Historical Novel -- The Fall of Giants

My all-time favorite historical novel is Fall of Giants. If there is a quintessential book that sets a high bar for what historical novels can achieve, Fall of Giants would have my vote. Follett captured not only the conflict of nations pre-World War 1, and the unsettling national movements that pushed the last of the great monarchies of Europe to fall, but he showed how class conflicts between the Welsh-miners and their aristocratic overlords forced the entire structure of British society to teeter. Distinctions laid on a people by their birth had kept miners in their place, down in the pits, their entire lives and few, if any, had risen up to challenge the rule their Lords. So in this story, we follow one brave Welsh miner and even braver sister who each take a path out of their class obscurity and rise above their given places to shape a new world order.

As a writer, one of the elements that stood out to me was Follett’s pitch-perfect use of story arcs to define the two main characters. A writer could look far and wide and not find a better use of story arcs, where the final scene wraps up every thread laid down early in the book and explains in an emotional scene the entire meaning of the book. This to me, is what makes it quintessential.

The first book in Follett’s New Century series, this first volume by far is the most powerfully structured novel of Follett’s many fine novels. Follett chose the sweep of the entire world in turmoil in the lead up to The Great War, and shaped the breadth of key historical events as they impinged on characters and their choices, including the Bolshevik Revolution, the events in Austria, Germany, and the United States, but never lost track of the emotional journey of a brother and sister from a Welsh mining town, and how their lives were transformed by their response to events much larger than themselves. Reading this book, I felt the world order hinged on the bold deeds of individuals amidst the movements of massive armies across the globe. I highly recommend it.