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jmdaly95's review against another edition
4.0
The second volume of The Century Trilogy was just as readable of as the first moving from the aftershocks of the First World War and into the Second. I was a little disappointed in spending less time with some of the established character that I loved from the first but overall I enjoyed it as much.
aejohnson85's review against another edition
3.0
Winter of the World is the second in Ken Follett's Century Trilogy, which follows the same families we met in Fall of Giants. This time, the younger generation contend with the events leading up to, during, and after World War II.
Follett does a great job of weaving historical fact into the story, with the characters being witness to many historical events and characters - the reader is required to suspend belief a bit when it comes to this...for instance, Woody (the American) and his family go to visit his naval officer brother, Chuck, in Hawaii...in December 1941 - which of course means they are involved in Pearl Harbor! Perhaps a bit much to believe that his family would just happen to be there, but nonetheless, a very important and well written section of the novel!
I was a bit disappointed with the characters in this one...I didn't find myself as drawn to them, as to the elder generation of Fall of Giants. That being said, I did quite enjoy Lloyd (Ethel and Fitz's son), Carla (Maude and Walter's daughter) and surprisingly, Daisy (Lev's American daughter) - her British sections were great once she started maturing from the obnoxious socialite she was in Buffalo.
My other disappointment was that the story focused more on the spy aspect of WWII. I would have liked to see more from the battlefront and the homefront - Carla's sections on what the war was like in Germany was great, as was what little we saw of Daisy as an ambulance driver. I've always been interested in the homefront and was a bit sad to see so much was focused on espionage (which I admit I know little about in WWII).
Follett chose to focus on a large chunk of time with a large cast of characters. This worked well in the first of the series and was adequate in this outing, however, it was often quite a few years before we were able to "check back in" with some of the characters, which meant that the reader missed things like weddings, births of children, promotions, etc. I wish more of that could have been elaborated on, but with the book already at 900+ pages, I understand why Follett had to choose certain sections to omit!!
I look forward to reading the third in the series to see how the Cold War treats this group of families (although looks like it will be released in 2014, so I do have quite a bit to wait)!
Follett does a great job of weaving historical fact into the story, with the characters being witness to many historical events and characters - the reader is required to suspend belief a bit when it comes to this...for instance, Woody (the American) and his family go to visit his naval officer brother, Chuck, in Hawaii...in December 1941 - which of course means they are involved in Pearl Harbor! Perhaps a bit much to believe that his family would just happen to be there, but nonetheless, a very important and well written section of the novel!
I was a bit disappointed with the characters in this one...I didn't find myself as drawn to them, as to the elder generation of Fall of Giants. That being said, I did quite enjoy Lloyd (Ethel and Fitz's son), Carla (Maude and Walter's daughter) and surprisingly, Daisy (Lev's American daughter) - her British sections were great once she started maturing from the obnoxious socialite she was in Buffalo.
My other disappointment was that the story focused more on the spy aspect of WWII. I would have liked to see more from the battlefront and the homefront - Carla's sections on what the war was like in Germany was great, as was what little we saw of Daisy as an ambulance driver. I've always been interested in the homefront and was a bit sad to see so much was focused on espionage (which I admit I know little about in WWII).
Follett chose to focus on a large chunk of time with a large cast of characters. This worked well in the first of the series and was adequate in this outing, however, it was often quite a few years before we were able to "check back in" with some of the characters, which meant that the reader missed things like weddings, births of children, promotions, etc. I wish more of that could have been elaborated on, but with the book already at 900+ pages, I understand why Follett had to choose certain sections to omit!!
I look forward to reading the third in the series to see how the Cold War treats this group of families (although looks like it will be released in 2014, so I do have quite a bit to wait)!
sofi0518's review against another edition
4.0
Great book. Simple writing but gripping story. Can't wait for the last in the trilogy.
belou's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Genocide, Infertility, Forced institutionalization, Abortion, and Alcohol
Minor: Homophobia and Abortion
ecdereus's review against another edition
4.0
Een spannend en boeiend tweede deel van deze trilogie.
Het speelt van 1933 tot eind 1949: de opkomst van het nationaalsocialisme in Duitsland, de Spaanse burgeroorlog, de aanloop naar en het verloop van de Tweede Wereldoorlog inclusief de aanval op Pearl Harbour door het Japanse leger en de ontwikkeling van de nucleaire bom (die uiteindelijk het einde inluidde van deze catastrofale oorlog), en de eerste jaren na de oorlog met in Duitsland enerzijds het oosten overheerst door de Russen en anderzijds het westen, gesteund door de geallieerden met hun Marshallplan.
