Aubrey Hoffman

This book was incredibly disappointing. The characters were not relatable, the story development was poor, and the quality of writing was way below Follett's ability. I chose this book because I enjoyed the Pillars of the Earth series so much. The story in that series was exciting, and the characters had strength and flaws that made them intriguing. In contrast, this book felt so disjointed. Follett's book often tie together characters from different social classes and cultural perspectives. Throughout his books you start off learning about individual characters and societies, and then they all come together by the end of the story. I felt that "A Place Called Freedom" never finished or resolved conflict. You start to learn about the mine, then the character's move to London. You want the Dock workers to win the strike, then everyone moves to America. You want the plantation to succeed, then its abandon to another family member. I felt that no plot was fully developed and that instead of working to resolve a problem in the story Follett tried to distract the reader by moving on to another historical enclave. Don't waste your time reading this book.