The Story of Two Prisoners .. of Birth, Fate and Destiny..

Jeffrey Archer is a master storyteller. I have felt this years back when I read The Prodigal Daughter and First Among Equals. I felt the same about Archer years later, while I read A Prisoner of Birth. The meticulous plotting that he does with his characters is simply amazing! Twists, turns and surprises have always been his forte and A Prisoner of Birth is no exception.

There were times when things seemed to be happening too easily. For instance, the entire process of Danny's education in the prison may not quite appear convincing to every reader. No matter how brilliant and sincere a student Danny was, no matter how disciplined and sincere a teacher Sir Nicholas Moncrieff was and no matter how genuine their friendship was, the smoothness and ease with which Danny got educated and cleared exams, seemed quite tailor-made.
Later, when Danny got out of the prison as Sir Nicholas, once again the author made things look easy. Danny seemed to possess a magic wand with which he handled everything brilliantly. Things happened without hiccups except on the occasion when Danny was arrested for travelling abroad without informing the probation officer.

The story became very interesting after Spencer Craig worked out that "Sir Nicholas" was actually "Danny Cartwright" and it became a thrilling page-turner after Danny was arrested and the trials began.

Of all the trials that Jeffrey Archer has so brilliantly depicted, I enjoyed the penultimate trial the most. With Fraser Munro appearing as a witness, Sir Matthew Redmayne appearing as the junior counsel to his son Alex, and Hugo and Craig getting tricked into admitting truths, it was a treat to the readers.

Fraser Munro beautifully stated that very few things in this world are clearly black or white. Most of the things are in different shades of grey. His description of Danny and Nick as oaks planted in two different forests suffering different fates as we all do being the prisoners of our own births would move the reader to the core.

Despite the lack of credibility in some parts, the story is a masterpiece that cannot be forgotten easily. The language and style is typical of Archer that does not let the reader drift or wander and keeps them glued to the plot.

This is a story that reinforces our faith in friendship, loyalty, goodness of the human nature, and justice. It reinforces our faith in silent and trustworthy accomplices like Big Al.

A fine collection of short stories

I like reading Jeffrey Archer’s works and have read a few novels and collection of short stories before. I particularly liked the collection “36 short stories” I borrowed from my friend’s father. The stories were dramatic and contained all the good qualities of short stories. This time I read “And thereby hangs a tale”.
This collection is a different one in many aspects. Firstly, most of these stories (ten out of fifteen, to be precise) are based on true incidents. He gathered these stories over a period of six years while traveling all around the world.
The stories contain slices of lives of people from motley of backgrounds and make an interesting read. Though they may lack the usual drama and twists that come with imaginative stories but most of them contain a surprise that unfolds itself in the end. These surprises will bring either tear to your eyes or a smile on your face.
I found myself amused by most of them and could not but appreciate Mr. Archer’s capability of presenting them in such a light. He has captured the essence of Ireland, Germany, Italy, India and even England with such grace.
His choice of words, how he refrains himself from divulging more details is quite praiseworthy.
Although I liked all of them but my particularly favorite ones are the “High Heels” in which an enthusiastic insurance agent saves millions of dollars by finding out the little secret behind burning of shoes, or a simple story like “Blind Date’ which left me imagining for a while, or the “Better The Devil You Know” which is about a ruthlessly ambitious businessman and which has a cunning twist.
There are some characters that are intelligent and emotional and a few who are cunning but they are endearing and seem so close to us.
Jeffrey Archer has shown his class time and again through his novels and this time also he has succeeded, much to the enjoyment of his readers.