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.

Storytelling at its Best

I don't think I am qualified enough to write about this book and this authoress. But I am tempted all the same as I love her writing-- her "Namesake" went straight to the heart and her "Unaccustomed Earth" kindles the soul. I got hold of this book in May last year at a bookshop at the Mumbai Airport on my way back to Kolkata from Goa. 
It is a collection of stories - stories that have the wonderful Jhumpa Lahiri flavor. The book is named after its first story of Part One, Unaccustomed Earth. The way Lahiri writes about the dilemmas, crises, insecurities and pressures of the people who have gone from India to settle in an "unaccustomed earth", the way her poignant stories portray how the vast differences between the within and the without haunt them is exquisite.


I guess, I have always been able to relate to Lahiri's stories better, as a part of my family had gone and settled in the US years ago(long long before my birth) and I have had my uncle and aunt and cousins visit us here in Kolkata during my childhood and adolescence. 


After enjoying the first story, I had skipped to the third one, titled "A Choice of Accommodations". I had read the second story "Hell-Heaven" earlier in an issue of Graphitti. The poignant tale had haunted me for days and I wanted to read it later. 


I was unwell and kept the book aside to resume reading it later. That "later" came only a week back, when I dug the book up from a pile of books and magazines, dusted it and started reading "Hema and Kaushik" - throughout the three stories, "Once in a Lifetime", "Year's End" and "Going Ashore" I was reminded of what Lahiri does to her readers. Her characters are so true and dignified- her characters are all so real! One moment I knew how Hema felt and the other moment I could feel what Kaushik went through. The stories are churned out of life and they linger with us.


Sudha and Rahul of "Only Goodness", Sang, Farouk, Paul of "Nobody's business" are people I got to know and understand intimately. Their lives, situations and stories- their strengths and weaknesses- their fears and worries are our own. The world today has become too small and the boundaries and differences have blurred. A reader sitting at any corner of the world today would be able to identify with Sang and Sudha, would be able to see through Farouk and Rahul, would be able experience the upheavals that the families experience.


I went on with the "Choice of Accommodations" before I started with "Hell-Heaven" last night just after dinner. I stormed through it just as I had the first time when it was published in the Kolkata periodical and it was over in around 40 minutes. This story of Usha's mother and Pranab Kaku, Usha and Deborah still remains my favorite. I was surprised to see how well I remembered it from the first time I read it


As I have said earlier, it would be inappropriate of me to say anything about Jhumpa Lahiri's literary talents. She has a refined prowess of the language and her art of storytelling is flawless. She is undoubtedly one of the best writers we have today!
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Trivia: The paperback I read is a Random House India (www.randomhouseinda.co.in) publication. It was a winner of the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award and a New York Times, Time and Outlook book of the year. Priced Rs 295, this paperback is nothing but priceless.