'Fall of Giants' by Ken Follett

The story in Fall of Giants takes place before, during and after the First World War and the Russian revolution. As a reader you get to know five families from different countries and backgrounds and how their lives are affected by the war and the times. The story moves you through coal mines and palaces, from the corridor of power to the trenches in the battlefields and the struggle for vote for women. The rich dream of power ant the poor dream of a better life. The main characters cross paths throughout the story and their destinies don’t always turn out they way they had imagined.

My reflections:

This story takes place almost 100 years ago which seems a long time. When I think of the fact that my grandparents were young at the time, it’s easier for me to imagine what it was like though.

It’s upsetting to read about the conditions for the working class. They worked long days in dangerous coal mines from the age of 13 and had almost no rights. Every day was a struggle to put food on the table. The aristocrats on the other hand seemed to move from ball room to ball room in fancy clothes caring little or nothing about the poor other than fear for a revolution. Does it sound familiar? Isn’t that what it’s still like in many parts of the world? Why don’t those with power realize that they will be better off themselves if the people don’t suffer?

What the rich and the poor had in common back then, was that they expected women to be silent while the med were having discussions.  Men of all classes generally opposed to the idea of votes for women. The interesting thing is that the working class argued that who should be appointed officers and to positions of power ought to be decided by brains rather than birth.  It’s a pity they didn’t draw a parallel to the question of women’s rights.

It’s almost hard to believe how narrow minded those with power were back then. Power was exactly what it was about though. The rich wanted power over the poor and the men wanted power over the women. The sad thing is that it’s still like that in many parts of the world. Why is it that so many believe that power necessarily means oppression?

In Russia the poor fought for a better life through joining the revolution, only to discover that they had created a new kind of hell with a different tyrant. When desperate enough, people are ready to fight very hard and to risk their lives for what they believe in which we definitely have seen proof of even today. The change might be unpleasant as there are always men with power that have a different agenda from what’s in the people’s best interest. That’s a risk most people are willing to take when suffering too bad, because if they do nothing, they will lose their hope for a better life – and hope is the last to abandon man.