All That I Am - Anna Funder

All That I Am by Anna Funder


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Oh how I love books that blend truth with mystery, history with imagination, facts with the inventive. They provide a portal to bring past into present and give a voice to a previously unknown hero. Funder's masterpiece has done exactly that. Based on her real-life friend Ruth Wesemann, Funder creates the events in Nazi Germany in the heady days before WWII.

Ruth Wesemann is an old, crusty German woman living in Sydney. One morning she receives a package containing a tattored notebook from Ernst Toller and memories of a long forgotten past come flooding back to her.

With the rise of Nazi's in Germany, many socialist and left-wing activists are targets of violent attacks. Many flee to England where they try to bring the attention of authorities to the threat of Hitler. Ernest's notebook tells their story with particular attention to Ruth's cousin, the petite but fiercely outspoken Dora. There is little known about the German emegre in England and the dangers they faced speaking against the rise of Hitlerism. Pushed to their limits, some fold, others breakdown, none remain unaffected.

All That I am is a richly told tale, with well thought out characters. Immensely satisfying, it holds a moral compass to the reader, challenging with the question: what will you do in the face of injustice or tyranny? Will you turn, will you remain silent or will you speak out?




View all my reviews

The Finkler Question - Howard Jacobson

The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson


My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Think of Jacobson as a cross between Woody Allen & Jonathon Franzen. Dry & Satirical. I had heard so much about this book, I ignored my usual reservations at reading Man Booker Prize Winners and bought a copy.

Julian Treslove is a former BBC producer turned celebrity look-alike. A fool-hearthy romantic, Julian spends large proportion of his day fantasising of having an ophelian lover who will die tragically in his arms. A strange and morbid thought considering Treslove has never married, despite string of affairs.

Sam Finkler is successful Jewish Philosopher, personality and television presenter. He and Treslove are childhood friends and keep in regular contact along with their teacher Libor Sevcik. Since Finkler is Treslove's first Jewish contact, Treslove privately refers to all Jews as Finklers.

The Finkler Question is a story of friendship and loss, exclusion and belonging, and what it means to be Jewish. It is not always an easy book to sink into. Just like Franzen (and Woody Allen), there's a lot of waffling and meandering narrative. But for the patient and resilient reader, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The character despite their hapless and neuratic nuances, possess an appealing charm. It is also refreshing to read a Jewish point of view which is not pro-Israel.

Although a worthy book, The Finkler Question is not for everyone. Approach with caution.




View all my reviews

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


When Hunger Games first came out, my husband gave a copy to our then 15-year-old son, adding'Apparently its good.' Our son, a reluctant and fussy reader finished it in one weekend! Since then, he's been an avid reader.

From then on, whenever I have a parent looking for a teenage book (especially boys), I press a copy of The Hunger Games into their hands and I'm yet to have someone come back unhappy. I too had marked it to read, but till recently, another book always managed to grab my attention away. I finally got around to reading it prior to the movie opening. And just like my son, I was instantly hooked till the nail biting finale.

North America is the nation of Panem, a country with 12 fenced-in districts that all work to feed the enormously wealthy and technologically advanced capital. Its a dystopian world. A dictatorship. Every year to remind the residents of its power, the capital hosts the Hunger Games, a bloodthirsty reality TV show. Twenty four contestants -One boy and one girl from each district - are chosen to battle against one another. The last contestant will return to their district

Our heroine, Katniss lives in district 12 - the mining district. Her circumstances have forced her to be resourceful and tough. She's a pragmatist. A survivor. A skill that comes in handy when facing her opponents.

Collins has written an action-packed narrative, guaranteed to thrill. Aside from the obvious page-turning plotline, Collins challenges the the reader with deeper issues of society's growing indifference towards suffering, and the foundations by which our core values are based.




View all my reviews

Good Oil- Laura Buzo

Good Oil by Laura Buzo


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The joy of being 15, when the world is new and exciting. The experiences of love's hanging shadow and the yearning uncertainties of the first kiss. Good Oil brings it all back with crushing accuracy.

Buzo's novel is a lovely coming of age book. Reminiscent of Looking for Alibrandi and Does My Head Look Too Big in This, its charming, exhuberant and innocent. Its about how we find love, the crushing hold of its first flush and the awkward teenage years.

'Miss Amelia Hayes, welcome to The Land of Dreams. I am the staff trainer. I will call you grasshopper and you will call me sensei and I will give you the good oil. Right? And just so you know, I'm open to all kinds of bribery.'

