Ken Follett

Winter of the world

Christine

it was good, although the only storyline that completely drew me in was the one involving Carla.

Winter of the World is the second novel in Ken Follett's uniquely ambitious and deeply satisfying Century trilogy. On its own or read in sequence with Fall of Giants and Edge of Eternity, this is a magnificent, spellbinding epic of global conflict and personal drama. A BATTLE OF IDEALS 1933, and at Cambridge, Lloyd Williams is drawn to irresistible socialite Daisy Peshkov, who represents everything that his left-wing family despise, but Daisy is more interested in aristocratic Boy Fitzherbert, a leading light of the British Union of Fascists. AN EVIL UPRISING Berlin is in turmoil. Eleven-year-old Carla von Ulrich struggles to understand the tensions disrupting her family as Hitler strengthens his grip on Germany. Many are resolved to oppose Hitler’s brutal regime – but are they willing to betray their country? A GLOBAL CONFLICT ON A SCALE NEVER SEEN BEFORE Shaken by the tyranny and the prospect of war, five interconnected families’ lives become ever more enmeshed. An international clash of military power and personal beliefs is sweeping the world, but what will this new war mean for those who must live through it?

Winter of the World

Jonathan Tysick

Perhaps even better than Fall of Giants, this book brilliantly and tragically humanizes the events of the world in the 1930's-40's. Looking forward to the final installment of the trilogy.

Melody Izard

Ah, people. This book describes things that are happening right now. Scares the pants off me.

Alyssa Jacunski

Two years after reading Fall of Giants, I finally picked this book up and took it with me on vacation. If you've ever seen these books, you'll know that they're each right around 1,000 pages and are no joke. But let me tell you, it's doesn't feel as long as it looks and I truly didn't want it to end.

This is an epic tale set from the late 1920's / early 1930's through the late 1940's. We follow five interconnected families (primarily the children of characters from Fall of Giants) all across the world. We see the rise of Hitler and the Nazi party and the aftermath of the war. 

It truly is an epic tale. The beginning started a little slow, but there needs to be some setup to start us off. The book is constantly changing perspectives, so you never find yourself bored with what's happening. After spending so much time with the characters, I don't even think I have a favorite. It's that stellar. 

There are a lot of trigger warnings that happen in this book; from rape to loss of a loved one and a lot more in between. With that, tread cautiously but give a Ken Follett book a try!

Disclaimer: I only got a hundred pages through the book before I had to put it down. That's something I don't do often, but life's too short for bad books. 

I used to be a huge fan of Follett. I read everything he wrote (his early stuff was mostly spy novels written with a literary flair), and when I came across Pillars of the Earth in my early 20s, I fell in love with Follett's characters. The prose was always simple, but the story was sweeping, and the characters were incredible. 

I'm not sure what happened, whether my tastes as a reader have evolved or Follett succumbed to the pressure of dumbing down the book to appeal to a wider audience. Probably a bit of both. 

It can't be too much of the latter, though, because I enjoyed the first of this trilogy. Winter, though, is just too much. Everything is spelled out, nothing is left to the reader, and the dialogue is wholly unbelievable. It's as if Follett is trying to explain World War II to a fifth-grader.

Linus Stieldorf

Andrew

Abbe Castillo

Cecilie Spangsberg

Alan

Kate Lillie

Kylie Frazer

Courtney Burge

Pablo Porto

John Lee

Book Two of the Century Trilogy

Lacy Clagg

Tiffany LeMasters

Keven Wang

marc

Luis Redondo Cañada 

Fran Lewis

Sara Nilsson

Laurie-Pier Vezina

Five linked families live out their destinies as the world is shaken by tyranny and war in the mid-twentieth century. Berlin in 1933 is in upheaval. Eleven-year-old Carla von Ulrich struggles to understand the tensions disrupting her family as Hitler strengthens his grip on Germany. Into this turmoil steps her mother's formidable friend and former British MP, Ethel Leckwith, and her student son, Lloyd, who soon learns for himself the brutal reality of Nazism. He also encounters a group of Germans resolved to oppose Hitler - but are they willing to go so far as to betray their country? Such people are closely watched by Volodya, a Russian with a bright future in Red Army Intelligence. The international clash of military power and personal beliefs that ensues will sweep over them all as it rages from Cable Street in London's East End to Pearl Harbour in Hawaii, from Spain to Stalingrad, from Dresden to Hiroshima. At Cambridge Lloyd is irresistibly drawn to dazzling American socialite Daisy Peshkov, who represents everything his left-wing family despise. But Daisy is more interested in aristocratic Boy Fitzherbert - amateur pilot, party lover and leading light of the British Union of Fascists. Back in Berlin, Carla worships golden boy Werner from afar. But nothing will work out the way they expect as their lives and the hopes of the world are smashed by the greatest and cruellest war in the history of the human race.

Winter of the world

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