Name: Kristen Savage's review of Fall of Giants by Ken Follett
Item: Fall of Giants
Rating: 4.5
Author: Kristen Savage

Ken Follett

The first in Ken Follett's bestselling Century Trilogy, Fall of Giants is a captivating novel that follows five families through the world-shaking dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for votes for women. A world in chaos. 1911, a thirteen-year-old boy, Billy Williams, begins working down the mines as George V is crowned king. The escalating arms race between the empire nations will put not only the king but this young boy in grave danger. A terrible war. Billy’s family is inextricably linked with the Fitzherberts, the aristocratic owners of the coal mine where he works. And when Maud Fitzherbert falls in love with Walter von Ulrich, a spy at the German embassy in London, their destiny also becomes entangled with that of Gus Dewar, an ambitious young aide to Woodrow Wilson, and two orphaned Russian brothers, the Peshkovs, whose plan to emigrate to America falls foul of conscription, revolution and imminent war. A revolution that will change everything. When Russia convulses in bloody revolution and the Great War unfolds, the five families’ futures are entwined forever, love bringing them closer even as conflict takes them further apart. What seeds will be sown for further tragedy in the twentieth century and what role will each play in what is to come?

Enhanced Edition

Fall of Giants

Natalie Barton

Follows the fates of five interrelated families--American, German, Russian, English, and Welsh--as they move through the dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women's suffrage.

first in the Century trilogy

Fall of giants

Such great storytelling, but that’s expected. I don’t know a lot about WW1, but I knew enough to follow along. I ended up learning SO much about WW1 and the major players. The stories within the history though, are endearing. Boys grow into men who lead their countries fearlessly, all for the ideal of the world they want their children to grow up in, while women struggle for voting equality and for a role that doesn’t limit them to child rearing. People are so strong and beautiful, and a story like this shows it over and over. 

Kristen Savage

Stef Hite

Well ... it's not Pillars of the Earth, so a bit disappointing on that front. One of the things I loved about Pillars - I learned so much about the time period due to Follett's impeccable historical research. The same attention to detail holds true in Fall of Giants, but about a time period that we know much more about (World War I). So the book became more a formulaic experience, a little history, a little character-driven plot ...a little history, a little character-driven plot - wash, rinse, repeat. That being said, it held my interest for the 1000+ pages - so good read. But it's not Pillars.

Ditipriya Acharya

This is my second time reading this book and the story was just as intriguing the second time around. If I could go back in time and give this book to my 14-15 year old self, I would have scored much better marks in my History exams because reading Fall of Giants is like getting a comprehensive lesson on the First World War. And if you think that's boring, you are so so wrong. 

Fall of Giants follows several characters from England, Germany, Russia and America from the years leading upto, what was then called, the Great War through the war itself. It tells the story of how every person was affected- either directly or indirectly- by the violence and upheaval of the war. At the same time, it gives a deeper understanding into the politics involved in the decision-making process that lead to a war none of the countries were prepared for. 

While giving the intricate details of each step that led to entry of the countries into the World War and the strategic decisions made by them in the quest to win, Follett also explores the impact of the war on the society. In the discussion of the suffragette movement, he brilliantly encapsulates changes in the society as women started taking up a bigger role in all the industries which were previously male dominated. There's so much to unpack about this book that I can go on and on. Now, on to the second book in the trilogy that tells the story of World War II from the perspective of the five families.

Jordan

Bit too long and can get a bit dull during some of the more political explanations. And the ending seems abrupt after 985 pages.

Jonathan Tysick

If a history textbook and novel were married, this book would be their child. Incredibly informative and ambitious, this novel delivers on almost all fronts. There is even a satisfying conclusion. The erotic scenes caught me a bit off guard, but other than that, this is an incredible novel told by a master story teller. Looking forward to the second installment of the trilogy.

Wynter

I really, really loved this book at first. But when the Russian Revolution broke out and most of narrative plunged into military campaigns, rather than interaction between favourite characters, I started to count the remaining pages. Nevertheless, this was a substantial, fascinating book, and I will most certainly continue with the series. Follett is an excellent storyteller and his style of writing is easy to absorb, so regardless of the chunky physical attributes of the novel, it was an easy, fast-paced read.

Lara

This is one of my dad’s favorite book and i only read it because he recommended it and i’m so glad i did. It’s romance, it’s history, it’s sad, it’s action, it has everything. That being said it is a little all over the place and slow at times but i still never really felt bored. Seeing how all the characters are connected is so cool and i felt so close to each of them and was rooting so hard for every single one. All the emotions with this one and definitely will read the 2nd and 3rd but i 100% need a break in between this was way too long.

