Kavitha Sivakumar's Reviews > Fall Of Giants - Book One Of The Century Trilogy

When I first listened to the audiobook, I listened to an abridged version, then I listened to this full version. Glad I did as there were nuances in the full version that I would rather not miss.

The story is set at World War I period and unfolds from the viewpoint of an upper class family, a working class family (Welsh) in Britain, a working class family in Russia, an upper class family in Germany and business class family in America. The author mentions that he used the real persons' (Churchill, Woodrow Wilson, Lloyd George, etc) words in the story and the fiction for the rest.

I get angry whenever I see injustice in the name of discrimination. British upper class folks not only treated the colonized people very badly, they treated the working class folks badly too. When some upper class folks felt sorry for czar, czarina and prince because they lost the royalty to bolshevik revolution, I felt incredulous! Fitz talked that these working class people in Russia were thieves because his son lost inheritance of Russian land! seriously! When people didn't even have money to buy food to survive and he felt indignant about the loss of inheritance. Probably the worst character in this book.

The discrimination in the name of gender! The labor party's rise in Britain bring forth the revolution in working class and the right to vote for women, though only selected few. Love Ethel and her gut! Hope to see more of her in the next book.

Working class people in Russia and Jewish people in Germany suffered the worst. How cruel a human being can be to another human being.