After a two year hiatus, Ken Follett stepped up to the plate to deliver his final installment of the Century Trilogy, Edge of Eternity, and he hit it out of the park - sort of. If the goal here is to attract readers and sell books then it was a five star effort. The history buffs among us were waiting patiently to revisit a past that most of us remembered and many truly experienced. Those who have steamy drug store paperback novels on their book shelves would find it entertaining too. And of course, there are many who like a little of both. If the goal here is to sell books, then it was mission accomplished.
But was this his best effort of the trilogy? It’s hard to say. Most everyone who fared well with high school history likely found Fall of Giants and Winter of the World entertaining, and probably historically accurate. How would we know otherwise? Yet, the boomers among us (many of whom actually experienced the 60’s and 70’s) might look at a few of Follett’s interpretations of the period with a jaundiced eye.
Conservatives are likely taking issue with Follett highlighting the shortcomings of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. And to add insult to injury the lead fictional character on the political right (Cam Dewar) is portrayed as a dishonest, self-serving lackey of the most famous of the right wing bad guys, Richard Nixon. He couldn’t find any women to take to bed, except the dimwitted woman he married who appeared more interested in leaving Poland. And yes, he was ugly too.
Meanwhile, starring for the progressives we have the handsome, athletic and intelligent George Jakes. This scholar-attorney-Congressman has it all. And of course, the women in his life are equally bright and beautiful. And the same goes for the well-intentioned Russian twins, Dimka and Tanya Peshkov. The bottom line here is that if you are a mover and shaker and seated left of center on the spectrum, you get all the good looks and brains. And of course, you get to have more sex.
Speaking of which, Follett seems more willing to take his readers to a place where some might ask – “Do I really need to know this?” If this were a movie, it would get an “R” rating. If Follett wrote something more “PG-13”- like, it would have worked better for me.
Still, as it is with most Follett books, it entertains. As his characters develop, some take on the characteristics of real life personalities. George Jakes reminds us of Congressman John Lewis, Evie Williams is the Jane Fonda stand-in and the rock band Plum Nellie is an amalgam of a number of groups that were part of the British Invasion on the 1960s.
He does a nice job of bringing the reader into the moment as well - his depiction of the August, 1963 March on Washington is a fine example (however, it would have been nice to see a better follow-up with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 during Johnson era).
If you grew up in the 1960s and cut your political teeth on the Cold War, Civil Rights, Viet Nam and the rise and fall of Communism, this is a nice trip down memory lane. You might even learn a few things along the way.
Recent Comments