Reading for Me

I was first introduced to John Jakes’ work in junior high school.  I was doing an independent study in American history and the coordinator recommended I read the Kent Family Chronicles. Looking back on that recommendation, I’m still surprised; even though the history was fascinating, the novel was a bit too mature in content for my young mind. Since then, I’ve always been fascinated by Jakes’ works but have never really taken the opportunity to dive in.  This week, I visited a city that I dearly love — Savannah, Georgia — only this time I traveled there during the closing months of the Civil War as told by John Jakes.

Savannah is enthralling as a historical narrative. The details of the war leap from the page. The reader is horrified at the suffering of the innocents at the hands of Union and Confederate soldiers. As a story, however, I found myself wanting more. After reading 100 pages, I was tempted to set the book aside and start something new. The only thing that caused me to push ahead was the realization that there were less than 200 pages remaining. In those final pages, the historical accounts took a backseat to the tribulations faced by the central characters. THIS is what I appreciate about John Jakes’ novels. He is a master storyteller; I simply wish he would get the story rolling a bit sooner.

It’s always been on my bucket list to read the Kent Family Chronicles in its entirety; I still plan to do so, but I’m not feeling an intense desire to start after reading Savannah. If you’ve had a better experience with the works of John Jakes, I’d love to hear about it. I’m willing to give him another chance. I just need a recommendation of which book offers the best storytelling.

It was a challenge, but I made it through the 940 pages that make up the second book of The Century Trilogy. Don’t misunderstand, I loved every minute of it. The struggle came with the interruptions that came due to vacations, family commitments, and personal illness. Since this covers an era of history that fascinates me, I found myself slowing down and savoring each word and scene.

Winter of the World is the continuing saga of the families introduced in Fall of Giants. The second volume covers the horrific events facing the world between the years 1933 and 1949. I was appalled as I read of Hitler’s rise to power while coming to a clearer understanding of how the German people would allow such a thing to happen. Tears ran down my face as I witnessed the extermination of handicapped children in an effort to strengthen the Aryan race. I admired the courage of German spies who risked their lives to procure vital information for the Allied forces while English women fearlessly attempted to save as many lives as possible during the nightly bombings on London. Battles at Pearl Harbor, Normandy Beach, and the Russian front became vivid. I watched in horror as the first atomic bomb was detonated in the New Mexico desert. The consequences of the bomb’s completion were both riveting and fateful. The creation of the Marshall Plan and the Berlin Airlift filled me with immense pride as an American.

If you find the 20th century as engaging of a century as I do, I strongly encourage you to read these novels! If you’re not a history buff, but you still love a captivating story…..read these books. My only complaint is that I have to wait to see how the story turns out for these families; Follett’s final volume of the saga, Edge of Eternity, is scheduled to be published in late 2014.

Can love be defined solely by a person’s actions? Is it possible that past experiences and pain shape human interaction? These are two of the main questions raised by Kristin Hannah’s beautiful novel. Meredith and Nina are adult sisters reunited by their father’s death. As a dying request, their father asks that they attempt to get to know their unfeeling, distant mother. As she spins a Russian fairy tale that they have never heard in its entirety, Meredith and Nina begin to understand the experiences that have shaped their mother. Strangely, the fairy tale resounds with elements of truth. Who are the characters in the tale? Where does their mother fit in?

Transporting the reader from the winter gardens of the Pacific Northwest to Russian in the early 20th century, Winter Garden captivates from the outset and explores the pain of the human heart as well as the reality of unconditional love. It’s a beautiful story for anyone who has ever loved and lost.

Like most Americans, I clearly remember where I was on that fateful Tuesday morning when I first learned of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. I was filled with anger, fear, and confusion over the attacks. It was impossible to understand why these things were happening. We held our collective breath as we wondered if these were isolated incidents or the first wave of attacks against our country.

Time has passed and the wounds have healed for many. Many authors have added their voice to the memories through works of fiction addressing the tragic events. The Reluctant Fundamentalist was an unusual review for this American reader. Still, I found the book thought-provoking as it explored the events resulting from the attacks from a Middle Eastern point of view.

The novel is set in Pakistan and is told entirely in first person narrative. Our narrator, Changez, studied at an American university and was in the early stages of a lucrative career when the attacks occurred. Changez finds himself living in dual reality of sorts; he is enjoying the American way of life while remembering his heritage as a Pakistani. The novel is uncomfortable to read at times as Hamid mingles criticisms of the American way of life (some might view these as anti-American statements) with a profound affection for other aspects of the nation that has forever changed him. The novel’s conclusion is both ambiguous and disconcerting; the final act is left to the reader’s interpretation. This is not a novel that I think most readers will truly “enjoy”, but I do believe it will become an important part of the dialogue regarding the American role in the global community and our ever-changing understanding of the modern American melting pot.

First of all, I feel the need to gloat…..I DID IT!!! I survived the 920 pages of this massive novel!

Okay….now that THAT’S out of the way, let’s get down to talking about Fall of Giants. The novel is the first book in The Century Trilogy and was a thrilling read. The story centers around the events surrounding World War I — from the earliest political rumblings and the Archduke’s assassination to the final cease-fire and the earliest appearance of Adolf Hitler in Germany — the novel is amazing in scope. In addition to the presence of historical figures (including Woodrow Wilson and Winston Churchill), the events come to life as we see the crisis through the eyes of six families. The plot is too complicated to attempt to summarize, but let me assure you that it is definitely worth the investment of a few weeks of your reading life. While it was overwhelming in the early stages of the novel to keep up with so many characters, their lives quickly intersected and the saga clarified itself.

I am excited to read the next novel in the trilogy (Winter of the World) and expect I’ll start it in the next week or so. For the moment, I need to come back down to a safer reader altitude and enjoy something not quite as expansive.

Fall of Giants is certainly one of the five best books I’ve read so far this year…..and is the longest of them all, without a doubt!