Ken Follet, who wrote the great historical fiction Pillars of the Earth, has returned with another. This story revolves around life prior to and during the first World War and the Russian Revolution from 1911 until 1925. He writes about five different families spread across continents, telling their stories, stories of the working class of the wealthy, all who are affected by the war. The details in terms of what was occurring in the war, the battles, parliaments is accurate; the characters on the scene during these events are fictional. He worked with historians to piece together the details of the coming of the war and revolution and how they all intertwine.
I have never been a big history person..I desire to know it, yet I have a hard time really engaging or remembering events. So this book has been great for me...learning more about the first world war and events leading up to it and how things played out, while also being entertained. There are the usual forbidden romances and personal struggles. And his character development is up to par and as usual he brilliantly meshes these families from five different areas' lives together.
It is a doozie: around 1000 pages and I am over half way finished and enjoying every minute. It is the first of a trilogy, so there is more to come. The next two novels will cover World War II and the Cold War.
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