In deze tumultueuze tijd volgen de weer dezelfde families, maar ditmaal voornamelijk de volgende generatie, in Engeland en Wales, Duitsland, Rusland en de VS, waardoor een aantal belangrijke gebeurtenissen uit dat tijdvak door verschillende brillen worden belicht.
Het speelt van 1933 tot eind 1949: de opkomst van het nationaalsocialisme in Duitsland, de Spaanse burgeroorlog, de aanloop naar en het verloop van de Tweede Wereldoorlog inclusief de aanval op Pearl Harbour door het Japanse leger en de ontwikkeling van de nucleaire bom (die uiteindelijk het einde inluidde van deze catastrofale oorlog), en de eerste jaren na de oorlog met in Duitsland enerzijds het oosten overheerst door de Russen en anderzijds het westen, gesteund door de geallieerden met hun Marshallplan.
In deze tumultueuze tijd volgen de weer dezelfde families, maar ditmaal voornamelijk de volgende generatie, in Engeland en Wales, Duitsland, Rusland en de VS, waardoor een aantal belangrijke gebeurtenissen uit dat tijdvak door verschillende brillen worden belicht.
randalena's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
marie_le_tapis's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
J'adore suivre les différents personnages et le fait qu'on en retrouve plusieurs du tome 1, mais surtout que leurs vies soient intimement liées sans même qu'ils ne le sachent. Seuls l'auteur et les lecteurs sont dans la confidence.
C'est bien sûr la signature de Ken Follett, mais je trouve ça génial d'avoir l'histoire comme nous la connaissons mais aussi le point de vue géo/politique qu'ils avaient à l'époque bref. 10/10
mepresley's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I really enjoyed the second novel in the Century Trilogy and I'm not sure I can put my finger on why it fell short of Fall of Giants for me. I think perhaps I was less drawn to this group of characters than the original cast and / or the conceit of jumping from one major historical event to another using a character perspective (for example, the Dewars being present at the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, Chuck at the Battle of Midway, Greg spying on the Manhattan Project & watching the first nuclear bomb test, Woody parachuting into Normandy on D-Day, Carla being in a camp when the Soviets "liberated" it, etc.) and all our major players being connected in an unlikely web got a little stale.
Still, I learned as much from Winter of the World as I did from Fall of Giants, and I was emotionally invested. I was especially devastated by the scene where Dr. Hermann decides to go with the psychiatric patients being taken by the Nazis and the scene where Eddie speaks to Rosa & Woody about Chuck's death.
The action takes place between 1933 and 1949, and the main characters are the same families from Fall of Giants, but with the central focus on the OG characters' children: Carla and Erik (Maud & Walter); Boy (Fitz & Bea); Lloyd (Fitz / Bernie & Ethel); Werner & Frieda (Walter's would-be fiancée from Fall of Giants, Monika & her husband, Lugwig Franck); Daisy (Lev & Olga); Greg (Lev & his mistress Marga); Volodya (Lev/ Grigori & Katerina); Woody & Chuck (Gus & Rosa).
I really loved Daisy's plot line and the character growth we saw from her. I absolutely loved to hate Boy, who was a chip off the old block for Fitz. I also looked forward to sections in Greg's POV because he remained such a morally grey character. Erik perhaps falls into that morally grey category--or perhaps he falls more on the dark side, though short of Macke level--but he just annoyed me with his inability to think critically about anything, ever. Unfortunately, he's probably the most realistic character. Honorable mention to Volodya, whose chapters presented a lot of the non-battlefield action / tension and whose slowly dawning realizations about Communism were compelling, albeit a clear echo of Grigori's own journey in Fall of Giants, which appears here to have come to nothing.
I sometimes found Woody, Werner, and Lloyd too interchangeable in terms of their personalities: intelligent, politically savvy/ liberal, brave, guided by a clear moral compass. I don't think that this impression was helped any by the parallel course of their romances--Woody and Lloyd's apparently doomed obsessions with Joanne and Daisy turned true love after a long span of pining; Werner & Carla's budding relationship put on hold for two years by his secret spy work & then again when he is called into active service in defense of Germany .
Still, I learned as much from Winter of the World as I did from Fall of Giants, and I was emotionally invested. I was especially devastated by
The action takes place between 1933 and 1949, and the main characters are the same families from Fall of Giants, but with the central focus on the OG characters' children: Carla and Erik (Maud & Walter); Boy (Fitz & Bea); Lloyd (Fitz / Bernie & Ethel); Werner & Frieda (Walter's would-be fiancée from Fall of Giants, Monika & her husband, Lugwig Franck); Daisy (Lev & Olga); Greg (Lev & his mistress Marga); Volodya (Lev/ Grigori & Katerina); Woody & Chuck (Gus & Rosa).
I really loved Daisy's
I sometimes found Woody, Werner, and Lloyd
timcooper99's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0