Lost in a Book: “Fall of Giants” by Ken Follet

Not a giant at all…
Naomi’s Photos

Ken Follet knows how to push all the right buttons.

Here’s the thing.  I usually abhor authors who seem to count the number of pages needed to insert regularly something related to affairs of the heart / flesh, particularly in conjunction with a generous sprinkling of “costume drama” (ranging from clothing, buildings and any other comforts of the aristocracy and the rich).

But Follet so cleverly combines those “buttons” with so much fascinating historical information, behind the scenes diplomacy and egoism that affected the lives (and deaths) of millions of people,  that I was willing to forgive the author for just about anything irksome in the entire book.  All 920 pages of it! I stopped reading my magazines – the book was addictive!

The characters are presented in such a  vivid and engaging way, the Welsh mining family and the local aristocracy, the German diplomats, the Russian peasants along with the American contingent. The book follows these imaginary characters along with very real politicians of the period during the years that lead to WWI, through the war years and immediately afterwards. You feel the tension of the arguments and the decisions even though I knew the outcome of some of them.  I’ve read extensively about WWll but realized I didn’t know nearly as much about how so many countries got involved in this war.

That’s not all. The book follows the battle to give women in Britain the right to vote. I had no idea of the influence the war had on that issue and even of the perception of women’s roles. It also brings you right into the heart of the Russian revolution. Somehow I had never thought about how all these things were happening at the same time and what that meant.

In short – I was HOOKED.

This is the first part of a trilogy. The first two books quite literally fell into my lap, without the third. I’m going to wait a while before starting the next one – not ready yet for another world war!

I’ve now started a completely different kind of book. Updates will follow!

4 thoughts on “Lost in a Book: “Fall of Giants” by Ken Follet”

  1. Ken Follett is one of my favourite authors. Have you read anything else by him? I particularly admire the fact that he seems to be able to write about pretty much any period and make the story believable.

    1. I haven’t read anything else by him, Sandy, and I would like to. Which do you reccomend? I haven’t even searched for books by Follet in the library yet – this one “fell” into my lap!

  2. It’s hard to know what to recommend, as think I’ve enjoyed all of them. Instead I can give you a flavour of how diverse his writing is (though there are quite a few thrillers in there!)…
    I think his most famous book is probably The Pillars of the Earth, which is about building a cathedral in the 12th century. That was turned into a TV series too. The follow-up is World Without End, set 200 years later.
    His first book was called The Key to Rebecca, which is a World War Two thriller.
    Lie Down with Lions is another spy novel, this time set in Cold War Afghanistan.
    The Hammer of Eden is about people trying to stop a dam being built in California.
    A Dangerous Fortune starts in the mid 1800s with an accident when a schoolboy drowns. This sets a whole train of events in motion which threatens the whole British economy. https://ken-follett.com/bibliography/a_dangerous_fortune/
    I find them all to be page-turners – he’s great at creating characters and setting up believable situations. I really hope you manage to find some of his other books!

    1. Wow, thank you Sandy! I’ll certainly look for these titles (especially the ones not related to WWII) – it sounds as if I’m going to enjoy myself!
      Thank you!
      Naomi

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