Read 14 382 reviews from the world's largest community for r… I am thoroughly enjoying Ken Follett’s the Century Trilogy and totally unable to put it down. Kirkus Reviews Another plumpish thriller from the Follett … You must have a goodreads account to vote. I enjoyed the Harry Potter series of course, as well as The Hunger Games. This may be true; unfortunately, he also fails to flesh them out. It reached number one on bestseller lists around the world and was an Oprah’s Book … The book had some good qualities but eventually I had to quit for reasons mentioned in this review. ★★★★ (of 5) Full Title: The Evening And The Morning Author: Ken Follett Pages: 913 Year: 2020 Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Viking (Penguin Random House) ISBN 978-0-525-95498-9 (first edition hardcover) Author’s Wikipedia page Intro. There WAS a lot of gross stuff in it that hasn’t aged well, and I doubt I would reread this book now; but it’s sad to think that this book, which at the time I thought was the ne plus ultra of … As themes go, it’s not a bad one. Meanwhile, up top — Upstairs, as it were, to the miners’ Downstairs — the local toffs, the Fitzherberts, are hosting a banquet at their stately country home, which was built on the labors of the miners below. Follett is of the old school of didactic novelists, combining a boisterous tale with an uplifting lesson in history and civics. The latest Ken Follett adaptation is a glorious pageant of murder and medical abuse ... Charlotte Higgins on culture Anne Fine scores a perfect pen in Follett's book. . Churchill has a brief role as an acerbic guest at a country home, where the king and queen are also guests on another occasion. Ken Follett Biography: Born in Cardiff, Wales on June 5, 1949 Ken Follett is Welch thriller and historical-fiction writer. Look out for Ken's newest book, A Column of Fire, available now. Look out for Ken's newest book, … As a child, Follett’s strict and religious parents barred him and his three siblings from watching movies or television. Ethel quits her job, accepts a discreet settlement from the earl and moves to London with the child. ★★★★ (of 5) Full Title: The Evening And The Morning Author: Ken Follett Pages: 913 Year: 2020 Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Viking (Penguin Random House) ISBN 978-0-525-95498-9 (first edition hardcover) Author’s Wikipedia page Intro. I remember the characters fondly to this day and the building of the Kingsbridge Cathedral. I did read the reviews of this book, and they … Follett ably evokes the everyday minutiae of an impoverished village: “All the miners had a tin ‘snap.’ If they took food underground wrapped in a rag, the mice would eat it before the midmorning break. In this huge panorama, empires rise and fall, wars break out and characters of varying social backgrounds live mostly happy or mostly unhappy lives — mostly happy, more often than not, because Follett is an optimist, and firmly on the side of the good guys. Ken Follett is known worldwide as the master of split-second suspense, but his most beloved and bestselling book tells the magnificent tale of a twelfth-century monk driven to do the seemingly impossible: build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has ever known. Follett (Edge of Eternity, 2014, etc.) . *** 4 *** Ken Follett is not the best writer. The novel opens in the underworld of the Welsh mining country in 1911, with an account of young Billy Williams’s first day down the mine, following in the footsteps of his forebears. Let Us Help You Pick Your Next Book You can opt out of non-essential cookies here whenever you wish. The Pillars of the Earth book. Ken Follett’s The Key to Rebecca took readers and critics by storm when first published more than twenty years ago. They learned that Catholics burned Protestants at the stake, and it came as a shock if they ever found out that Protestants did the same to Catholics whenever they got the chance.”. This is high-octane storytelling, all the more powerful because the story it tells is, mostly, true. Lloyd George and Lenin step onstage once or twice, the former a roguish ladies’ man, the latter a humorless megalomaniac — accurate depictions, to go by historical accounts. Ken Follett’s The Key to Rebecca took readers and critics by storm when first published more than twenty years ago. See how this article appeared when it was originally published on NYTimes.com. Kenneth Martin Follett, CBE, is a Welsh New York Times Best Selling author of thrillers and historical novels. It’s been 30 years since the publication of The Pillars of the Earth, Welsh author Ken Follett’s enormously beloved novel about the building of a Gothic cathedral, and the publication of its … They are attractive and sympathetic protagonists, and more’s the pity they’re stuck in the 11th century. Overall, Follett is masterly in conveying so much drama and historical information so vividly. December 11, 2020 by Norbert Haupt. Add to bookshelf ; FICTION The three books are based on what happened in world history between the years of 1911 and 2008. Review: Ken Follett: Fall Of Giants THE first alarm bell rang when I watched one of two DVDs included in the lavish press pack for Ken Follett’s latest novel. Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes. little blinis with caviar and cream, triangles of toast and smoked fish, crackers with soused herring, all washed down with the Perrier-Jouët 1892 Champagne.”. I’m never disappointed when I read a Ken Follett book. Today, it remains one of the best espionage novels ever written. It also gives the author free rein to broadcast his own indignation through his characters, sometimes to vivifying effect: “He was narrow-minded, outdated and deaf to reason,” one character thinks of his father, “and he persisted in these faults with a kind of gleeful obstinacy that Walter found repellent. As for the occasional cliché — well, unless you’re Tolstoy, you’re not going to have the time or the ability to be original throughout your 1,000-page blockbuster. A survey of the storied history of Notre-Dame Cathedral, a victim of a devastating fire in April 2019. This unusual idea is carried off with the kind of galvanic skill that was the hallmark of Follett's early books, and Flick is a memorable, complex heroine. He prefers to save history’s horrors for the villains, who are frequently humiliated in satisfying ways. The Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge, #1), Winter of the World (The Century Trilogy #2), Edge of Eternity (The Century Trilogy, #3), A Place Called Freedom/ The Modigliani Scandal, The Key to Rebecca / The Man from St Petersburg, Ken Follett Unabridged CD Collection: Lie Down with Lions, Eye of the Needle, Triple, Reader's Digest Condensed Books 2003 - Hornet Flight, Year Of Wonders, The Analyst, Unscathed, Los pilares de la tierra I (Parte 1 de 3), Os Pilares da Terra, Volume II (Os Pilares da Terra, #1), Trilogía The Century: La caída de los gigantes / El invierno del mundo / El umbral de la eternidad, Ken Follett World War II Thriller Collection, Ken Follett's Thundering Good Thrillers: Eye of the Needle / Hornet Flight / Jackdaws, Pillars of the Almighty: A Celebration of Cathedrals, Los pilares de la tierra III (Parte 3 de 3), Крахът на титаните. Dear Ken Follett, I started reading this, your historical saga set in twelfth-century England, because a friend of mine has been mentioning it for years as her favorite book by one of her favorite authors. (Трилогия "XX-век", #1), Der Mann aus Sankt Petersburg / Die Löwen, Крахът на титаните. But carry it forward they do, unflaggingly. Book Review: Agent of Time – by Nathan Van Coops » Book Review: The Evening and the Morning – by Ken Follett. Equally annoying is Follett’s reliance on potboiler shorthand to convey mood: “Her eyes flashed with fury”; “General Galliéni’s eyes glittered behind his pince-nez.” Eyes smolder, twinkle and glow; plug in the appropriate emotions, as needed. This is the book’s main theme: the superiority of broad-mindedness and liberal thinking over unthinking adherence to the old ways, especially those exemplified by the decadent aristocracy. Consequently, Follett developed an early affinity to reading that carried throughout his teenage years. Young Billy’s sister, Ethel, is a housekeeper in the Fitzherberts’ mansion, in thrall to the magnetism of the earl until that man, out of social necessity and misplaced amour-propre, refuses to acknowledge paternity of the son he has with her. Subsequently, she and Billy and other characters oppressed by the class system seek liberation in the heady atmosphere of the progressive politics of the day. . In "The Evening and the Morning," the writer takes readers to the Dark Ages. Ken Follett is no Tolstoy, but he is a tireless storyteller, and although his tale has flaws, it’s grippingly told, and readable to the end. Their fare, unsurprisingly, is somewhat more lavish: “The menu began with hors d’oeuvres Russes, . Follett’s command of the vast forces he unleashes is as impressive as the battle strategies of his generals, and in many cases more so. Neither they nor the novel’s lesser characters come across as much more than convenient vessels of exposition to carry the story forward. The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett is an excellent historical fiction and addition to the Kingsbridge series. We get just enough to render them more than mere caricatures but something less than real people. Ken Follett is one of the world’s best-loved authors, selling more than 170 million copies of his 32 books. In between, various upheavals remake the world, affording plenty of scope for action, and Follett takes full advantage of this opportunity. "Ken Follett has done it once more . There have only been a few trilogies or book series that I have found intriguing. Indeed, in an afterword, Follett says he never attributes inaccurate or unconfirmed characteristics to his real-life characters, or puts them where they could never be. Ken Follett is no Tolstoy, but he is a tireless storyteller, and although his tale has flaws, it’s grippingly told, and readable to the end. The