Fall of Giants - Ken Follett
Fall of Giants is the first installment of the Century, a trilogy dealing with the political and social changes that happened worldwide during the twentieth century. It is written by Ken Follett, an author whose books I usually don't enjoy. They merely keep me entertained when I'm too busy. The exception to that rule was The Pillars of the Earth, the only historical fiction book I've read by him. As Fall of Giants is also a historical fiction novel, I thought they would be somewhat similar. I realized my mistake in the first two chapters of the book: this book follows the usual Follett style - sloppy writing, excessively simplified overarching plot, tedious love scenes and a million pages to tell something that could have been easily told in half those pages. No, really, World War One didn't start until page three hundred something. Gladly, both World Wars interest me so much that I went on reading this huge tome. And that is good because the hardcover was expensive.
The Good: this is a wonderful fictionalized history book. If you want to learn more about the twentieth century and how the rigid European absolutist monarchies gave way to the civilized democracies we enjoy nowadays, Fall of Giants is truly informative. It gives a general idea of what happened during the first quarter of the century, further exploring the most important and world-shaping events from several points of view, in a more entertaining style than an actual textbook or many non-fiction books.
The Bad: although the cast of characters is the strength of the novel (several points of view), it is also what worsens the book. Let's face the truth - Follett can't handle a vast array of characters. He tries to interweave their lives so many times throughout the thousand pages of the novel that the result is ridiculous and completely unbelievable. He also has to simplify them too much, so that they can fit better inside the plotline. It broke my heart when I realized that I had started reading about full-fleshed, three-dimensional characters and ended up with mere caricatures. This is the opposite of developing characters.
Also, falling in love and love scenes. Follett should stay away from that kind of relationships (in literature, that is), because they were poorly written and came out of the blue, interrupting the plot.
The Good: this is a wonderful fictionalized history book. If you want to learn more about the twentieth century and how the rigid European absolutist monarchies gave way to the civilized democracies we enjoy nowadays, Fall of Giants is truly informative. It gives a general idea of what happened during the first quarter of the century, further exploring the most important and world-shaping events from several points of view, in a more entertaining style than an actual textbook or many non-fiction books.
The Bad: although the cast of characters is the strength of the novel (several points of view), it is also what worsens the book. Let's face the truth - Follett can't handle a vast array of characters. He tries to interweave their lives so many times throughout the thousand pages of the novel that the result is ridiculous and completely unbelievable. He also has to simplify them too much, so that they can fit better inside the plotline. It broke my heart when I realized that I had started reading about full-fleshed, three-dimensional characters and ended up with mere caricatures. This is the opposite of developing characters.
Also, falling in love and love scenes. Follett should stay away from that kind of relationships (in literature, that is), because they were poorly written and came out of the blue, interrupting the plot.
- A book with a number in the title: Three Italian Chronicles by Stendhal
- A book with jewelry or a gem in the title: Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
- A book with a size in the title: Fall of Giants by Ken Follett
- A book with travel or movement in the title: If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino
- A book with evil in the title: The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
- A book with a life stage in the title: The Child of the Cavern by Jules Verne