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Sweeping saga

Master dramatiser Ken Follett pits ideological conflicts and political intrigue against the intentions of his lead characters, across continents, to create yet another war epic — Winter of the World

Now, no one does epic like Ken Follett. Whether it’s the British author’s career-defining spy thrillers like Hornet Flight, Jackdaws and Eye of the 
Needle, or sweeping historical fiction like Pillars of the Earth, Follett is the master of unputdownable.

Fans of the Pillars of the Earth series will remember being caught up in the arching highs and lows of the sweeping medieval drama, centred around the building of English cathedrals. The plot constructed the beauty and intricacies of Gothic architecture around the travails of the lead characters, and their enduring love stories, leading to Follett’s best-selling work till date, and a sequel that came out 18 years later in 2007 (we wonder why) — World Without End.

With Winter of the World, Follett goes back to his original calling: drama set in the midst of world wars, throwing in 
plenty of battle scenes, espionage, cross-continental action and inside views of the political powers of the day. Here, it’s Hitler and his Third Reich during World War II, and later, about America’s reluctant entry into the War.

Winter of the World is the second book 
in Follett’s Century Trilogy, and can be read standalone or as a sequel. It picks up where Fall of Giants left off, with five 
families and its members, spread across two continents, coming to terms with their lives set against the most troubled period of the 20^th century.

In Germany, the von Ulrich and Franck families, both idealistically and resolutely anti-Nazi — yet having one or two sympathetic members in their folds — are 
connected well enough diplomatically and politically to make a difference in the 
Eastern Front war between Germany and 
Russia, risking their lives in the process.

In London, the Fitzherberts and Leckwith-Williams families are at opposite ends of the class spectrum, yet mysteriously tied together in the form Lloyd 
Williams, again an idealistic reformer-soldier who is often out at war and also inexplicably in love with Daisy Peshkov, an American heiress far removed from his own social stratum and scheme of things.

The Peshkovs and Dewars make up the mainline of the American clans; the Dewars, old money and holding enormous 
political position and clout to make a difference to Roosevelt’s policies. The Dewars, and elder son Woody Dewar in particular, face multiple tragedies, and are often pitted against the Peshkovs, Lev Peshkov being an upstart Russian immigrant who puts his self-made wealth to the usual nasty means to usurp whatever he wants. His son, Greg Peshkov, for better or for worse gets his father’s spirit, but mingled with acute academic intelligence and foresight, is a main player in the rise of America’s nuclear power. Daughter Daisy Peshkov starts off as a savvy social climber who wants nothing but make the best catch for a husband, but post a troubled marriage, ends up driving ambulances during the London bombings, changing her life’s trajectory.

The most colourful and intriguing are the other Peshkov lot in Russia, with 
young intelligence officer Volodya Peshkov involved in an acute trans-European spy network and activities, but soon starts doubting Stalin’s policies for the good of his country.

Winter of the World is not quite as masterful as some of Follett’s other sagas; 
the author seems to tell, more than he explains, as if the purpose is more to keep the continuance of the story going, rather 
than let the reader revel and stay in the moment. But it’s educating and engaging on some of the main historical events of the 20^th century, pitting its characters with both serendipity and schadenfreude into the highs and lows of their lives and World War II. Events such as the battlefront of the German-Russian war, the 
action in Spain and France, the Pearl Harbour bombings and the sordid intrigues of the Nazi powers rivet and horrify at the same time. In the end, it’s all about ideological conflicts, and the ones that won to shape the first half of the 20^th century, and the rest of our lives.

marypaulose@khaleejtimes.com