Guest Review: Winter of the World by Ken Follett

Winter of the World by Ken Follett

by Shirley Ayres

Book 2 of the Century Trilogy, Winter of the World is the continuation of the five families and their daily lives in the different parts of the world.  The five main families are still coping with Europe and Russia after World War I, but in this book, their children are in their late teens and early twenties. It is the second generation that has to deal with the historical politics before, during and after World War II. (Time periods: 1933-1949.)

The von Ulrich family -- non-Nazis but who have to deal with the horrors of the Nazis -- stand their ground during the worst of times. The Russian Peshkov family undergo many changes in government, first under the tsar and finally under Stalin. The English and American families are caught up in the horrible battles of World War II.

As usual, Follett’s research is remarkable. The daily lives under the thumbs of tyrants are hard to deal with but real Germans and Russians lived exactly like his characters.