As a young author, beginning some three decades, ago he
wrote suspense/thrillers. Although not a big fan of that genre, I liked Eye Of
The Needle, The Man From St. Petersburg and Lie Down With Lions. Then, in 1989,
he wrote something completely different. It was Pillars Of The Earth, a
wonderful story of love and devotion surrounding the building of a cathedral in
the early Middle Ages. That novel of historical fiction remains, to this day,
as one of my all time favorites.
I write, of course, of Welsh author Ken Follet, who’s
historical novel, Fall of Giants, I just reread.
It is the first novel in The Century Trilogy, and follows
the fates of five interrelated families-American, German, Russian, English, and
Welsh, as they move through the world-shaking events of the First World War,
the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women's suffrage.
So what did I think of the series? It’s well done on the vast
scale of historical events. The cast of characters, ranging from the real to
the imagined, keeps you interested. Follett always tells good stories. Still, it's not War and Peace nor Pillars
of the Earth. This somewhat lesser interest for me is fairly easy to explain . In
Pillars I knew little about life in the twelfth century and even less about
building a cathedral. The history in those two books, as well as the characters
was quite fascinating. That combination was not quite there for me in Fall of Giants.
The history of WWI and the countries involved were well known to me. And, of
course, to Follets specialty is always the tale which pulls you along rather than the depth of characterization. He weaves the tapestry of people and events together extremely
well.
In many ways this book reminded me a good deal of another
authors great historical novels. That would be Herman Wouk, whose best sellers
set in World War II, Winds of War & War and War and Remembrance, had the
same format.
As a history teacher, I like to see good history accurately
portrayed in an engaging story. If that’s your cup of tea, I’d recommend it
The Century Trilogy most wholeheartedly......
