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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
I had trouble putting this book down, and I cannot wait until the next book in the trilogy comes out. Ken Follett did a wonderful job bringing to life the events leading up to, and through world war I.
Alright, I've wanted to tackle this book for ages, ever since a colleague in our school's history department recommended that I read it. I finally picked it up, still a bit wary of the hefty door-stop quality of the tome, and started.
Five days later, I was done, and I was hooked.
I'm unreservedly a history nerd, but I won't pick up a dry biography to save my life. Thankfully, Ken Follett writes like a history book with interesting people and situations that make the history come alive. Too many times I felt like I was in 1910s London, in the coal pits of the Welsh countryside, the drawing room of the earl's house, the WWI trenches, the chambers in Parliament. Wow. Way to set the scene!
Don't be intimidated by the size of the book or by the crazy list of characters in the beginning of the book. They all become clear in time as to how they are connected. I enjoyed getting to know the good and the bad. The ambiguous and the clear.
Since I'm about to start a history postgrad degree and one of my first courses is about Britain's lead up into WWI, I felt like this book was a class within its pages. I learnt a lot about pre and postwar diplomacy, to say the least! Only a few parts were draggy when I wanted to stay on one particular storyline, but I suppose that's what makes me keep reading - I have to know what happens!
The women's movement throughout the entire novel was brilliant - to have some very strong female characters, slap bang beside some very weakling male characters, was an interesting tableau at times.
The ending felt like just desserts for one of the most underrated characters.
Five days later, I was done, and I was hooked.
I'm unreservedly a history nerd, but I won't pick up a dry biography to save my life. Thankfully, Ken Follett writes like a history book with interesting people and situations that make the history come alive. Too many times I felt like I was in 1910s London, in the coal pits of the Welsh countryside, the drawing room of the earl's house, the WWI trenches, the chambers in Parliament. Wow. Way to set the scene!
Don't be intimidated by the size of the book or by the crazy list of characters in the beginning of the book. They all become clear in time as to how they are connected. I enjoyed getting to know the good and the bad. The ambiguous and the clear.
Since I'm about to start a history postgrad degree and one of my first courses is about Britain's lead up into WWI, I felt like this book was a class within its pages. I learnt a lot about pre and postwar diplomacy, to say the least! Only a few parts were draggy when I wanted to stay on one particular storyline, but I suppose that's what makes me keep reading - I have to know what happens!
The women's movement throughout the entire novel was brilliant - to have some very strong female characters, slap bang beside some very weakling male characters, was an interesting tableau at times.
The ending felt like just desserts for one of the most underrated characters.
I really wish you could give half star ratings, as this book isn't *quite* a five star read, but it did devour an entire Sunday, my body atrophying in bed as I mainlined the last half of this monster for eight hours.
REALLY, really engaging. You cannot help but be invested in the characters and their happiness, even as you know how history must unfold.
A really beefy tome, but such a page-turner. It almost feels too short.
REALLY, really engaging. You cannot help but be invested in the characters and their happiness, even as you know how history must unfold.
A really beefy tome, but such a page-turner. It almost feels too short.
I did not want to put this book down = many late nights.
3.5 ⭐️ I enjoyed the history, characters, and different perspectives. However it could have used some editing because he kept repeating things about certain characters’ backstories that were established early in the book.
Read it many years ago. I enjoyed it, shamefully so, but still..
i enjoyed the story but i found i didn't care about any of the characters
there seemed to be a lot of gaps in the story, mostly to do with the characters. like how they never went into how a certain german man's parents thought about who he got married to. and many earlier similar 'oh, there was a five minute conversation about this life changing thing and it was all good' throwaways
i did learn more about world war 1 than i had in my history classes, and will read the sequels, but i won't be dying waiting for them.
i did learn more about world war 1 than i had in my history classes, and will read the sequels, but i won't be dying waiting for them.
Great history, didnt think the writing was as good as World Without End, but a real page turner.