Book info

• Title Winter of the World
• Author Ken Follett
• Year 2012
• Genre Historical

A BATTLE OF IDEALS. 1933, and at Cambridge, Lloyd Williams is drawn to irresistible socialite Daisy Peshkov, who represents everything that his left-wing family despise, but Daisy is more interested in aristocratic Boy Fitzherbert, a leading light of the British Union of Fascists. AN EVIL UPRISING. Berlin is in turmoil. Eleven-year-old Carla von Ulrich struggles to understand the tensions disrupting her family as Hitler strengthens his grip on Germany. Many are resolved to oppose Hitler’s brutal regime – but are they willing to betray their country? A GLOBAL CONFLICT ON A SCALE NEVER SEEN BEFORE. Shaken by the tyranny and the prospect of war, five interconnected families’ lives become ever more enmeshed. An international clash of military power and personal beliefs is sweeping the world, but what will this new war mean for those who must live through it?

Thoughts

The second book of an epic Follett trilogy, Winter of the World encompasses the build up and events of World War Two plus the horrifying end and aftermath of the fighting. I feel like this book didn’t quite have the same impact as the first, but that was mostly down to how much ground it had to cover.

The first book had real depth of emotion and horror when families were forced to despatch their children to the front line and wait with awful anticipation for either a telegram, or their child coming home. There was still plenty of fighting in this book, still the horrors of war, but somehow it felt less intense, because so much else was going on.

We carry on with the same families as in the first story, looking at the second generation and seeing how they spread across the countries and interact in a world that’s getting more closely connect by the day. The characters didn’t quite have the same impact as the first batch either, which didn’t help the situation, and there were so many that began with the letter G that I got quite lost at times.

Still, I did think the book did a good job of covering the reasons for war and the machinations that saw all the various countries getting involved. It was slightly too politically heavy for my tastes, but just as with the other stuff, I expect there’s so much more to say it could have gone on for several more books.

Rating: 3 / 5