Book One of the Century Trilogy

Ah, Ken Follett. Writer of decent spy books, and sweeping historic epic novels. I have no idea how he gets these things done, they’re so bloody huge.

So, this is the first of what Follett is calling the “Century Trilogy.” It follows five families through the 20th century, this book covers 1911 through 1924. We’ve got World War I, the Russian Revolution, women’s suffrage, mining strikes, and also just general life stuff like unwed mothers, gays, and religion.

The families come from Wales (the poor, mining Williams clan, and the wealthy (en)titled Fitzherberts), Russia (Lord Fitzherbert’s “princess” wife, and the very poor Peshkovs), Germany, Austria, and the United States (I’m sure I’m forgetting someone). They’re all interrelated in some way, and everyone crosses paths repeatedly. There’s love, betrayal, murder, all the great stuff that makes for a sweeping epic.

There’s also some good history lessons in here, Follett tries to make sense of the start of WWI, and plops all of the characters in the middle of the action. At the end, we see the devastation of war, and what effect the war, the revolution, and the aftermath of reparations had on the entire world.