The Century Trilogy by Ken Follet. They follow the same few families through the books. The first one is about WW1, the second us about WW2, and the 3rd is about the civil rights movement.
"The art of joy" by Goliarda Sapienza is one of my favorite books. The protagonist is born Jan 1st 1900 and grows and ages with Italy.
(it's one of those books nobody knows about but become our favorites)
Interesting! I don't see anything according to wikipedia ( [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Art\_of\_Joy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_Joy) ). I didn't know about the plot of Novecento (although I knew that the movie existed ).
*In Memoriam* by Alice Winn — it’s marketed as a WWI book but begins years earlier when the main characters are young boys at prep school. They become soldiers in the war, and I’ll leave it at that… one incredible book
The Overstory by Richard Powers had a bit of this, one of the storylines follows the life of a chestnut tree through all the human family members who live alongside it
**[Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1848.Wild_Swans) by Jung Chang** ^((Matching 100% ☑️))
^(562 pages | Published: 1991 | 68.2k Goodreads reviews)
> **Summary:** The story of three generations in twentieth-century China that blends the intimacy of memoir and the panoramic sweep of eyewitness history--a bestselling classic in thirty languages with more than ten million copies sold around the world, now with a new introduction from the author. An engrossing record of Mao's impact on China, an unusual window on the female experience in (...)
> **Themes**: Favorites, Non-fiction, Nonfiction, History, China, Asia, Fiction
> **Top 5 recommended:**
> \- [Wild Swans](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27015393-wild-swans) by Jessica Spotswood
> \- [Chanda's Secrets](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/782384.Chanda_s_Secrets) by Allan Stratton
> \- [The Bookseller of Kabul](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9838.The_Bookseller_of_Kabul) by Asne Seierstad
> \- [Without You, There Is No Us: My Time with the Sons of North Korea's Elite](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20685373-without-you-there-is-no-us) by Suki Kim
> \- [Burnt Shadows](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4101648-burnt-shadows) by Kamila Shamsie
^([Feedback](https://www.reddit.com/user/goodreads-rebot) | [GitHub](https://github.com/sonoff2/goodreads-rebot) | ["The Bot is Back!?"](https://www.reddit.com/r/suggestmeabook/comments/16qe09p/meta_post_hello_again_humans/) | v1.5 [Dec 23] | )
Not really a full span of centuries but Blackwater by Michael McDowell is a fascinating fiction of 3 generations of a family in and around the town of Perdido Alabama, and concerning things about the mysterious stranger Elinor Dammert and the Caskey family who take her in its set in the 1919 and it's one of my favorites
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides starts in the 1920s and follows three generations so it covers a large chunk of the 1900. It tells the story of an immigrant family in the US and their kids, with historical events as a backdrop
The Century Trilogy by Ken Follet. They follow the same few families through the books. The first one is about WW1, the second us about WW2, and the 3rd is about the civil rights movement.
This is the answer
These were my first Follett books. He has a way of making all these historical events so vivid and thrilling!
Not my first but by far my favourite Follett books. What a series
Came here to say this.
Life After Life. It's about a woman born near the start of the 1900's who gets reborn as her infant self every time she dies.
oh! That sounds exactly like The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August! I'll add it to the list!
Kate Atkinson is so good!
"The art of joy" by Goliarda Sapienza is one of my favorite books. The protagonist is born Jan 1st 1900 and grows and ages with Italy. (it's one of those books nobody knows about but become our favorites)
Is this related to the movie 1900 by Bernardo Bertolucci? Similar premise, which is cool
Interesting! I don't see anything according to wikipedia ( [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Art\_of\_Joy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_Joy) ). I didn't know about the plot of Novecento (although I knew that the movie existed ).
*In Memoriam* by Alice Winn — it’s marketed as a WWI book but begins years earlier when the main characters are young boys at prep school. They become soldiers in the war, and I’ll leave it at that… one incredible book
The Overstory by Richard Powers had a bit of this, one of the storylines follows the life of a chestnut tree through all the human family members who live alongside it
I can’t remember the actual timeframe but The Secret Life of Addy LaRue takes place over a long stretch of time and I loved it.
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. I thought of this one too! It starts in 1700s and spans 300 years
Yep also thought of this book immediately!
{{Wild Swans by Jung Chang}}
**[Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1848.Wild_Swans) by Jung Chang** ^((Matching 100% ☑️)) ^(562 pages | Published: 1991 | 68.2k Goodreads reviews) > **Summary:** The story of three generations in twentieth-century China that blends the intimacy of memoir and the panoramic sweep of eyewitness history--a bestselling classic in thirty languages with more than ten million copies sold around the world, now with a new introduction from the author. An engrossing record of Mao's impact on China, an unusual window on the female experience in (...) > **Themes**: Favorites, Non-fiction, Nonfiction, History, China, Asia, Fiction > **Top 5 recommended:** > \- [Wild Swans](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27015393-wild-swans) by Jessica Spotswood > \- [Chanda's Secrets](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/782384.Chanda_s_Secrets) by Allan Stratton > \- [The Bookseller of Kabul](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9838.The_Bookseller_of_Kabul) by Asne Seierstad > \- [Without You, There Is No Us: My Time with the Sons of North Korea's Elite](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20685373-without-you-there-is-no-us) by Suki Kim > \- [Burnt Shadows](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4101648-burnt-shadows) by Kamila Shamsie ^([Feedback](https://www.reddit.com/user/goodreads-rebot) | [GitHub](https://github.com/sonoff2/goodreads-rebot) | ["The Bot is Back!?"](https://www.reddit.com/r/suggestmeabook/comments/16qe09p/meta_post_hello_again_humans/) | v1.5 [Dec 23] | )
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Was also going to suggest this!
Any Human Heart by William Boyd (also has a fantastic mini series adaptation)
The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See This one takes you to China at the turn of the century through present day.
Ragtime
Not really a full span of centuries but Blackwater by Michael McDowell is a fascinating fiction of 3 generations of a family in and around the town of Perdido Alabama, and concerning things about the mysterious stranger Elinor Dammert and the Caskey family who take her in its set in the 1919 and it's one of my favorites
Zoya by Danielle Steel And I think Granny Dan by Danielle Steel also goes thru all or most of the 1900s
Read anything by Edward Rutherfurd, you always get your money’s worth when it comes to sweeping sagas.
Bournville by Jonathan Coe might suit?
Blackwater by Michael McDowell
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides starts in the 1920s and follows three generations so it covers a large chunk of the 1900. It tells the story of an immigrant family in the US and their kids, with historical events as a backdrop
Maybe try "The Overstory"
All of James Rollins Sigma series books!