Winter of the World by Ken Follett

This second book of Follett's Century Trilogy picks up where Fall of Giants left off following World War I.  It follows the same fictitious families from the first volume, starting in 1933 and concluding in 1949.

As with Fall, Winter is historical fiction, interweaving fictitious characters into real historical events.

It occurred to me while reading the book that I absorb Follett's books as history books that happen to have fictional characters, rather than fictional works set in a historical context.  That's probably the exact opposite of how the vast majority of readers approach his works.

Because I read Winter directly on the heals of 5-6 historical works on WWII, the actual history has a simpleton feel to it.  Couple that with his persistent use of outrageous coincidence (people running into one another repeatedly on different continents, for example) and the historical nature can feel flat.

These books are best read as they are intended, as works of fiction that just happen to be set in real history.  The fiction works well, page-turning stories with original characters, each more human and interesting as the next.  

I suppose I need to pick a Follett book set in a time period with which I'm far less familiar.  Perhaps his Pillars of the Earth, set in 12th century England is in my future.