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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
This is a very long book of historical fiction. It is the first in a trilogy, so I will probably read the remaining 2 books when they are released.
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Well done to weave such disparate characters together in order to give a good view of history of the time. Characters you like and root for. Not the most compelling reading but a nice big one to tuck into for a while
At first I thought it would take me ages to read & finish this book, but it only took me a little more than a week. Having only recently discovered my love for historical novels, this was definitely a challenge. Almost a thousand pages about a part of history that's always been a bit vague to me. But as it turned out, it wasn't a challenge at all. I thorouhly enjoyed reading this first book in the Century Trilogy by Ken Follett and I will definitely read the other two books at some point as well. The mixture of politics, war, revolutions, love, friendship, hate and feminism was pretty fantastic. It made me turn page after page. Some political parts were a bit difficult to read, though - especially because I never really looked into the First World War or the revolution that followed in Russia. I knew of it, of course, but everything makes so much more sense now. So it wasn't just an entertaining read, at the same time it has taught me a lot about this parciular war. It was definitely worth the 944 pages.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Audiobook - 31 hours
Narrator - John Lee (5 stars)
Narrator - John Lee (5 stars)
Funny enough, I decided to write a review for this book as I embark on "Winter of the World". Ken Follett has a gift of story telling but in an unusual way. His prose is more simple and his writing isn't anything spectacular. However, he manages to take these very complicated political and social times and make them understandable. Where on earth did the Bolshevik revolution come from and why would the Russian people support it? How did WWI get so out of hand? Later, in the 2nd book Follett does a beautiful job setting the stage for how the Nazi party came to power. These are not black and white issues, these things did not happen over night and I think he does a wonderful job allowing the reader to not just get what happened but WHY it happened. It's easy for us to, in retrospect, condemn communism, Russia, Germany and their people but Follett beautifully allows the readers to put aside our historical bias and think through where these roots were formed. I very much enjoyed this approach to historical fiction and it certainly has kept me thinking long after the last page was read.