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.