That's 15-year-old Amelia's introduction as she begins work on the checkout at Woolworths. Her boss Chris is funny, charming, and she is totally besotted. But Chris is 21 and at Uni which puts him beyond her reach.

Amelia is a great character. Her fixation with Chris is spot on. I don't think there is any girl amongst us who has not experiences similar feelings.

A wonderful read, Good Oil is highly recommended.





View all my reviews

In The Sea There Are Crocodiles - Fabio Geda

In the Sea There Are Crocodiles by Fabio Geda


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A true account of an Afghani boy who is forced to make his own way in the world. Abandoned at the border of Afghanistan by his mother, Eniat spends four years as a displaced refugee. The odds stacked against him, Eniat's chances of survival on his own are slim. Forced into jobs with little pay, he faces daily dangers from traffickers and deportation in the hands of often brutal and corrupt authorities.

Unwanted and tired of being exploited, Eniat moves from Pakistan to Iran, to Turkey, to Greece, finally ending his journey in Italy. Guided by kind-hearted people, he settles in Rome, where he meets the author Fabio Geda, who will write his story.

In The Sea There Are Crocodiles is a thoughtful meditation on lives of millions of forgotten people. Though the narrative reads like a fable, the events are factual. Eniat's harrowing accounts of his four years is heart wrenchng. His courage and determination - despite his youth - inspiring. Littered between the story are dialogues between the author and Eniat, which gives the book an added dimention and intimacy.

Both Enait and Geda thankfully avoid the accusing tones used in most misery memoirs. There is no resentment lacing the narrative. There is no judgement. Eniat is simply telling his story, leaving it to the reader to make up their own mind.

In The Sea There Are Crocodiles is a deeply moving and highly enjoyable read.






View all my reviews

Room - Emma Donoghue

Room by Emma Donoghue


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


What would it be like to have lived your entire life within the walls of a room? What will your perception of the world be? Could you imagine never to have the sun kissed your skin? Or ever seen the world illuminated by the silvery light of the moon? And after having your world reduced, how will you cope if the doors opened, and the images you thought trapped in a tv box, suddenly came alive?

Five year old Jack has only ever known a life confined to a 11 foot square room, which he shares with his mother. We hear Jack's point of view, as he happily lives an existence with his mother. He has no perception to what lays outside the Wall. To him, the reality is the daily routines of playing, singing and living with his Ma. Aside from his mother, his companions are the Rug, Bed, Chair and Wall. The people on the television are not tangible. They are not real.

Donoghue's vision to use Jack's voice to narrate the story is a triumph. Jack does not have a grasp of their situation and questions his mother's motives who wants to escape it. The mother is a heroic figure held against her will, and yet within her prison walls, she has created a haven of togetherness. A happy and secure place for her son. I found myself championing their cause. A nail-biting turn in the book set my heart racing, worried as to their outcome. Once 'outside' Jack finds the world a large and confusing place, and yearns to return to the Room and the life he knows.

longlisted for the Booker prize, Room is inspired by high profile cases such as Josef Fritzl's incarceration of his daughter Elisabeth, and Natascha Kampusch's eight year imprisonment by her abductor. There is a dislocating appeal to the narrative. At no time it resorts to insipid sentimentality or passes judgement. The characters are wounded and fragile. And their tale is both chilling and inspiring. The Room is definately worth a read.




View all my reviews

The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A richly tailored tale filled with mystery, feral midland traditions and gothic prevarsities. Its a tale of love and vengence, murder and intrigue, cruelty and conventions.

Vida Winter is the most popular author of her day. She is also a recluse, hiding herself at her Yorkshire estate. When interviewed by journalists on her life, she invariably recites outlandish life histories, altering them at whim. Now old and ailing, she finally wants to share the truth of her extrodinary life.

Margaret Lea has a fascination for the biographies of the long-dead. A curiosity that has led her to write them herself. Working in her father's antiquarian bookshop, she receives a letter from Vida with the invitation to write her biography. There, she learns of the Agelfield family and their dark secrets. The cruel-hearted Charlie and his insestuous obsession with his vivatious sister, Isabelle. It is also the story of her unruly and feral twin daughters.

At times squirmish and uncomfortable, The Thirteenth Tale is a dazzling literary masterpiece. The twist at the end is particularly gratifying.




