Scheherazade
08-21-2007, 09:38 PM
Kane and Abel by J. Archer
Story of two ambitious men, who were born on the same day in 1906. Kane is born in the USA, to a very wealthy family and has a privileged upbringing whereas Abel is born in Poland as the bastard child of a maid, who dies at birth. Abel is brought up by a poor family who adopts him and lives through very hard times (WW I, Russian invasion, war camps). However, when Abel migrates to the US, their paths cross and they become arch enemies.
Archer is a good story teller; however, he lacks originality. The story is predictable and is hardly goes beyond being a good page turner, a beach read. I am not sure why this made it into BBC's Big Read Top 200 really.
5/10 KitKats!
Story of two ambitious men, who were born on the same day in 1906. Kane is born in the USA, to a very wealthy family and has a privileged upbringing whereas Abel is born in Poland as the bastard child of a maid, who dies at birth. Abel is brought up by a poor family who adopts him and lives through very hard times (WW I, Russian invasion, war camps). However, when Abel migrates to the US, their paths cross and they become arch enemies.
Archer is a good story teller; however, he lacks originality. The story is predictable and is hardly goes beyond being a good page turner, a beach read. I am not sure why this made it into BBC's Big Read Top 200 really.
5/10 KitKats!