Ken Follet: Winter of the World

 

Judul: Winter of the World

Genre: Fiksi Sejarah

Pengarang: Ken Follet

Penerbit Hak Cipta: Dutton

Penerbit Terjemahan: -

Penerjemah: -

Penyunting: -

Tahun Penerbitan Hak Cipta: 2012

Tahun Penerbitan Terjemahan: -

Halaman: 940

Ukuran Buku: 16 x 24 cm

ISBN:978-0-525-95292-3

Rating: 4 (wajib dikoleksi!)

"Everyday together was precious because it might be the last"

Sinopsis:

Ken Follet's Fall of Giants, the first novel in his extraordinary historical epic The Century Trilogy, was an international sensation, acclaimed as "sweeping and fascinating, a book that will consume you for days or weeks" (USA Today). The Washington Post said "If the next two volumes areas lively and entertaining as Fall of Giants, they should be well worth waiting for"

Winter of the World picks up the right where the first book left off, as its five interrelated families--American, German, Russian, English, and Welsh-- enter a time of enormous social, political, and economic turmoil, beginning with the rise of the Third Reich, through the Spanish Civil Warand the great dramas of World War II, to the explosions of the American and Soviet atomic bombsand the beginning of the long Cold War.

Carla von Ulrich , born of German and English parents, find her life engulfed by the Nazi tide, until daring a commit a deed of great courage and heart-break... American brothers Woody and Chuck Dewar, each with a secret, take separate paths to momentous events, one in Washington, the other one in the bloody jungles of the Pacific... English student Lloyd Williams discovers in the crucible of the Spanish Civil War that he must fight Communism just as hard as Facism... Daisy Peshkov, a driven social climber, cares only for popularity and the fast set, until the war transform her life, and then transforms it again, while her cousin Volodya carves out a position in Soviet intelligence that will affect not only this war but also the war to come.

These characters and many others find their lives inextricably entangled as their experiences illuminate the cataclysms that marked the centuries. From the drawing rooms of the rich to the blood and smokes of battle, their lives intertwine, propelling the reader into dramas of ever-increasing complexity. 

 

Reviu:

Sebagai buku kedua dari Trilogi Century, Winter of the World lebih membuka perspektif saya akan latar belakang cerita. Jika Fall of Giants berlatar Perang Dunia I, kali ini berlatar Perang Dunia II yang lebih familier dalam pikiran saya. Masih menceritakan tentang kaitan keluarga-keluarga beda bangsa dalam drama hidup di masa Perang Dunia II.

Generasi kedua dari karakter dalam Fall of Giants sama memikatnya. Namun tetap, saya lebih 'ngeh' saat adegan roman daripada latar politik dan perang hahaha...

Untuk perjuangan kemanusiaan, kesetaraan dan feminisme tetap menjadi porsi utama dalam cerita ini. Lihat saja dalam kutipan "The Ancient Egyptians built the pyramids when Germans where living in caves. Arabs ruled the world in the Middle Ages--the Muslims were doing algebra when German princes could not write their own names. It's nothing to do with race". Ada juga ironi tentang nasionalisme dalam kalimat "Why was it that the people who wanted to destroy everything good about their country were the quickest to wave the national flag?". Atau kalimat yang bikin lumer hati macam "Cleverness had nothing to do with it, and she had no choice. Love was an earthquake". Nah, terlihat betapa komplit kemampuan Ken Follet dalam meramu macam-macam latar menjadi satu novel yang memikat.

Namun demikian ada anti-klimaks yang saya rasakan saat usai pengemboman Hiroshima dan Nagasaki, seakan adegan setelahnya sudah bukan merupakan bagian dari cerita lagi, entah mengapa.

So, can't wait to read the third book, Edge of Eternity..

 

Tentang Penulis:

Ken Follett adalah salah satu novelis kesayangan dunia. Karya pertamanya, Eye of the Needle memenangkan Edgar Award. Follet menggebrak lewat The Pillars of the Earth yang menjadi The New York Times bestseller selama 18 minggu dan menjadi pemuncak bestseller di berbagai negara. Bahkan pada 2008, Follet dianugerahi Piagam Olaguibel oleh Colegio Official de Arquitectos Vasco-Navarro karena berkontribusi pada promosi dan kesadaran akan arsitektur.




Ken Follet menikah dengan Barbara Follet, politikus Inggris. Dikenal sebagai pecinta Shakespeare, musisi amatir gitar bas di band Damn Right I Got the Blues
 

Bibliography:

The Big Needle, 1974
The Modigliani Scandal, 1976 
The Mistery Hideout, 1976
A Science Fantasy of Young People, 1976 
Paper Money, 1977
The Eye of the Needle, 1976 
Tripple, 1979
The Key To Rebecca, 1980
The Man From St. Petersburg, 1982
On Wings of Eagles, 1983 
Lie Down With Lions, 1985
The Pillars of the Earth, 1989 
Night Over Water), 1991
A Dangerous Fortune, 1993 
A Place Called Freedom, 1995
The Third Twin, 1996
The Hammer of Eden, 1998
Code To Zero, 2000
Jackdaws, 2001 
Hornet Flight, 2002
Whiteout, 2004
World Without End, 2007

Fall of Giants, 2010
Winter of the Worlds, 2012
Edge of Eternity, 2014
A Column of Fire, 2017