A Place Called Freedom

Rating:
Summary: I thought it was excellent
Review: I'm in year 10 and I thought this was a really good book. I read it in four days and could not put it down. For me that is quite amazing as I usually don't find many books that I enjoy. I have just started reading the the Third Twin and so far it's great.

Rating:
Summary: A moving and touching story
Review: I picked up this book on a whim and was glad I did. The story and description of the time period were wonderful. Ken Follet continues to amaze me with his writing style. I could relate to the main characters (Mack & Lizzie) and enjoyed reading about their separate lives and the life they started together. Great book for a long weekend as you won't want to put it down.

Rating:
Summary: Read it, live it, love it
Review: It's great. Just great. Nothing more to say

Rating:
Summary: Ken Follett's "A place called freedom"
Review: This is the best book Ken Follett written since the master piece "The Eye of the Needle". It's a kind of a "hero and thief story" - everybody gets what thay deserve in the end. A agree with those who thought some of the threads with for example his sister took an an abrupt stop. Sometime one can think that the story only inclueds the leading character, it could be some more things about the people nearby. The book starts it's excitement all from the beginning. The only bit where the action slows down is when Mack and Lizzie tries to escape from Jay.

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Summary: Interesting saga of 18th Century Scotland and Virginia
Review: Fast paced saga of life in 1700's Scotland and Virginia. Ken Follett again does a masterful job of interweaving historical fact with fictional characters. The story encompasses all strata of family life, both rich and poor. The tale starts out in Scotland where an indentured servant toils in the coal mines yearning for freedom. His interactions among his peers and the landed gentry vividly evoke the harsh life of the eighteenth century Scotland. His relationship with the mistress of the castle moves from Scotland, to London, to Virginia and finally to their freedom. Follett evokes eighteenth century life and makes you feel that you are there. He skillfully details life in small town Scotland, the City of London, and the Virginia frontier. The book provides an enjoyable, fast paced read in a historical setting. Over the years Follett has broadened his range from spy/mystery novels to historical sages mixing fact with fiction. The book moves right along and you won1t want to put the book down until you are finished.

Rating:
Summary: Not bad ... but when you think what it COULD have been ...
Review: A Place Called Freedom could have been a triumph for Ken Follett. Instead, it's an OK book ... a light, breezy read, but nothing special. It reads like a Cliff's Notes version of a great novel ... relationships and histories between characters are hinted at, alluded to, even stated ... but not explored. Characters come and go with little reason and less effect on the plot. Just as an example, the main character's twin sister ... his rock, his best friend, his motivation for escaping servitude, is killed. Her death and its impact is covered off in a few lines. The two protagonists knew each other as children (we're told) ... she the blueblood, he the son of the servant ... and yet this early relationship is unexplored, despite its obvious resonance through the later meetings. It's like Follett phoned this one in, doubly disappointing when you read - as in Pillars of the Earth - what this author is capable of doing when he sets his mind to it.

Rating:
Summary: Another Follett trophy!
Review: On the heels of "Pillars of the Earth" and a "Dangerous Fortune", I was somewhat skeptical that Follett could do it again, but he did! Follett gets a hat-trick with his latest novel, which recounts the hapless tale of two 16th Century Scot oppressed and enslaved orphans. This book has something for everyone: Intrigue, suspense, romance, lust, greed, betrayal and misery...and that's only the first chapter! Follett is a master at painting pictures with words and this a "must read" for anyone who enjoys historical fiction.

Rating:
Summary: Not up to his usual standard
Review: Follett usually concentrates on one locale and one historical period. In the case of this book, he concentrates on the period just prior to the USA Declaration of Independence, but the location of the book switches fairly rapidly between Scotland, Britain and the American colony. The issues current at the time (coal-mining, transportation, Federation) are all touched on, but for my tastes none was given enough investigation. As a writer who obviously spends a lot of time researching his work, Follett has let himself down by spreading himself too thin. Apart from this criticism, the book is terrific, with all the suspense and drama we've come to expect

Rating:
Summary: Powerful historical fiction in the vein of Hardy or Dickens
Review: I'll tell you upfront that this is one of my favorite books. You can tell from the reviews that A Place Called Freedom results in either love or hate, so let me tell you why I love it.

First, the story is like something from a Thomas Hardy or Charles Dickens novel. Some reviewers have called it formulaic, corny, or contrived. Sure, like a "Tess of the D'urbervilles" or "A Tale of Two Cities" it jerks the characters through quite a life of suffering and disappointments, but you will care about these characters and cheer them on in their epic journey to find freedom and each other. There is a romantic element to the story, for sure, but it's not Harlequin in nature and it's not as sappy as much of the historical fiction out there.

Second, the writing is easy and enjoyable to read, even though it uses dialect for the Scottish characters. Unlike Hardy and Dickens, Follett is neither laborious in his detail nor overly wordy. This book is a quick read and full of memorable imagery.

Third, and I'm sure somebody will ding me for saying this, you really get a feeling for the American experience-for why people came to this country, for how unprepared they were for the reality of being here back when people were trying to impose the old-world class system on an untamed country full of possibilities, for how determination, hard work, and devotion were the true mark of class.

A Place Called Freedom is more period like A Dangerous Fortune, although not quite as dark as that book. If your first Ken Follett books were about the war and espionage, then you might not like A Place Called Freedom because it is a different type of book for Follett. For those people, I'd recommend Jackdaws or The Key to Rebecca. But, if you like historical fiction, the stories of Hardy and Dickens, or the romantic feeling of adventure in Follett's Hornet Flight, you should give A Place Called Freedom a try.




Rating:
Summary: a classic book you cant miss-- especially you scots!
Review: Ahh..I look back on this book with such nostalgia, one of the first books I read in high school that I truly enjoyed, that was for pure and complete pleasure. The story is exciting and fast-paced, the scottish atmostsphere is delightful...ah I can just smell the highland air and see the lochs, bogs, and thistles as I read this book. (however not the whole book takes place in bonny scotland..sorry lass!)
I read this book for the first time before I had ever been to scotland, now it is twice as pleasant an experience. a truly fun read of historical british isles fiction...