Man from St. Petersburg

Rating:
Summary: Better than "die nadal"
Review: Powerful characterization, excellent piece of literature. Very well constructed story.

Rating:
Summary: Thrilling
Review: The Man from St. Petersburg is a forgotten Follett classic. Simpler than his more recent works, a surprisingly thrilling historical novel that tells the story of a resilient Russian revolutionary who travels to pre-WWI England to try to create an international incident. Keeps the reader guessing until the end.

Rating:
Summary: Great characters make this a great book
Review: The Man from St. Petersburg is definitely one of Follet's best books. I've read several, but not all, and this novel sticks out because of its strong characterization and tragic turns of events. On Follett's website, he calls this an "Edwardian" novel. I don't know what that means, but this book has a different feel to it.

The "man" from St. Petersburg is Felix, a Russian anarchist conspiring to kill Prince Olav and prevent Russia from entering WWI on the side of the English. Felix comes to England and makes his plans and is ready to kill Olav as he rides in a stagecoach, when he sees a woman who is his long lost lover.

That woman is Lidia, Olav's aunt. It seems too convenient that Lydia would reappear in Felix's life now, but that conflict is the basis for the entire novel. Felix is still in love with Lydia, and Lydia with Felix. But Lydia is now married to the Earl of Walden, Stephen and has a daughter named Charlotte. Stephen is negotiating a treaty with Olav to get Russia's help in WWI, and Lydia is torn between her love for her old flame and her current husband.

Several things stick out in the novel. First, Follett spends a lot of time on Felix, covering his life and his background. Felix is a despicable character and I kept hoping he would fail. Yet his actions drive the entire story.

Lydia was probably the most disappointing character. She loves Steven yet is willing to risk his life for the love of Felix who she last saw 19 years ago. She was a freak in her obsession for Felix. She is so weak-willed and it is frustrating because she had so many chances to do what was right.

Charlotte, their daughter, was raised in ignorance about everything. So when she turns 18 and begins to learn about sex and war and women's suffering, she starts to rebel against her parents because they kept so many things from her. Charlotte is not a bad person, but continually makes bad choices because of the way society thought she should be raised.

The rules of English society in 1914 meant no one could really say how the felt, and that caused many problems.

Lydia loved her husband Steven and Charlotte loved her father, yet they made so many choices that could harm him all because of lack of communication or out of fondness for Felix.

The end ties things up nicely, although a few things happen that I would deem "unforgiveable", but since they are kept a secret, it doesn't really matter.

This Follett book had less sex that some of his others but retains the strong characterization that make him such a great author. Follett excels in writing period pieces that bring out the little details of what life was like in an earlier period.

I listened to this book on audio tape and highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: very good triller
Review: This book was a first Follett book I've ever read. It wasn't disappointed at all. I like that book, and I've read it very fast. Story is fast moving and not hard to believe, characters very natural and alive. That book pushed me to read another Follett's stories, and I guess that was most important thing about it. I can't say that is his "top of the top", but anyway it definitely strong four and good point to start with Follett.

Rating:
Summary: Follett is better than this.
Review: This could have been a much better book. So much good raw material and fascinating history, as noted by other reviewers. But, also as noted by other reviewers, his plotlines are often too implausible. I can suspend belief to a certain degree, but all too often Follett comes up with plot turns that are so implausible that it spoils the story. Follet can do better than this.

Rating:
Summary: Another Triumph for Follett!!
Review: This incredible story has many parallelisms with Follett's "Eye of the Needle" novel. Instead of WWII this story takes place in the pre WWI era. England and Russia are in desperate need for a treaty in preparation of Germany's attack. A well known Russian anarchists has been sent to England to assassinate the negotiating Russian Prince hence destroying any faith between the two countries and to fulfill his quest of war against the Russian oppressed. "The Man from St. Petersburg" is more than a book filled with suspense, lust and lies-Follett makes the reader experience the hardships of Russian socialism and the glamour and prestige of the English monarchy. What is so interesting was at face value the two seem very distant, only to find out they share the same pain and turmoil. The author captures the reader with several twists of fate within the personal pasts of the anarchist's lover and now wife of a British Earl. The story leaves this reader full of questions about the hypocracy of British monarchy. It fully explains why distorting the truth to preserve one's pride of class and reputation can have devastating repercussions. This is a good read, a typical Follett masterpiece, regardless of its mirror image of "The Needle", "The Man From St. Petersburg" truely has its own identity.

Rating:
Summary: Another Triumph for Follett!!
Review: This incredible story has many parallelisms with Follett's "Eye of the Needle" novel. Instead of WWII this story takes place in the pre WWI era. England and Russia are in desperate need for a treaty in preparation of Germany's attack. A well known Russian anarchists has been sent to England to assassinate the negotiating Russian Prince hence destroying any faith between the two countries and to fulfill his quest of war against the Russian oppressed. "The Man from St. Petersburg" is more than a book filled with suspense, lust and lies-Follett makes the reader experience the hardships of Russian socialism and the glamour and prestige of the English monarchy. What is so interesting was at face value the two seem very distant, only to find out they share the same pain and turmoil. The author captures the reader with several twists of fate within the personal pasts of the anarchist's lover and now wife of a British Earl. The story leaves this reader full of questions about the hypocracy of British monarchy. It fully explains why distorting the truth to preserve one's pride of class and reputation can have devastating repercussions. This is a good read, a typical Follett masterpiece, regardless of its mirror image of "The Needle", "The Man From St. Petersburg" truely has its own identity.

Rating:
Summary: INTERESTING BUT SIMPLISTIC
Review: This is an interesting story, but the characters and plot are simplistic and one-dimensional. This book had a melodramatic, soap operaish feel to it. Still it is an interesting story and the author DOES do a very good job describing the gross disparity between the upper and lower classes circa the early 1900's. He also demonstrates the plight of the early feminists in a fair and impartial manner.

Rating:
Summary: Solid Job by Author
Review: This is not a bad effort from the author but his recent books have been better. It sometimes seemed to me that the story line was moving away from the believable. The story did move very quickly and you can stay interested in the book for many hours at a time. The most fun I got out of the book was the descriptions of the time frame and the tradecraft used. If you are interested in reading some of his earlier works then I would suggest Triple or his best work Pillars of the Earth.

Rating:
Summary: excellent reading
Review: This is the first book I've read by Ken Follett. I loved it. It drew on all your emotions. I loved how it protrayed life as it was. The charters were very real and realistic. I am planning to get the rest of his books.