View all my reviews

Rocks in The Belly - Jon Bauer

Rocks In The Belly by Jon Bauer


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A disturbing yet touching account of disintegration of a family. The narrative unfolds through two timelines, touching on human insecurities,guilt,jealousy, vengence and love.

Rocks in the Belly follows an extrovert eight year old boy resentful at having to share his parents' (especially his mother's)love and attention with foster boys living with them. This jealousy reaches unmanageable proportions at the arrival of Robert, leading to an act that leaves a lasting and damaging mark on all of them.

At twenty-eight, the son returns after living in Canada, volatile and affected by the past, to care for his terminally ill mother. Only this time, he has the upper hand. And his anger can't help but to abuse this new power shift.

There is a tender nuance to the Bauer's narrative. An ebb and flow to its rhythm that is very satisfying. Bauer lays his narrative gently on the reader's lap, trusting them with its keeping.
The characters are not always likeable. Yet it's not human to not pity them. They are real. Human.

Rocks In The Belly, though not always a comfortable read, is highly gratifying.




View all my reviews

Still Alice - Lisa Genova

Still Alice

Lisa Genova

Simon & Schuster

At fifty, Alice is a respected cognitive psychology professor at Harvard and a renowned expert in linguistics. Together with her husband, also a Harvard professor, they lead an idealistic life. They have three well-balanced children who look to be following their parents in becoming successful in their chosen fields.

This idealistic world starts to crumple when Alice begins to forget things. At first they are minor - a word just at the tip of her tongue. Nothing to worry about. But soon other more worrying signs start to emerge. She forgets the topic she is to lecture, misses an interstate conference she is to attend, and gets disorientated jogging a route she regularly takes in her neighbourhood. Although she knows there is something wrong, Alice's life and sense of herself is thrown into a spin when she learns she's suffering from Alzheimer's.

Through Alice's eyes, we see how the event takes a toll on each member of the family. Her husband, John struggles the most to accept her diagnosis. At times selfish and insensitive, he almost seems to be in denial of his wife's needs as he continues to make career plans that are clearly detrimental to Alice's condition.

Using a professor with a brilliant career as her protagonist, Genova has added extra poignancy to the narrative. The passages in the doctor's surgery are repeated to ad nauseam. Genova overestimates the reader's interest in wanting to learn to such detail about the treatments and the various trials or medication. What is interesting however, is the changes taking over Alice. The questions she sets herself daily and the deterioration in her answers as the disease takes hold, is a brilliant demonstration of the disease's devastating effects.


It takes a lot of effort for anyone over the age of -say 30- to not become paranoid after reading this book. At one point I was convinced I may have early onset of the disease. The paranoia did not settle the further I travelled into the book.

In the end, even as Alice forgets names and relationship of those around her, at her core, she remains the same. She is Still Alice.

And that my friend, is a good lesson for us all. 3 stars

Fingersmith - Sarah Waters

Fingersmith

Sarah Waters

Virago

'My name, in those days, was Susan Trinder. People called me Sue. I know the year I was born in, but for many years I did not know the date, and took my birthday at Christmas. I believe I am an orphan. My mother I know is dead. But I never saw her, she was nothing to me. I was Mrs Sucksby's child, if I was anyone's'

Susan Trinder, 17, grew up in the slumps of London. An orphan, she is raised by petty thieves and pickpockets. Her life takes a sudden turn when Richard Rivers, a trickster, comes up with a plan to make them all rich.

Maud Lilley also 17, is an heiress kept in seclusion by her uncle in a large house outside of London. Set to inherit a large fortune upon marriage, she is easy prey for the likes of Rivers - who plans to marry, then commit her to a mental asylum. Sarah is to abet Rivers in his plan by installing herself as Maud's maid and chaperon to help win her over.

Simple.

And so begins a tale of betrayal and treachery. Where nothing is ever as simple as it appear and no one is to be trusted. With dastardly gentlemen, unscrupulous villains, vulnerable girls in peril, and transgressive heroines, Fingersmith does not dissapoint in keeping the reader glued to its pages.

A thoroughly enjoyable read. 4 stars

Sarah Thornhill - Kate Grenville

Sarah Thornhill
Kate Grenville
Text

Sarah Thornhill completes a loose trilogy which includes the highly acclaimed The Secret River and The Lieutenant. While there are romantic elements, they are weighed by remorse and guilt for atrocities committed against Aborigines during colonisation.

