Fall of Giants: Week of 10/13/14

Pages Read: 53 - 150
Prompt: Character Development

I'm really enjoying this book. Ken Follett does a great job describing things. All kinds of things, like the setting, character description, and character's actions. He describes things with such detail that I could imagine it in my head. I imagined the first character introduced, Billy, getting out bed in the morning, Follett states "It was the day after midsummer, and a bright early light came through the small window." I could imagine Billy's bedroom with a small window with the sun just barely shining through.

This book has many characters. In fact, the first couple pages is just a list of characters throughout the book. Not all of them have been introduced yet, but a few have. Out of the few I've been introduced tob, I could tell how they look and how they act within in a page or two of their arrival. Going back to the character, Billy, when he was talking to his sister, I could tell who she was. When Billy was talking to her. there was narration that said, "Her mahogany-colored hair was irrepressibly curly, and her dark eyes twinkled with mischief." It also said, "Ethel wore the plain black dress and white cotton cap of a housemaid, an outfit that flattered her." I could imagine a young adult with all of these qualities, as well as what she is wearing. Follett has many descriptions like this when a new character is introduced.

Another character, Billy's Dad, called Da, is also described, but not in the same way as Billy's sister. Da is described throughout his appearance in the book. One page has says some things, then another page will add on to it. For example, towards the beginning of the book it says, "Da was sitting at the table reading an old copy of the Daily Mail, a pair of spectacles perched on the bridge of his long, sharp nose." Here I can see see a man sitting at the table reading the newspaper, with glasses almost falling off his nose. Further on in the story, it states, "Da was stern and sarcastic," Here I can see a stick father, who wants the best for his son. The way Follett describes Da, it makes him seem like a normal, happy, father.