Billy meets his friend Tommy Griffiths and the two boys go off to the mines. Billy’s father, who is known as a socialist, and Tommy’s father, who is an atheist, are not popular with the mine managers. The boys are warned not to be troublemakers. Billy realizes that he is protected from harm by his father’s position as a union agent. Rich story-telling in satisfying Follett style. I happened to be listening to the Battle of the Somme as we reached Remembrance Sunday this year - right at the time the papers were full of photos of the poppies at the Tower of London. Really quite poignant. Follett depicts life in the early twentieth century through a series of detailed and imagery-rich scenes: the pitch-darkness of a Welsh coal mine, the opulence of an English country manor, the austerity of pre-industrial Russia, the horrors of a French battlefield. Which scenes stood out for you? Why did they make such an impression? Billy Williams is court-martialed for revealing military secrets. Billy questions the legality of the court just as he questions the legality of the military operation in Russia, which he accuses Fitz of making in his own personal financial interest to regain Andre’s property for himself and his son. Billy is found guilty and sentenced to ten years of penal servitude.

Think about the main characters and what place faith held in their lives. Did religion help or hinder their respective circumstances? What is the overall role of religion in Fall of Giants? Afterwards, as they leave, Walter asks Maud to marry him, showing her the marriage license he managed to obtain at short notice. He says they should be married the next day as he will most likely have to leave as soon as the German army begins to move.

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Along these lines, discuss the characters who abandoned their respective faiths. What caused them to walk away from their beliefs? To what end? On April 6, 1917, the United States declares war on Germany. Walter’s only hope now is for the Russian government to collapse so that the anti-war group will take control. a thirteen-year-old boy, Billy Williams, begins working down the mines as George V is crowned king. The escalating arms race between the empire nations will put not only the king but this young boy in grave danger.

Take, for instance, an exchange between Gus and Rosa. Gus works for President Wilson. He won’t let you forget about that, because it’s all he talks about. He also has a big head. Rosa has one eye. That is the extent of their characterizations:

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Lev arrives in America, where the Vyalov family in Buffalo hires him. He is now fluent in English, but with a British accent. He makes money on the side by selling stolen goods on Vyalov property. Beaten by some of Vyalov’s henchmen, he is brought before Mr. Vyalov, who is impressed with Lev’s boldness. Think about the ways the main characters' lives intersected throughout the book. Were there any characters that didn't meet over the entirety of the novel that you wished did? Who, and why? From May to June 1919, Walter writes to Maud as German delegates travel to Versailles. The peace treaty is much worse than any of them expected and includes a war guilt clause where Germany must take full responsibility for the war. Their counterproposal is seen as impudent by the French. Walter then finds Maud in a park and the two rent a home nearby to stay together while the treaty is being discussed. They decide to release news of their marriage through one of the papers in Britain as Walter must return to Berlin. Gus and Rosa meet during this time and the two confess their love for each other. Maud faces hatred in Britain for marrying a German man and ends up agreeing to go with Walter to Berlin. This novel covers the years of WWI and the Russian Revolution and follows 5 families. Their stories all connect at some point. While you invest in the characters, the story is plot driven and moves pretty swiftly through the years. There are times that a character may be left for a year before we hear from him again. But you don't feel like you're missing any crucial information. Walter goes to his father’s office and shares what he has learned. He then meets Maud at tea at the Duchess of Sussex’s home. Maud manages to get Walter alone in the library, but they are soon interrupted by Lady Hermia, Maud’s aunt.

The boys are led to their workplaces by Rhys Price, who dislikes Billy because Ethel refused to “walk out with” (date) him. Billy and Tommy are given lamps designed so they will not spark an explosion in the methane from the coal seams. They ride down the shaft in a cage lift. In December of 1923 to January 1924, Fitz gives a speech supporting Percival Jones as Aberowen’s representative. He insults Billy, but Billy does not do the same when he gives his speech. Instead, he focuses on the things that need to change and says the workers are the future. Both he and Ethel win by a landslide and Ethel enjoys walking past Fitz in the House of Commons, finally his equal. During November and December 1916, Mildred asks Ethel if she can use the room to start a seamstress business. Ethel agrees then talks to Bernie as she reads through letters sent to them by wives of soldiers. She thinks the newspapers are too busy glorifying war to advocate for peace and Bernie says the government both makes a lot and owes a lot of money due to the war. Bernie asks her to marry him, but she asks for time to think about it. Meanwhile, Gus waits for the reelection of Wilson and learns from Rosa that Olga married Lev.

I certainly laughed at times. And, I was certainly provoked to deep consideration of incidents and experiences, astonishment for the intricate manipulations of the war machine of the early 20th century, disgust for the polarised standards of rights and responsibilities, and I was prompted to empathy,sadness and even tears for the distainful attitude of negligence for life. After King George greets Walter, Otto suggests that Walter keep up his friendship with Earl Fitzherbert in case the Conservatives ever return to power. They visit a charity clinic sponsored by Fitz and find Maud working there as Patroness. Walter nervously introduces her to his father. Otto at first is impressed with Maud but finds it disgusting that she is working with a Jewish doctor. The anti-Bolshevik White armies continue to fight with the unofficial assistance of Fitz and the Aberowen Pals, among others. By 1923, Maud and Walter have two children and are living middle-class lives in a small house. Inflation is gradually pushing them toward poverty. The Munich Beer Hall Putsch highlights the conditions in Germany. Walter’s cousin Robert announces that he has joined the Nationalist Socialist party, commonly called the Nazi party.

Ken has been active in numerous literacy charities and was president of Dyslexia Action for ten years. He was chair of the National Year of Reading, a joint initiative between government and businesses. He is also active in many Stevenage charities and is President of the Stevenage Community Trust and Patron of Home-Start Hertfordshire. Let us start with what Ken Follett is not. He is not a poet. He is not a short story writer. He does not craft literary fiction. He doesn’t even do thrillers anymore. Instead, Ken Follett writes dumbbell-sized works of historical fiction that manage to be simultaneously prodigiously researched and absolutely inauthentic.Ken Follett cannot be criticized. He is covered in Teflon, Kevlar, and Valyrian steel. Book reviewers understand this and have given up. Fall of Giants is his magnificent new historical epic. The first novel in The Century Trilogy, it follows the fates of five interrelated families—American, German, Russian, English, and Welsh—as they move through the world-shaking dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women's suffrage. Follett writes from the vantage points of people whose home countries come to the brink of—and finally enter into—a world war. What was it like to read the perspectives of enemies as they embark on battle with one another? Did you find yourself taking sides in any way? Did reading about World War I through fiction cause you to think differently about the conflict?