La chute des geants

Candice

Ce livre regroupe vraiment bien les destins entremêlés des 5 familles !! Il y a un autant d’amour, que de drames, que de rebondissement ! Tout cela lié aux événements de la guerre qui montre certains détails selon des points de vues différents :)

The Hissing Saint

I had read about World War in history classes and documentaries and I realise now how woefully inadequate these can be in terms of showcasing reality. While this is still a work of fiction that maps out the lives of ordinary individuals against the backdrop of real world events it still helps you gain a perspective of war, the people who drive it and the ones who ultimately pay the price for it.

Highly recommended!

Xavier Roy

Typical Ken Follett novel. I wonder what the second book would cover.

Melody Izard

Here I go slogging through this awkward writing which bumbles out a marvelous story. Its big and cumbersome and sometimes sloggy, but I'm off through the mines and WWI and the aristocracy and all the mess and glory along the way. I'll see you soon book 2.

Erin Noel

This story, surrounding world war 1, reads like you're unknown to the outcome--anticipating what happens next and when peace will at last come to the fighting nations. If you enjoy diving into war strategy, politics, the shaping of our global culture, and the development of passionate characters, this book is for you. I adored every page of history and interwoven story telling. Can't wait to read book 2.

Annelies Van Rossen

Pro: interesting history, well developed characters, relations between the countries

Con: length of the book, "luck" of the characters

I really enjoyed Fall of Giants. The book shows multiple point of views and multiple nationalities in a chaotic war. Fall of Giants is not only the history told by the winners but shows every side. It shows aristocracy, middle class and poor people, all involved in the same horrible war. The writing style was fluent and made the sometimes very politic topics anything but boring. We feel for the characters and their situations and difficulties. A very strong book with hopefully a strong sequel.

Dorian Avers

The amount of work and research that has to go into one of Follett's novels is astonishingly impressive. If I did continue with one of Follett's trilogies it would probably be "The Pillars of the Earth" and not this one. I don't think I could stand to read about Hitler in the next novel especially after the chilling foreshadowing at the end of this. Still, a great novel with well developed characters that seamlessly blend into history, and only a bit hard to get into in the beginning and end.


* "Little things please little minds" (58).

Danielle H.

Judy Hudgins

Needing a Downton Abbey fix? This is it. Although it is a huge book, it reads like it is only 200 pages.

b.andherbooks

Epic - sometimes a bit overwhelming with the character names/story changes, but can't wait to read more!

Elad Schulman

Let's just say this was a very detailed novel.

La caída de los gigantes

Sonia Flores

Ken Follet ha hecho algo cruelmente impresionante aquí.

Nos ha presentado a sus personajes de una manera que nos ha sido imposible rechazarlos del todo incluso cuando se comportaban como personas terribles. Para el caso solo hubo dos personajes de ese tipo, pero en general nos hizo conocerlos a tal punto que comprendimos sus convicciones tan firmes.
No nos introduce a una guerra en plan partido de fútbol. No hay por qué tomar partido. Porque dejas de ver a los buenos y a los malos. Solo son países cuyas autoridades tomaron ciertas decisiones basadas o no en distintos ideales y circunstancias. Pero a fin de cuentas, conociendo a una familia de cada país involucrado, te empiezas a dar cuenta de que sí, la guerra está mal, pero las personas que participan en ella no tienen por qué estarlo.
Follet nos narra la historia desde antes del estallido de la guerra hasta un poco después de que acaba, contándonos sus repercusiones y cada acontecimiento de una forma tan fiel pero a la vez tan entretenida que no se hace nada pesada la parte de la intrincada política.
Es magnífico. Como hace que antes de la guerra conozcamos a cada personaje y veamos cómo empiezan a entrelazarse sus historias que poco a poco se van deteriorando o fortaleciendo debido a la guerra. Fue casi tenso cada vez que un frente contaba con la participación de un personaje y se enfrentaba con otro que en alguna ocasión había sido su amigo.
Tremendos personajes. Todos tan distintos, tan fieles a su origen y tan justificables porque el autor no se dejó nada por fuera. Cada detalle sumó a la historia veracidad y credibilidad. Personajes fascinantes, fuertes, sorprendentes y realmente entrañables algunos de ellos.
Sí es algo lento de leer (estamos hablando de mil páginas), pero no se hace tan pesado porque Follet logra interesarte por la vida de cada personaje. Por sus luchas, sus sentimientos incluso, sus ideas, creencias y aunque a veces completamente equivocadas, sus motivaciones.
Los personajes más fáciles de calar y con los que conecté más rápido fueron Walter von Ulrich, Grigori Peshkov y Gus Dewar. Sensibles y fuertes a la vez. De los personajes más entrañables de la obra.
Maud, Ethel y Billy. Admirables, fuertes, determinados y sumamente inteligentes. Personajes con muchísimo poder de convicción.
Lev Peshkov y el conde Fitzherbert. Despreciables en cierto punto, pero introducidos a la historia de forma tal que comprendes de dónde viene su manera de vivir, de pensar y de actuar. Tan opuestos los dos, sobre todo su origen. Pero tan parecidos en su egoísmo.
Para habernos hablado de cinco familias con una historia tan detallada, sumando a eso los pormenores de la guerra, incluyendo pre y post guerra. Mil páginas es el número exacto solo si lo sabes hacer tan impecablemente como Ken Follet.

