A rather light, breezy read, nicely divided between scion of privilege and a recent immigrant as they make their way through the world and how hatred of each other forms their actions and reactions. I was enjoying it most of the time, until it slightly off the rails during a Romeo & Juliet-esque chapter or two and then never really recovered. The more I think about it, the less satisfied I am with the book. You'll know the ultimate ending about halfway through the book, but for some reason the character involved never figures it out (though there is no reason why he shouldn't have. I guess it can be argued by how obsessed he was by revenge that he was blinded to the bleeding obvious).
Reading up on the author, it does seem a little striking that one of the minor characters seems to share a certain moral laxity with him. ( )

(4.5, rounded down to 4)
'Kane and Abel' is a very clear cut novel - follows the life journeys of two people, Abel Rosnovski and William Kane, born on the same date - whose circumstances cause them to grow up drastically different, but later they clash with each other heavily - causing them to disregard everything around them for revenge.
This is a marvellous piece of fiction, but as much as I want to sing this novel's praises, it lets you down at several points - for example, the character motivations of Kane and Abel, the titular characters.
Even though the book describes the odysseys of Kane and Abel in excruciating detail, I still got the feeling that both could be further developed. This complaint was repeated with several characters, all of whom are described (and developed) in zero detail. The plot also slows down heavily in the last quarter of the book - the part where ideally, I should have been the most excited.
Barring that, the first two parts of the novel, and the ending - are one of the best in modern dramatized fiction I've encountered so far. Will definitely be returning to Jeffrey Archer in the future. ( )

Although I like the audiobook reader, the women in the book are treated contemptuously. ( )

Although I like the audiobook reader, the women in the book are treated contemptuously. ( )

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