Sarah, the daughter of William Thornhill, is independent, resourceful, feisty, and in love. Told through her eyes, the novel is narrated as it might be thought or spoken, in bits of sentences. Though illiterate, Sarah is sensitive and highly observant.

Deeply in love with a young Aboriginal man Jack Langland, Sarah imagines a life alongside her lover. Their relationship kept secret, once discovered, prompts her stepmother to reveal to Jack a hidden secret that so horrific, has haunted the family for many years and has lead to the estrangement of a son.

Believing her father to be a noble and generous man, Sarah knows nothing of the secret and is devastated when Jack leaves her. Heartbroken, she eventually marries an Irish settler who is kind and respectful to her. But just as it appears that her life is settled, family secrets are revealed, casting a chill shadow over its members.

Simply and beautifully narrated, Sarah Thornhill is a tale set in the colonial past whose theme is as relevant in today's society as it was back then. Grenville has crafted a magnificent tale that is sure to be an Australian classic in years to come. 4.5 stars

Freedom - Jonathon Franzen

Freedom

Jonathon Franzen

4th Estate

Freedom. It encapsulates people's hopes, dreams, aspirations, experiences and beliefs. It inspires and moves us. It rouses us into action. It can be manipulated, stripped, abused and denied. And whilst some go to extreme lenghts to gain it, most take it for granted.

Freedom is the story of Patty and Walter Berglund; their children Joey and Jessica; and their friend Richard Katz. Its a portrait of modern America - not the star spankle, clean cut version, but the ugly, selfish, wart-riddled society it has morphed into. It's a story of how individuals use their personal rights to deny others theirs. The ever increasing self-centredness of individuals and their refusal to put the needs of society before their own.

The dialogue is witty and razor sharp in its accurate portrayal of 21st century society. My one criticism however is the long waffling passages. Franzen likes to take the reader inside the protagonist's head. He walks us inside their shoes and we are privy to their every thought. This leads to long segments that slow the narrative and detract from the overall message of the book. I would have preferred to have the characters just take me on their journey rather than invite me to a therapy session that stretch beyond the customery one hour.

Thankfully towards the end, the narrative takes on a different pace. Franzen rewards the reader for their patience by giving them a sharp and highly satisfying ending. Yes the journey is at times arduous. Yes the characters are unlikable and at times infuriating. But atleast for this reader, the end made the journey worthwhile. 4 stars.

How I became A Famous Novelist - Steve Hely

How I became A Famous Novelist
Steve Hely
Black Inc

Pete Tarslaw is America's foremost literary opportunist. By day he works for for EssayAides, a service for wealthy kids that turns their gibberish into polished college application essays. But one day watching a daytime show interview a best-selling novelist, that he begins to wonder whether he can better utilise his talents to gain fortune and fame.


With dreams of attracting an audience of 'young women in little sweaters and tight jeans, pliant and needy' - and the second alterioir motive of upstaging his ex girlfriend at her upcoming wedding - Pete sets offto Barnes & Noble to browse through the genres. To his dismay he finds writing thrillers with their regular twists, rapidly moving plot line and veiled threats too exhausting. Literary fiction on the other hand he finds much easier. Believing that by manipulating the reader with 'wordy spackle', he can trick them into thinking there is great wisdom within the novel's pages.


Hely does not hold back any punches and no one is spared from his poison pen - not even Oprah. It is at times an uncomfortable read - a bookseller, author and literary tragic, I too have sighed over adjective-chocked passages. In fact in the future, I might just refer back to Hely's book, not as a satirical gib but a reference to becoming a famous novelist! 4 stars

Tuesdays With Morrie - Mitch Albom

Tuesdays With Morrie
Mitch Albom

The best selling memoir, chronicles Albom's visits to his old college professor, Morrie Schwartz, in the months before Morrie passed away from a Motor Neuron Desease.

Morrie Schwartz is an inspirational teacher and mentor, touching the lives of his students. Sixteen years as passed since Albom last seen his professor. He is reminded of the promise he made on his graduation to keep in touch and learning of Morrie's illness decides to visit him.


Visiting his old prefessor every Tuesday, Morrie's wit, wisdom and the joy he takes in living strikes a strong chord with Albom. Having moved away from the ideals he once held in college, Albom is witness to the values that although have not made Morrie rich, have remunerated him with a rewarding and happy life. Growing up, Albom once inspired to the same principals of happiness but has lost sight of them in his quest to become a successful sports reporter. Each Tuesday Albom learns a new lesson from his professor... the secrets of living a happy life.

