beanjoles's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Factually and historically, it's an informative and interesting book. I enjoyed learning about the lives of everyday people during this time period, particularly that of the German resistance. And I'm actually glad Follett didn't attempt to write heavily about or from the perspective of someone in a concentration camp — it would have been hard for him to do respectfully yet realistically.
That's actually my primary criticism of this book: lack of respectful and realistic representation. Having read the entire Kingsbridge series and now two of the Century of Giants trilogy, I am simply BEGGING Ken to learn how to write a woman character. I cannot describe how irritated I was reading about Carla's experience
Ken's treatment of queer people is better, although
I remain baffled that Ken has been married multiple times to women, because the sex scenes always feel so weird. This criticism applies for all his previous books that I've read, and I'm unsure how he's managed to never improve them over the years. I guess when the books sell, why bother. The descriptions of bodies and acts can feel a bit schoolboyish. Why do I need to know the size of each woman character's bush and breasts? The male characters never get this treatment. (Not that I want them to!)
I think this all boils down to Ken's inherent difficulty relating with the female characters he writes. To his credit, he does try to have them engage with the feminism topics du jour, and sometimes he achieves meaningful commentary and true-to-life reactions. But (many) other times his writing resembles that tongue-in-cheek meme about Cassandra "breasting boobily to the stairs." It's a real weakness for all of his work, and Winter of the World represented a particular low for me. I get the impression that Ken thinks making a woman character smart and strong makes up for being unable to meaningfully write about their motivations and emotional landscapes. That approach rarely pays off, and despite their intricacy and historical value, his books are worse off for it.
I'll continue on in the series because for me, the historically-grounded and well-researched stories are still worthwhile. But I could really do without the sophomoric romances between shallow characters. Here's hoping the next one is less cringe in that department.
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Genocide, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, War, Police brutality, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Abortion
Heaviest possible content warning possible for rape. This is not a triggering topic I'm particularly sensitive to, but I was still a bit nauseated by the writing.morsa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Medical content, Misogyny, Police brutality, Sexual content, Torture, Blood, Body horror, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, War, Vomit, Antisemitism, and Death of parent
Moderate: Ableism, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Classism, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abortion, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Child death
leahisdudish's review against another edition
3.0
also the way of writes about boobs gives me the ick. if you borrow my copy you will see REALLY KEN written next to every boob reference
Graphic: Violence, Racism, Antisemitism, War, Sexual violence, Death, and Rape
ricksilva's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
As with the first volume in the series, Follett does a great job with the historical details, and he continues to be very clever in his ability to bring characters together from different backgrounds and to place them in the midst of historical events.
The soap-opera elements include some good drama and some interesting plot twists, although a few of the instances of star-crossed lovers begin to feel a bit repetitive. Still, there is enough variety to keep things engaging.
The horrors of the war are certainly not glossed over, although different characters experience them in different ways. There is a lot of war violence, and frequent references to torture, and I did find a particularly horrifying rape scene late in the story to be questionable in terms of plot necessity while it followed some tropes that are better left by the wayside.
I think the character arcs in this story didn't quite live up to those of the first book, but this story made up for that with more surprises, and a more global scope of events.
Graphic: War, Violence, Sexual violence, Rape, and Torture
motivationsloch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Murder, Miscarriage, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, War, Violence, Slavery, and Rape
Moderate: Torture, Outing, and Infertility
Minor: Abortion and Suicide
lunaliz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Homophobia, and Antisemitism
ditiacharya's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, Torture, Sexual violence, Rape, Miscarriage, Hate crime, and Genocide
Minor: Abortion