Poco más de un año desde que empecé a leer este libro. Lo había dejado durante seis meses por factor tiempo, pero no podía alargar más la espera. Este libro se convirtió en uno de mis favoritos. Quizá que haya pasado tanto tiempo entre leerlo y no hacerlo hace que le tome cariño, es como si hubiese estado ahí conmigo durante todo este tiempo y finalmente llegamos al final de este tiempo acompañándonos.

Roos Kuijper 

Wat een fantastisch goed geschreven boek. Wat een research heeft Follett gedaan voor zijn boek en wat vind ik dat heerlijk. Als geschiedenis student en aankomend historica kan ik kleine geschiedenis fouten in boeken door de ogen zien, grote fouten worden echter lastig. Maar Follett heeft zich daar totaal niet mee bezig gehouden. Hij heeft verdomd goed zijn research gedaan naar alle plekken die in zijn boek voorkomen. Hoe situaties waren in Engeland, Amerika, Duitsland, Frankrijk en Rusland.
Het verhaal begint op 22 juni 1911, de dag dat George V van Groot-Brittannië werd gekroond tot koning. En het loopt tot januari 1924. Het verhaal volgt verschillende personages, zowel adellijke personen als arbeiders. De arbeidersfamilie Williams uit Wales, de adellijke familie Fitzherbert, de gebroeders Peshkov uit Sint-Petersburg, Walter von Ulrich een Duitser en Gus Dewar die werkt voor de Amerikaanse president. Ondanks dat dit ontzettend veel personages zijn wordt het niet verwarrend. Het blijft duidelijk wie wie is en waar hij thuishoort. Follett is erg goed in hun situatie beschrijven, soms misschien zelfs iets te uitgebreid. Maar toch voelde het bijna nooit als te lang dradig aan. 
Er komen verschillende onderwerpen naar voren in dit boek. Natuurlijk de eerste wereldoorlog, met ook zijn aanloop en hoe de landen ertoe kwamen om tot oorlog te komen. Iets wat veel ingewikkelder ligt dan men denkt, dit heeft Follett enorm knap uitgelegd zonder dat het onbegrijpelijk wordt. Wat ik erg leuk vond om te lezen, waren de stukken van Rusland. De meeste romans worden geschreven vanuit westerse oogpunt, met vooral de loopgravenoorlog, zelfs tijdens colleges gaat het grootste gedeelte daarover. Daardoor weet ik vrij weinig over de kant aan de Duits-Russiche zijde. Erg leuk dus dat Follett deze kant ook heeft beschreven. En ook de Amerikaanse kant van de oorlog, waarom duurde het zo lang voor Amerika zich met de oorlog bemoeide? Dit weet Follett erg goed te plaatsen.
Een ander onderwerp wat naar voren kwam is het vrouwenkiesrecht in Engeland. De lange strijd die vrouwen moesten voeren voor hun rechten. Daarnaast komt ook al minimalistisch de rassenkwestie naar voren. Niet alleen met de Joden, maar ook in Amerika met de scheiding van de blanken en zwarten mensen. Ook al verwacht ik dat dit nog meer naar voren zal komen in boek twee en drie. 
De personages waren allemaal erg goed uitgewerkt. Ze hadden allemaal een eigen karakter met hun eigen gedachtenspinsels. Sommige personages haalden het bloed onder mijn nagels vandaan, met andere leefde ik erg mee. Hij laat de personages zowel goede als slechte gebeurtenissen meemaken, hij houdt het erg realistisch. Follett heeft de tijdsgeest meesterlijk weergegeven. Dit doet hij onder andere doormiddel van graaf Fitzherbert. Als graaf vindt hij zichzelf boven de arbeiders staan en ook is hij geen groot voorstander van vrouwenkiesrecht. Ook de manier waarop officiers, zowel aan de Duitse als de Engelse/Franse kant, met de oorlog en hun mensen omging. Follett geeft daar eigenlijk geen mening over. Door het van verschillende kanten te laten zien, laat hij het aan de lezer over om een oordeel te vormen over de mensen en of ze wel of niet de goede keuze hebben gemaakt. Een ander personages door wie hij de tijdsgeest goed weergeeft is Grigory Peshkov, een Russische arbeider. Hij leeft in armoedige omstandigheden maar door de revolutie kan hij opklimmen, maar zelfs tijdens de revolutie gaat niet alles zoals hij zou willen. En zijn er alsnog veel teleurstellingen.
Al met al heeft Follett een goed werk neergezet. Niet alleen door historisch juist te schrijven maar ook door zijn personages goed uit te werken. Ondanks dat het een erg dik boek is(laat je daardoor niet weerhouden om het te gaan lezen), vloog ik redelijk door het boek heen. En ondanks de vele personages bleef het wel overzichtelijk. Soms was het iets te langdradig maar het boek zit absoluut erg goed in elkaar. Ik ben zeker benieuwd naar de volgende delen, waarvan deel 2 al in mijn bezit is. Ik weet alleen nog niet of ik daar nou gelijk mee begin.

