The winter of the world

The winter of the world (winter of the world, original title in English) is the second installment of the Trilogy of the Century created by Ken Follet. It is a historical series whose first volume was The fall of the giants (around the Great War). In addition, the saga has been praised for the thoroughness and precision demonstrated by the Welsh author in his narratives.

Not in vain, The winter of the world it is a book with more than nine hundred pages. It recounts events that span from the years leading up to World War II to the emergence of the Cold War. To do this, the writer delves into the lives of five families facing issues such as fascism, the incursion into the USSR, the Spanish civil war and the nuclear race, among others.

About the Author

Ken Follet was born in Cardiff, Wales, on June 5, 1949. Growing up in a conservative Christian family, his parents — Martin and Veenie Follet — restricted him from distractions such as movies or television. In consecuense, young Ken developed an early interest in reading. From the late 50s he and his family settled in London.

There, he studied philosophy at the University College of London between 1967 and 1970. Upon graduation, he took a three-month journalism course and practiced that profession at the newspaper South Wales Echo from his hometown. After three years in Wales, he worked for the Evening Standard From london. However, around this time Follet began to lean more towards the publishing world.

Construction

The great needle (1974) represented its literary premiere and the first volume of the series Apples Carstairs, signed under the nickname Simon Myles. The first novels published under his name were Shakeout (1975) and The Beard Raid (1976), from his Spy Roper series. Likewise, Follet signed under the pseudonyms Martin Martinsen, Bernard L. Ross and Zachary Stone, six more books between 1976 and 1978.

However, based on the success of Island of storms (1978), Follet did not use an alias again. In fact, that title marked a takeoff point in an acclaimed literary career that includes more than 40 novels to date. Equally, the British writer has excelled especially in the subgenre of the historical novel and in books with suspense themes.

Ken Follet's best-known historical novels

• The pillars of the earth, (The Pillars of the Earth, 1989). First installment of the homonymous trilogy.
• A place called freedom (A Place Called Freedom.
• An endless world (World without end, 1997). Second installment of the trilogy The pillars of the earth.
• A column of fire (A Column of Fire, 2017). Third installment of the trilogy The pillars of the earth.

Trilogy of the Century - The Century

• The fall of the giants (The Fall of the Giants, 2010). Delve into events such as the outbreak of the Great War, the Russian Revolution, and Prohibition in the USA of 1920.
• Winter of the World). It delves into events linked to World War II and the geopolitical polarization that led to the Cold War.
• The threshold of eternity (Edge of eternity, 2014). Explore events from the construction of the Berlin Wall, to the assassination of President Kennedy and the fight for civil rights in the US, to the years after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The winter of the world

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Argument

The narrative thread is carried by two American families (Dewar and Peshkov), one English (Fitzherbert), one Welsh (Leckwith-Williams), two Germans (Von Ulrich and Franck) and one Russian (Peshkov). The book begins in 1933, during the years of the unstoppable rise of Chancellor Hitler and the subsequent horrors of Nazism.. The closure takes place in 1949, at the height of the Cold War nuclear race.

However, a bloody civil war breaks out in Spain that ends with Franco in power. On the other side of the world, the attack on Pearl Harbor marks the beginning of the Pacific War, just as the nuclear explosions on Japan leave an indelible mark on the memory of Japanese and Americans.

Synopsis

Germany

Some of the aforementioned family groups previously appeared in The fall of the giants. Although this time it is his children who are the focus of the action in the midst of the harshness and certain love affairs. The first lines describe Lady Mount (now Lady Von Ulrich), a journalist faithful to her values, a fierce detractor of National Socialism.

Her husband, Walter Von Ulrich is a Social Democratic MP; Carla, the eldest daughter, is a caring, idealistic and hard-working young woman. Instead, Eric, the youngest son, is a teenager seduced by the totalitarian discourse of the Nazis and joins the Hitler youth. As the fascists demonstrate their macabre intentions, the Von Ulrichs are visited by Ethel Williams and his son Floyd.

Spain and UK

Floyd Williams travels to Zaragoza to join the International Brigades fighting for the legitimacy of the Republic at the Battle of Belchite. A few years later, Floyd spends time at Earl Fitzherbert's mansion (when it hosted British troops during World War II). There he falls in love with the wife of Boy Fitzherbert (the earl's eldest son), Daisy.

Daisy is the whimsical daughter of Lev Peshkov, she left her homeland (Buffalo, USA), in search of a life in English high society. However, after blitz (the bombings on London between 1940 - 1941 by the German aviation) the once spoiled girl was changing her ideals.

Soviet Union

In the USSR, Volodya, the son of Grigori Peshkov, is a high-ranking member of the Red Army. Consequently, Volodya is fully involved in the resistance against the Germans. At this point, the author details Operation Barbarossa (1941), as well as the battles of Stalingrad (1942). and from Kursk (1943). Also, events related to the Moscow Conference (1943) are described.

United States

Follet addresses events such as the Enactment of the New Deal (1933 - 1937), the Atlantic Charter (1941) y, especially, the attack on the Pearl Harbor base (1941), by the hand of the Dewar family. This group is made up of Senator Gus Dewar, his wife Rosa (who is a journalist), and their children Chuck and Woody.

Espionage and atrocities

Through —theoretically— secondary characters, Follet delves into themes such as the ruthless program Aktion T4. Which was the most ruthless part of the anti-Semitic genocide and led to the humiliation of homosexuals and races considered "inferior" to the German Aryans.

Additionally, the Welsh author details the espionage of agencies such as the Gestapo, the English secret service and the NKVD (forerunner of the Russian KGB). Finally, Follet completes the story in the late 40s, at a time when the nuclear race began frenzied, with subsequent experimental explosions.

Meta

Ken Follet's greatest credit is making a 957-page book relatively easy to read. This is thanks to a dynamic between main and secondary characters quite entertaining. For the natural interest of readers in the details of historical events, the love affairs and personal mishaps of the members of the story are perfectly united.

Despite this, the psychological depth of the characters is not remarkable. Although, the meta-fiction segments do not alter the core of the actual events. Thus, the reader does not have much space to wonder about the motivations and peculiarities of the protagonists. Therefore, The winter of the world is an indispensable historical novel for lovers of this subgenre.