Kane and Abel
by Jeffrey Archer
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jeffrey ArcherEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-11-03
ISBN: 0312942729
Number of pages: 656
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780312942724
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of Kane and Abel
Book Review: A Hell of a Story
Summary: 5 Stars
A narrative that spans over sixty years --between 1906 and 1967-- it tells the parallel lives of Abel, a Polish immigrant, and Kane, a business genius born with a silver spoon. Archer immediately catches the attention of the reader with a brilliant opening sentence. "She only stopped screaming when she died." And that's Abel's mother, who expires anonymously, while her baby son is rescued by a Polish family with very limited means and many mouths to feed. Despite his fragile beginnings the baby, who will become Abel (pronounced like "able") only years later, survives to be later taken from his poor family and adopted by Baron Rosnovski. That way, Abel, like Rosnovski's natural son, will receive the good education his bright mind is ready for. But WWI comes, tragedy occurs, and Abel, who has seen his sister being raped and his brother killed by the Germans, is taken prisoner with the Baron. After the Baron's death and the German surrender, Abel is taken by the Russians to a camp and after several years and with the help of comrades, he miraculously manages to escape. More adventures in Europe, then in Turkey where he is almost executed, will eventually bring the adolescent to the US. A new life starts, business studies, the direction of a neglected chain of hotels that become enormously successful. Abel is now a rich man, eventually divorced, but with a daughter whose business talent matches Daddy's.
They advise writers to start their novels not at the beginning, but in the middle. Archer obviously didn't listen to that advise, for when he tells the story of William Lowell Kane he starts with his birth as well. And good for him. Kane will become a banker, like his father, be as financially successful as Abel, and more so with his family life. Eventually, he becomes the target of Abel's hatred. Abel is convinced that Kane is the cause of the suicide of his Texan good friend, the initial owner of the chain of hotels Abel will eventually develop and rename Baron Hotels, who loses everything during the crash of 1929 and whose application for a new loan at Kane's bank is denied. The reason why Abel is able to become a highly successful business man is a financial benefactor who insists in keeping his identity secret. That's the point where the lives of the two protagonists are no longer parallel and, based on a simple misunderstanding rooted in male pride, Kane and Abel will slowly but surely destroy each other.
The ironic twist: Abel's daughter and Kane's son fall in love and marry. No Romeo and Juliet here. They defy their respective father, hang on to their love, independence, and business savvy. Like their respective mother, they refuse hatred. Here, the young are definitely wiser than the patriarchs.
I really didn't want to part with this novel. Every night in bed, I would treasure every page. Archer, besides being very informative about the financial world, knows how to balance tension, tenderness, adventure, humor and satiric bite. A solid storyteller. What am I saying? A hell of a storyteller.
Summary of Kane and Abel
William Lowell Kane and Abel Rosnovski, one the son of a Boston millionaire, the other a penniless Polish immigrant. Two men, born on the same day, on opposite sides of the world, their paths destined to cross in their ruthless struggle to build a fortune.
An unputdownable story, spanning sixty years, of two powerful men linked by an all-consuming hatred, brought together by fate to save?and finally destroy?each other.
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