This is not the type of book I normally choose to read. Picked by a member of our book group (she also picked Eat, Pray, Love), it smacks of smug, over bearing sentimental clap trap that makes Oprah fans salivate. There is nothing new to be learnt that we have not already been taught by Oprah in her quest to educate and better our lives. I have not seen the Albom-Oprah episode but can only imagine the visit was filled with lots of tear-jerking sentiments and heart-felled audience enthusiasm who despite having heard the same message a thousand times (afterall most of it is just commonsense), believe it to be far more powerful when received from the whispy last breaths of a dying man.

Albom's memoir, however noble in its intention, still comes across schmaltzy and preachy. It might be a reflection of our society that we flock with such enthusiasm towards parables in the hope of unlocking the secret to life's happiness. Maybe if we are serious about change, we should stop looking to outside sources and take a quiet moment to reflect on ourselves. We might just find the answers already there. 3 stars

The Street Sweeper - Elliot Perlman

The Street Sweeper

Elliot Perlman

Vintage

On a busy New York City corner, four people, a street sweeper, an oncologist, a history professor and a little girl are clustered in a small group. From those who pass them on that busy corner, few if any have any idea as to what has led the group here. Yet these seemingly unrelated individuals from different walks of life are bound by a common history of struggle, bravery, and unexpected kindness of those who have come before them.

Recently released from prison, Lamont Williams is an African American janitor working on probation in an Manhattan hospital and seeking to locate the daughter he has not seen for the past few years. By chance on one of his shifts, Lamont befriends an elderly patient, Henryk Mendelbrot, a Holocaust survivor of Auschwitz-Birkenau prison camp.

Whilst Henryk recalls the horrors of those dark days in Poland from his hospital bed, a few kilometers uptown, the historian Adam Zignelik, a history professor at Columbia University and the son of a civil rights lawyer, is on the cusp of a professional and personal crisis. Desperate for something to save him, he uncovers the remarkable story of a man who was determined to record the voices and stories of Holocaust survivors.

As the two men struggle to survive in the early 21st-century New York, their different paths converge in ways neither could have foreseen. Their stories span the 20th century, sweeping across continents and touching on pivotal historical moments, to finally bring us to the present. In the hands of a less skillful author, The Street Sweeper could have ended up a sentimental Holocaust or a preaching civil rights story. But Perlman's fresh approach and skill breathed new life into these well-visited chapters of our history. 4 stars

To Be Sung Under Water - Tom McNeal

To Be Sung Under Water

Tom McNeal

Abacus

The first time we fall in love, lasts forever.

Love is complex. It can uplift spirits and it can bring them crashing to the ground. Traversing between Vermont and Nebraska where her parents have separated to, Judith meets and falls in love with Willy Blunt. They separate, promising to wait for one another when she leaves for college. But now Judith is introduced to a different world and has new sets of friend. She meets Malcolm and consciously starts to let go of her past; starts to let go of Willy and the promises she made him.

In her mid-forties, Judith is living in California. She is married to Malcolm and together they have an intelligent teenage daughter. In her career, she's a successful film editor and puts in long hours to meet deadlines. By all counts, Judith has everything a modern career woman aspires to in the 21st-century. But Judith is not happy. She suspects her husband is having an affair; her daughter behaves distant and she feels threatened by the new breed of ambitious editors gunning for her job. As Judith becomes more disillusioned with her life, her thoughts return to happier days. And to Willy Blunt. At this point the author raises the philosophical question: if you had the chance to reunite with your first love, would you do it?

For Judith it means returning to Nebraska and track down Willy Blunt. She discovers Willy shrunken by life. Married with two sons, he has never forgotten Judith. Alone in the log cabin he has built, he confesses to her these poignant words.

For you, I was a chapter-a good chapter, maybe, or even your favorite chapter, but still, just a chapter-and for me, you were the book.

Although To Be Sung Under Water has all the ingredients of a sweet and tender love story, and although McNeal's writing is staggering, I could not find myself being drawn to the story or the characters. I understand that there are loves that never leave our hearts; feelings that no amount of time or distance can erode. But I failed to understand Judith. She has a comfortable life. Her suspicions over her husband's infidelity are unfounded and her relationship with her daughter can be resolved if she spends less time holing herself in her past and more time with her.

