Winter of the World

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Not to be confused with The World in Winter.

Winter of the World
Fall of Giants 
Followed byEdge of Eternity 

Winter of the World is a

historical novel written by the Welsh-born author Ken Follett, published in 2012. It is the second book in the Century Trilogy. Revolving about a family saga that covers the interrelated experiences of American, Russian, German and British families during the 20th century, the novel follows the second generation of those families, born to the main characters of the first novel, Fall of Giants, and is followed by a further generation of those families in the third and final book in the series, Edge of Eternity
.

The story starts in 1933, with the Nazi seizure of power, includes World War II, and concludes in 1949 in the early stages of the Cold War.[1]

Plot summary

The story follows characters from

the Soviet one, the Battle of Berlin
and many more. The families, spread across four countries, are related to each other, though they themselves aren't often aware of it.

Point of view characters include:

Carla von Ulrich - the daughter of

Blockade of Berlin
.

Erik von Ulrich - Carla's older brother, he is much more narrow-minded and less liberal than his sister and parents. Erik is initially a firm supporter of the Nazi regime and serves in the

German Army as a medical orderly in the invasions of France and Russia. However, when he witnesses the massacre of Jewish civilians by the SS' Einsatzgruppen, he has a change of heart. Captured during the Battle of Berlin, Erik later becomes a die-hard supporter of communism
, much to his mother and sister's dismay.

Thomas Macke - a sadistic, ambitious member of the Gestapo. A fanatical Nazi, Macke gains ownership of a restaurant owned by Walter von Ulrich's cousin Robert by threatening to persecute Robert for his homosexuality. He later orders the murder of Carla and Erik's father and nearly manages to uncover the German Resistance circuit run by Carla and her boyfriend Werner. When Macke is injured during a bombing, Werner smothers him to death in the hospital where Carla works.

Lloyd Williams - the son of

German-occupied France during World War II. Lloyd falls in love with Daisy early in the story, though she doesn't reciprocate it until later. After the war, he becomes a Labour Party MP and supporter of the Marshall Plan
to combat Soviet Union's communist expansionism.

Daisy Peshkov - the daughter of

high society in her native Buffalo due to her father's reputation, she romances and later marries Viscount 'Boy' Fitzherbert in England. However, their relationship soon breaks down due to his infidelities and her growing attraction to Lloyd Williams. Daisy drives an ambulance during the Blitz
and becomes close friends with Lloyd's mother Ethel. After Boy is killed when his plane is shot down, Daisy marries Lloyd and starts a family with him after the war.

Grigori "Greg" Peshkov - Daisy's half-brother, the son of Lev and his mistress Marga. A former student at Harvard, Greg is very much his father's son in his initiative, ambition and womanizing habits. He quickly rises amid the bureaucracy of Washington D.C. during World War II and becomes an observer for the government on the Manhattan Project, the development of the nuclear bomb. During World War II, Greg discovers he has a son, Georgy, conceived during his earlier romance with a young African-American actress, Jacky Jakes. He provides for the child's upbringing and education, becoming deeply attached to Georgy - which might create an impediment to his plans to embark on a political career in the Republican Party.

Vladimir "Volodya" Peshkov- the son of Soviet General Grigori Peshkov and his wife Katerina, although Vladimir's biological father is Grigori's brother Lev (who left Russia before he was born). An intelligence officer for the Red Army, Vladimir is the handler for several Soviet espionage cells in Germany and the U.S., including that of Carla and Werner. He fights in the Spanish Civil War and in the Battle of Moscow, and later manages to obtain covert intelligence on U.S. development of the nuclear bomb. Over time, Vladimir becomes increasingly uncertain in his devotion to communism as he witnesses the brutal and repressive measures taken by Stalin. Vladimir romances a beautiful physicist named Zoya, deeply involved in the Soviet Nuclear Program, and later marries and starts a family with her after the war.

Woody Dewar - The son of U.S. Senator Gus Dewar and his wife Rosa, and a former friend of Daisy and Greg's. Although drawn to politics like his father, Woody finds his true passion in news writing and photography. He spends much of the story trying to win the heart of his longtime crush, Joanne Rouzrokh, and eventually does. However, while they are in

D-Day
. He is sent home wounded, and eventually begins a relationship with Bella Hernandez, a young Hispanic woman he met while training in Britain.

Charles "Chuck" Dewar- Woody's younger brother. Chuck is a patriotic member of the

Bougainville
, trying to protect his lover Eddie Parry.

The novel also sets the stage for the decades to follow with reference to interracial and homosexual relationships, the creation of the United Nations, the sexual revolution, and the growth of the communist Eastern Bloc. As in the series' first volume, during the course of the book, most female characters get pregnant and have children, who would become protagonists of the next volume.

References

  1. ^ "Winter of the World - Ken Follett". ken-follett.com. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
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