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bridgette22 's review for:
Fall of Giants
by Ken Follett
Fall of Giants is an epic story based around 5 families starting at the prior to World War 1 and their journeys throughout the Great War. It is a captivating story that intertwines the families through an 800 page story. Considering this stories immense size it was a relatively easy read.
There is no one hero in this story with the main characters all having their time to shine. Some characters such as Lev were boring with his parts dragging. I can understand the inclusion of his parts so as to further his brothers Grigori’s journey. Lev’s story could have been a side note in other characters chapters. His marriage to Olga could have merely been as sentence long in the Gus chapter. It would have been just as impactful to see this through his eyes and his pain instead of seeing the behind scenes. I don’t care that Lev got the girl pregnant and then had to marry. Lev’s journey could have been explained to the reader when the brother reunited in Russia.
Speaking of Grigori, his journey was really interesting. Seeing him struggle to be an honourable man and look after his brother despite how often his brother fucked him over. The details of the Russian revolution was so interesting. The parts after the revolution seemed to drag. It was interesting at first to see that the revolution was not so simple. It’s not just a matter of removing the corrupt government and everything will be fine. The struggle for the revolution not to slip back into the old ways because it was easier was interesting. By the end of Grigori’s story I didn’t care about his wife. She was whiny and annoying and Grigori deserved so much better.
Billie is the best character in the book in my opinion. He grabbed my attention from the very first chapter and I was so invested in his story. Billie’s growth from a scared boy going into the mines for the very first time through to respected soldier who got his troop through some of the most horrific battles of the war to his decision to become a politician. Billie was never afraid to stand up for himself and call out those of higher social status then him. Some of the best scenes in the book was when Billie would call out Earl Fitzherbert for his bullshit. Billie’s story throughout the war really demonstrated British leader incompetency and why putting those with titles into military command was such a disaster.
Ethel and Billie’s story were both my favourite. Ethel showed her innate power and strength when she decided to negotiate with the Earl’s lawyer. She then grew to match each challenge that came her way. Her fight for women’s suffrage was inspiring but practical. She understood that the little wins and compromises were just as important for the bigger picture to become achievable.
Ethel’s story contrasted so interestingly with Lady Maud. Both had the same ideal and goals for the suffrage movement but disagreed on how to get there. Maud was stubborn and uncompromising with her goals and could not understand the importance of compromise and celebrating the little wins. Maud’s love story was intriguing. Falling in love with a German just before the out-break of the war was never going to be easy. Maud choosing to go to live in Germany was an interesting choice and it would have been so good to read a bit more about how she adjusted to becoming ‘poor’ and not having servants to cater for every day chores.
The less said about Earl Fitzherbert the better. He was a wanker. He had so many opportunities to change and become a better person and he just chose wrong every damn time. He clutched so tightly to past traditions that he just became stubborn and annoying. My favourite moment with the Earl was when he passed Ethel in the hallway and she refused to move aside. It was such a you go girl moment.
Overall I did really enjoy this book. I quite like Ken Folletts writing style. It is easy to read and the story was interesting. His characters are varied and interesting. I am unsure if I would want to read further in the series. I’m really not a series person especially when each book is like 800 pages long. The story wrapped up well. There was a satisfactory conclusion which to me does mean I don’t feel the need to read on further.
There is no one hero in this story with the main characters all having their time to shine. Some characters such as Lev were boring with his parts dragging. I can understand the inclusion of his parts so as to further his brothers Grigori’s journey. Lev’s story could have been a side note in other characters chapters. His marriage to Olga could have merely been as sentence long in the Gus chapter. It would have been just as impactful to see this through his eyes and his pain instead of seeing the behind scenes. I don’t care that Lev got the girl pregnant and then had to marry. Lev’s journey could have been explained to the reader when the brother reunited in Russia.
Speaking of Grigori, his journey was really interesting. Seeing him struggle to be an honourable man and look after his brother despite how often his brother fucked him over. The details of the Russian revolution was so interesting. The parts after the revolution seemed to drag. It was interesting at first to see that the revolution was not so simple. It’s not just a matter of removing the corrupt government and everything will be fine. The struggle for the revolution not to slip back into the old ways because it was easier was interesting. By the end of Grigori’s story I didn’t care about his wife. She was whiny and annoying and Grigori deserved so much better.
Billie is the best character in the book in my opinion. He grabbed my attention from the very first chapter and I was so invested in his story. Billie’s growth from a scared boy going into the mines for the very first time through to respected soldier who got his troop through some of the most horrific battles of the war to his decision to become a politician. Billie was never afraid to stand up for himself and call out those of higher social status then him. Some of the best scenes in the book was when Billie would call out Earl Fitzherbert for his bullshit. Billie’s story throughout the war really demonstrated British leader incompetency and why putting those with titles into military command was such a disaster.
Ethel and Billie’s story were both my favourite. Ethel showed her innate power and strength when she decided to negotiate with the Earl’s lawyer. She then grew to match each challenge that came her way. Her fight for women’s suffrage was inspiring but practical. She understood that the little wins and compromises were just as important for the bigger picture to become achievable.
Ethel’s story contrasted so interestingly with Lady Maud. Both had the same ideal and goals for the suffrage movement but disagreed on how to get there. Maud was stubborn and uncompromising with her goals and could not understand the importance of compromise and celebrating the little wins. Maud’s love story was intriguing. Falling in love with a German just before the out-break of the war was never going to be easy. Maud choosing to go to live in Germany was an interesting choice and it would have been so good to read a bit more about how she adjusted to becoming ‘poor’ and not having servants to cater for every day chores.
The less said about Earl Fitzherbert the better. He was a wanker. He had so many opportunities to change and become a better person and he just chose wrong every damn time. He clutched so tightly to past traditions that he just became stubborn and annoying. My favourite moment with the Earl was when he passed Ethel in the hallway and she refused to move aside. It was such a you go girl moment.
Overall I did really enjoy this book. I quite like Ken Folletts writing style. It is easy to read and the story was interesting. His characters are varied and interesting. I am unsure if I would want to read further in the series. I’m really not a series person especially when each book is like 800 pages long. The story wrapped up well. There was a satisfactory conclusion which to me does mean I don’t feel the need to read on further.