http://sterrenboek.wordpress.com/2015...

La caduta dei giganti

Giulia 

Recensione su Giulia's World

Un'amante della storia non può esimersi dal leggere almeno un libro di Ken Follett. Il suo metodo di scrittura può piacere o meno, ovviamente i gusti son gusti, personalmente amo questo scrittore e non mi stancherò mai di leggere i suoi proverbiali mattoni pieni zeppi di personaggi.
Ovviamente ho patteggiate per alcuni e ho odiato altri, ma questo è il normale corso degli eventi per noi lettori ;). Purtroppo ci sono delle parti morte, soprattutto quando narra prevalentemente della guerra, ma a parte questo ho amato questo romanzo. Grazie ad esso ho scoperto cose che a scuola per mancanza di tempo (o poca preparazione degli insegnati) vengono saltate, essendo fissata con il secolo breve ogni cosa in più che riesco a sapere mi fa sempre piacere *-*.
Che altro dire? Che andrò avanti con la trilogia è scontato ;). Sono curiosa di vedere cosa si inventerà questo vecchio volpone :3

Bryan Alexander

Fall of Giants is historical fiction, focusing on the WWI era through the lens of family saga. Follett sets up Welsh, Russian, German, and American families in their respective social settings, then runs them through the mill of the first World War.

For me the historical pedagogy was more generally interesting than the characters. I enjoyed the way _Fall_ immerses us in moments of choice, without major foreshadowing; this lets us better understand decisions we now know to be unwise. He does a good job, too, of portraying multiple classes and ideologies through these many characters, in 19th-century social novel style. 

At times the historical detail was rich and impressive, as when the novel describes Welsh mining pits or the life of the British upper class, or the existence of prerevolutionary Russian peasants and workers, or the experience of Western front trench warfare. This detail flags at times; the American and Soviet scenes seem relatively thin.

Some of the characters are decently wrought, such as the anticommunist British earl, the one-eyed American anarchist reporter, or the Russian peasant turned soldier turned commissar. Their aspirations and weaknesses appear in some impressive detail, given the novel's huge historical burden. Others remain sketches or placeholders, like the Russian-American Buffalo gangster. Most real-life historical figures are at most cameos.

One further note: _Fall of Giants_ is a very fast book. It sets up scenes and backstories quickly, plunging into action right away. Follett's background as a thriller writer shows clearly. That makes the 900 or so pages fly by.

Follett, in typical fashion, uses a minimalist sort of prose in this work, and lets the story basically speak for itself. The characters are not quite developed to the level of "Pillars", but are compelling nevertheless. It's almost impossible not to compare this to "War and Peace", not in quality, of course, but stylistically. The entire book interweaves the personal stories of its several main characters, jumping back and forth between peace and wartime scenarios. To me, the most interesting facet is the fact that Follett gives each country involved in the War (World War I) a personality of its own, the faults of which combine to produce a temper tantrum on a global scale that eventually causes the war itself. The most artistically brilliant triumph, I think, is the use of historical figures intertwined with the fictional. Overall, a great read. Not brilliant, but great.

Natalie Barton &
Fall of Giants by Ken Follett

Reviews

Join the club

Natalie Barton &Fall of Giants by Ken Follett

Reviews

Join the club

Natalie Barton &
Fall of Giants by Ken Follett