British novelist Ken Follett’s two-part medieval epic, “The Pillars of the Earth” (now a TV miniseries) and “World Without End,” teemed with oppressed peasants, bloodthirsty warlords and lusty wassailers. In this short fascinating book, Ken Follett describes what he went through when he learned about the fire, and talks extensively about the cathedral, from its construction to the pivotal role it has played in … Книга І. Част ІІ. Born in Cardiff, he studied philosophy at the University College London where he graduated with honours in 1970. Browse by Genre. Read 32 058 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. The consequence of his foolishness, and the foolishness of his generation in all European countries, was the slaughter of the Somme. This installment is a prequel to the current books at the books sets the … Ken Follett books in order. Still, these are small blots on a vast landscape. That is the latest book of The Century Trilogy and it has also been … And I really loved Ken Follett’s brilliant … goes down with the ease and impact of a well-prepared martini." Walter could not forgive that.”. Fiction Thriller & Suspense Mystery & Detective Romance. View All. Whilst it might not be the lightest of reads, what with its 1076 pages, Follett’s historical tale is a definite page turner that will have readers unable to put the book … by. That works well. Let Us Help You Pick Your Next Book The Russian brothers Lev and Grigori, downtrodden metalworkers, follow their divergent destinies through an ingenious series of missteps, lucky breaks and the intervention of history (and Follett). They don't come … It lacks subtlety, but it provides dramatic conflict and an easy story line to follow, and it’s a shortcut to engaging the modern reader’s sympathy. A survey of the storied history of Notre-Dame Cathedral, a victim of a devastating fire in April 2019. Taken both individually and together, the Kingsbridge books … Science Fiction & Fantasy Nonfiction ... Books by Ken Follett. A flying buttress of a book, continuing the hefty Kingsbridge saga historical novelist Follett began with Pillars of the Earth (1989) and World Without End (2007).. It’s not that Follett’s been slacking between books: he’s been working away at the Century Trilogy, set centuries later, and otherwise building on the legacy of high-minded potboilers he began with Eye of the Needle (1978). It is the year 997 in England, the end of the Dark Ages. No matter which type of book you read, you can expect excellent writing, well developed characters, … Some of these cookies are essential to make our site work and others help to give us insight into how the site is being used. ), this time featuring a sort of distaff dirty (half) dozen. . Fall of Giants book. Readers may guess the ending well before Page 900—yes, it’s that long—but Follett is a powerful storyteller who will hold their attention anyway. View All. (Трилогия "XX-век", #1), Nacht über den Wassern / Ärztin unter Anklage / Im Zeichen des Bären / Eine höllische Partie, Rob večnosti, 1. del (Trilogija Stoletje, #3), Three Blind Mice: Deportation without Justice, Der Schlüssel zu Rebecca / Ein Hund für einen Sommer / Der Geheimpatient / Spiel im Morgengrauen, Rob večnosti, 2. del (Trilogija Stoletje, #3). The three books are based on what happened in world history between the years of 1911 and 2008. Meanwhile, Lenin prepares to return to Russia from his Swiss exile — smuggled, in Churchill’s words, “like a plague bacillus” across Germany in a sealed railroad car — with the connivance of the German authorities, who want nothing more than to see the Reds take over and Russia knocked out of the war. Apart from the destinies of the monarchs, we follow the intertwined fates of five families, rich and poor, in Wales, England, Germany, Russia and America: a Welsh coal miner and his suffragist sister; an arrogant English earl who is their nemesis; two orphaned Russian brothers, one a scoundrel, one a working-class hero; a pair of star-crossed lovers, she sister of the British earl, he son of a Prussian nobleman, divided by war; an ambitious young diplomat from Buffalo, whose path crosses those of the Russian scoundrel, the English earl, the earl’s sister, her German lover and President Woodrow Wilson; and so on. Ken Follett is no Tolstoy, but he is a tireless storyteller, and although his tale has flaws, it’s grippingly told, and readable to the end. Follett's … Fiction Thriller & Suspense Mystery & Detective Romance. But amid all the bustle a few infelicities sneak past the authorial or editorial radar. I recently read Follett’s The Pillars Of The Earth and had decided to read its two sequels but then heard he’d just released a fourth book … Is there an editor in the house? In 1989, THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH was published and has since become Follett’s most popular novel. Kirkus Reviews Another plumpish thriller from the Follett factory (Code Zero, 2000, etc. For instance, we learn that a particularly nasty czarist policeman “had a small head and a mean face,” only to be told again a few hundred pages later (plus ça change) that “he had a small head and a mean face.” Hello! Follett’s first bestseller was EYE OF THE NEEDLE, a spy story set in the Second World War. Book reviews News & Features Video Interviews Podcast Interviews Pro Connect Book Reviews . Browse by Genre. His word-dioramas include most of the major battles of World War I — Tannenberg, the Marne, the Somme — and events elsewhere, including (in flashback) the failed 1905 uprising against the czar that led 12 years later to the Russian Revolution, the strongest of the novel’s set pieces. We stop in at Wilson’s White House and sail with the idealistic president to Europe in 1919 in his vain attempt to sell peace to the world through his League of Nations. 