I had high expectations from To Be Sung Under Water. I really hoped to fall in love, to swoon, to be heart sick over the unrequited love. But in the end, the story failed to connect. 3 stars

The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus
Erin Morgenstern
Harvill

Le Cirque des Rêves arrives unexpectedly one day. Behind the black & white striped canvas tents lays an enchanting world of beauty and unexplainable illusions. A sumptuously rich and textured tale, The Night Circus is dark as it is dazzling.

At the centre of the tale is the rivalry between two magicians and their pupils, trained from an early age for a single purpose. Celia and Marco unbeknown to one another have been hand picked to compete in a game where only one will be left standing.

The circus is the venue by which the opponents display their skills and set challenges for the other to follow. But this time, the opponents are too well matched, and what begins as a show of talent grows into something deeper. And darker. Something that could effect the fate of the circus and those involved with it.

The Night Circus is a tale of love, rivalry and wondrous illusions. The plot is cleverly played out, and tucked between chapters are small invitations for the reader to experience the circus firsthand. Highly original and artistic, The Night Circus is sensuous and ultimately satisfying.

4.5 Stars.

For The Term Of His Natural life - Marcus Clarke

For The Term Of His Natural Life

Marcus Clarke

Penguin

Accused of a crime he did not commit, Richard Devine- an English aristocrat, is sentenced to life imprisonment at the penal colony of Tasmania. Taking on a new identity (to save his mother grief and shame), the now Rufus Dawes sails to Van Diemen's Land on board a convict ship. What he discovers upon arrival, he encounters a penal system entrenched in treachery, savagery and cruelty.

This book polarised our small book group. Whilst some debated the circumstances which conspired to convict Dawes, I argued in favour of Clarke's writing. Whilst the dense layout of text irritated some of our readers, I applauded the content and prose. And whilst they thought the relationships were highly improbable, I again stood my ground and pointed out its merits.

In truth, I forgive the book's follies because I enjoyed the imagery and took great pleasure in the structure of the sentences. I sighed longingly at my inability to match Clark's skill. Had Clarke been a lesser writer, then I may have been less forgiving. But since he's not, I continue to argue in his favour.

4 Stars

Tiger's Wife - Tea Obreht

The Tiger's Wife
Tea Obreht
W&N

There appears to be a new trend amongst the up and coming literary giants. Beautifully composed and artfully layed out novels, this new breed of young authors are telling stories steeped part in legend and part in reality. The Tiger's Wife is one such book. An amalgamation of interwining stories, it encapsulates the purity, mystery and darkness of the human spirit.

The book opens with the protaganist Natalia hearing the news of her beloved grandfather's passing. A shroud of mystery surrounds his death and his decision to travel to the remote village just before he passes away. Deciding to investigate, Natalia heads out to the village to unravel the mystery. As the story unfolds we come to realise the key to her grandfather's life and death "lies between two stories: the story of the tiger's wife, and the story of the deathless man".

Mistaking the style at first glance as YA, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a tale that effortlessly transcends genres to knit a mystery shrouded in darkness and Balkan folklore. Unravelling each piece of the puzzle presented new joy and my delight in Obreht prose was endless.

The Tiger's Wife is extravagant, folkish, bizarre and ultimately a joy to read.

4 Stars

Fall of Giants - Ken Follet

Fall Of Giants
Ken Follet
MacMillan

Fall Of Giants is both wonderful and disappointing at the same time. An epic novel, it has a cast of characters with intertwining lives, whose stories traverse across a sweeping world stage.

What makes 'Fall Of Giants' wonderful is its vast historic content. With an army of historians at his disposal, Follet weaves a tale on a massive scale, taking care to illustrate all view points. I particularly enjoyed the Russian revolution and Follet's close attention to detail which had me absorbed throughout the second half of the book.

What let the book down for me is Follet's writing. Historical facts are drummed in with patronizing regularity. Follet has a habit of drawing the readers' attention to obvious points. As the result the narrative comes across coerced and details that may have been better served left subtly for the reader to decipher are force fed.

Another issue I have with this book is the two main characters Ethel and her brother Billy. Despite their very limited schooling, both possess superior oratory talents. Follet explains this rather unlikely skill (several times as if trying to convince not just the reader but also himself) by the family's minister father's habit of encouraging his children to debate around the dinner table.

Overall, Fall Of Giants is an ambitious and enjoyable read. Heavily researched, it makes for an entertaining saga filled with war, love, betrayal and intrigue. 3 stars