Paper Money - Ken Follett Book Review

Written in 1977, this novel was not certain to make the famous writer Ken Follett it is today. Paper Money is one of the first books written by the author, and is distinguished more for its brevity, its smoothness and texture without any major twists and is therefore devoid of those elements "too" necessary to thrill the reader and make it a masterpiece.

The story is set in London in the sixties and takes place over an entire day, with the titles of the chapters details the passing hours: from 6:00 am, to 16:00 pm. Despite the time span is limited, the affected areas in the city are various: from the bag to crime, from finance to newspapers, with stories of characters who meet and change within minutes.

Despite his young age is unmistakable "style Follett" the author reveals magician in outlining both the environment where the events take place, the psychological aspect that characterizes each character, his uncommon ability to bring out each player a good side and a bad one hand a strong and weak, which leads the reader to become attached immediately and to hate every character in the novel.

The characters whose stories intertwine in this book range from weak Tim Fitzpeterson, undersecretary of the Ministry of Energy, married with children, eager to climb the Olympus of the policy, the mobster Tony Cox, who always manages to elude the patrol pawn and organize all the shots in "his" neighborhood, then there is Felix Laski, astute businessman, who does not disdain the dirty game, and Derek Hamilton, middle-aged man, suffering from physical problems, financial and family .

The novel begins with the trap Fitzpeterson organized by Cox, with the latter that get swept by the unbridled passion for a beautiful girl with red hair, strong enough to have doubts about their family life, only to realize, however, that it was all a trap is so blackmailed by a gangster who wants very important information ..

This information is pure gold for the businessman Felix Laski, powerful and enigmatic figure, not only hobbies and fascinated by money, Cox ready to give what he wants just to be aware of a particular that can make it do 's deal of the century: report cheap Hamilton Holdings before the value of its shares go through the roof.

The majority shareholder of the company at the center of the story is Derek Hamilton, frustrated by a marital crisis and ongoing financial difficulties from which it seems unable to escape. Rounding out the cast of characters there are journalists dell'Evening Post, a newspaper with an editorial based on silencing the scandals and publish news only "most certain" young journalists are, then, to bite the brake before the attempted Fitzpeterson suicide because of being blackmailed by a gangster named Cox, who holds the relationship with respectable businessman Laski.

The finish will all the players selected in the presence of "difficult", the take it or leave it intended to lead to sacrifices, however painful.

It 's definitely a novel characterized by light and shadow, that despite the "birth date" seems to go over "Ricucci & Fiorani story" of recent days. Not one of the masterpieces of Follett, but the book is enjoyable to read and is very smooth.

The Modigliani Scandal - Book Review

"The Modigliani scandal" is one of the first novels written by Ken Follett, in fact, in 1976, and is structurally very similar to "high finance" because each chapter has as its protagonist a character whose story intertwines with that of others then .

The story is set in the world of art around which multiple personalities and interests.
There the young Sleign Dee, just graduated from art history and willing to do a doctoral thesis on the relationship between drugs and art. While he is in Paris with her boyfriend learns of the existence of a painting by Modigliani and which are untraceable. He decided to go first in Livorno, the birthplace of the painter, to obtain information that will then over the hills of Romagna.
Julian Black, a penniless young gallery goes in search of lost masterpiece to consolidate its finances, particularly as the rich father does not want to grant for the opening of the new art gallery and his wife considers him a failure.

Dee's uncle, Charles Lamphet the rich, even hires a detective to get your hands on the painting and enrich its collection of artworks.
Meanwhile, the painter Peter Usher can not find a gallery willing to exhibit his works because they are cheaper exhibitions devoted to artists of the past, which provide customers safe.
To mock the art world Peter and his friend Mitch paint forgeries, intended to show that London dealers do not understand art and are only interested in artists of the past and when you are in a false do not recognize him.
Among twists there will be a joke in jest.

Although a novel very fluently as I did not like others to Follett, hence his style is still immature, too many characters detract from the plot, although at the same time enrich it.
Reading is very smooth and I read it in the blink of an eye, because nothing demanding and occasionally read something relaxing disengaged.
Interesting is the setting, shows us a world of appearance only, where has the talent but not knowledge.

Among the other seems to distinguish the actress Samantha Winacre, who generously paid his studies at her maid, who might otherwise not even considered leaving the world of celluloid, which made it rich and famous, to devote himself to good works. It's actually a slave to drugs and finds himself embroiled in the theft of works of art.

The person who most inspires me is liking the talented painter Peter Usher, who has unusual ability and can not be appreciated by the dealers.

In the art world seem to prevail the laws of finance, procurement regarded as investments and therefore the affluent buyers are moving towards the most famous painters and snubbing the paintings, sometimes extraordinary young artists, forced to live in really tight.

The hoax inventing Peter and Mitch is really fun and harmless, it takes little to fool those bloated gallery, showing not intended to paint anything!

Hornet Flight - Ken Follett Book Review

Synopsis: June 1941. World War II. For years, British planes are systematically slaughtered by the enemy fighters who seem to know in advance routes and destinations. But on a small Danish island of the Germans occupied the eighteen year old Harald Olufsen encounters in arming a secret that is keeping in check the RAF, a kind of radar that can pick up signals of the air announcing their attack.

After experiencing "The Hammer of Eden" I started with joy to read the novels of the famous Ken Follett, being very satisfied.

"The Flight of the Bumblebee" is basically a short novel (especially when compared to "The Pillars of the Earth "!!!), but action-packed. Unlike Dan Brown likes to use up the suspense exasperation, in The Flight of the Bumblebee ", Follett uses the cross-narrative, describing the adventures of its protagonists in separate chapters, but because they generally do not provoke the reader with a chapter also closes a particular action.
Certainly, this novel has the charm and attraction of "A Dangerous Fortune", but the author manages to set a good story in a dark period of our time, that was the Second World War.

If I had to challenge something in this novel, I would say that Follett has a little 'overuse characters who in one way or the other end to mate, making quite a few events rates.

The narrative is insistent but not excessively so, and this allows us to get more familiar with the main characters and understand what role to play or go with the progression of the plot.

We can not however say that the protagonists are fully characterized, as we see them mostly grow along with history, embedded in the dark period in which it takes place. Do not expect then to see the characters in the depths of investigation, but simply meet people that we know just enough to understand the choices and attitudes.

A novel that I recommend...