87 . A brilliant and ruthless Nazi master agent is on the loose in Cairo. “After today, he thought, the world will never be quite the same.” Originally published in 1989, The Pillars of the Earth written by Ken Follett has everything that a reader could ask for in a novel within its pages! Ken-Follett.com uses cookies. Never. But first, a plot summary. (Also, if all the sex scenes were excised, it would be no loss to the narrative and a boon to the reader.). knows a thing or two about medieval cathedrals, having … Science Fiction & Fantasy Nonfiction ... Books by Ken Follett… The people live in wooden houses and use primitive tools. you want to call out. Follett (Edge of Eternity, 2014, etc.) For me the Pillars of the Earth was and is one of my favourite books, I could say that is within my Top 5 favourite books, so when I first took “World without end” I had a great desire to know what Ken Follett … Most of Follett’s novels can be read as stand alone books; however, several have been written as a series. The Evening and the Morning … His intricate plots, deep characters, and his writing voice work together to create a beautiful tapestry of a book. I was already familiar with the Kingsbridge series from the Pillars of the Earth and World Without End mini-series.The Evening and the Morning is my first Ken Follett…and I must say, I went a … Follett is a great writer, and this book leaves me with the feeling that he just wanted to write something quickly and without much imagination to make some money from his loyal followers. Anything Ken Follett writes is a masterpiece. Six pages at the front of the book are devoted to the cast of characters, a list that runs the gamut from “King George V” to “Theo, thug,” via “Winston Churchill, M.P.,” “Gini, a bar girl” and “Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg.” Czar Nicholas II is one of the few big celebs who never actually show up, but his cousin Kaiser Wilhelm makes a couple of cameo appearances, complete with tetchy temper and withered left arm. What Ken Follett is, is a good observer of the human condition and a very good historical researcher. The book really doesn’t have anything to do with the Kingsbridge stories, other than it plays 100 years before John Builder first sets foot into the town of Kingsbridge … If you love history and particularly the 16th Century Western … —The Cincinnati Enquirer "Follett … ), this time featuring a sort of distaff dirty (half) dozen. —The New York Times Book Review "The most exciting novel in years." His new novel, “Fall of Giants,” is the first volume of a projected trilogy in which the 20th century has replaced the Middle Ages as a stage for life’s grandeurs and miseries, but the book’s narrative structure is the same: multiple plot strands woven through a vast tapestry of times past. Книга І. Част І. Thirty years ago, Ken Follett published his most popular novel, The Pillars of the Earth.Now, Follett's masterful new prequel The Evening and the Morning takes us on an epic journey into a historical past … He puts to good use the professional skills he has honed over the years — giving his characters a conversational style neither pseudo-quaint nor jarringly contemporary. He understands that his average reader’s knowledge of both is probably rusty, to say the least; accordingly, he meticulously reconstructs an era and leads us through the follies and occasional heroics of its protagonists real and imaginary. The passage refers to the German ruling class (Walter being the token liberal in a nest of hidebound Junkers), but Follett is equally damning of the shortcomings of his own countrymen, especially when it comes to the one-sided version of history taught to British schoolchildren: “When they learned about British justice,” he writes, “there was no mention of flogging in Australia, starvation in Ireland or massacre in India. The giants of the title, the crowned heads of Europe, are solidly ensconced in their palaces when the story begins in 1911 but all gone (except King George V of Britain) when it ends, in 1924. I first read Ken Follett’s “Pillars of the Earth” over a decade ago and it became one of the best books I’ve ever read. And for all his belief in the redemptive quality of liberal humanism, he makes sure not to endow his characters with excessively modern sensibilities.