a miniseries such as his Pillars of the Earth novels were.
Edit: Also, Follett still seems to be unable to write sex scenes that don't come across as if they were written by a horny 13-year old boy who writes fanfiction in his spare time. Thankfully, they didn't seem as prominent as they are in some of his other novels, but some of them were still distracting and entertaining for the wrong reasons, as in, I was giggling like a school girl and rolling my eyes at how bad some of them were.
I'm also very surprised and slightly disappointed over the lack of Britain other than the music scence of the 1960s. You'd think there would be more on Thatcher in this novel.
I'm still trying to adjust my thoughts on this one, but it's definitely a trilogy I wouldn't mind seeing adapated into a miniseries such as his Pillars of the Earth novels were.
Edit: Also, Follett still seems to be unable to write sex scenes that don't come across as if they were written by a horny 13-year old boy who writes fanfiction in his spare time. Thankfully, they didn't seem as prominent as they are in some of his other novels, but some of them were still distracting and entertaining for the wrong reasons, as in, I was giggling like a school girl and rolling my eyes at how bad some of them were.
msavich's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
beer_matt's review against another edition
1.0
I really enjoyed this trilogy, until the second half of this, the last installment. Follett either so wants to be American or is ruthlessly chasing the American market. Even though there are lots of British characters, they've either moved to America or they've been written out of the story, just as the whole of British history in the 70's and 80's. Punk, the Falklands, Thatcher, even the miners strike for goodness sake, given that the story starts underneath the ground in a coal mine....!!!
The last 200 pages seems to have been rushed, almost like the author couldn't work out how bring this mammoth narrative to a conclusion, or he's fallen out of love with the project. Or both. I actually started skim reading the pages, something I never do.
:-(
The last 200 pages seems to have been rushed, almost like the author couldn't work out how bring this mammoth narrative to a conclusion, or he's fallen out of love with the project. Or both. I actually started skim reading the pages, something I never do.
:-(
chloeereesss's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A perfect end to the century trilogy.
funnychris1981's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
The weakest book in the trilogy in my opinion.. It very effectively shows you how life was under the communist rule. Character arcs are really good but the writing makes me feel like the author just used sex as a filler..
gabmc's review against another edition
3.0
This is a solid 3 and 1/2 star book. I almost felt like the end was a bit rushed - like we were rushing to get to Obama's election. The book traces five families from different parts of the world in the latter part of the 20th century and the events they lived through: the civil rights movement, the election of President Kennedy, the Cuban missile crisis, the rise and fall of communism, the Wall in East Berlin and its eventual collapse. I really enjoyed it - I like historical fiction, and while the 'bad guys' were a bit too caricature for me, it was still a really good book.