Archer’s magic missing in his latest book

‘Predictability’ is the word apt for Jeffrey Archer’s latest book “And Thereby Hangs a Tale”. Short stories gathered on travels, by Archer over the past six years, shape the content of the book. The book contains fifteen stories with all possible angles, emotions and drama. Like a typical masala Hindi movie it has all the ingredients - love, betrayal, sex, sorrow, police, investigation, fraudulence and what not.

The book is written in a lucid language which has the ability to create quite a dramatic impact on the readers. But I believe, Archer failed to nail the reader due to the cinematic twists and turns in every story. After a few stories you can exactly predict the climax and then you lose interest.

If you are fond of suspense and thriller stories, then some of the stories in this book will definitely hook you up. But if you are into serious stuff, then treat it as a time-pass. Being a hard-core Hindi movie buff, I could actually see reflections of certain movies in some of his stories. For e.g. the story named “Where there’s a will” talks about a girl who nurses an ailing old man to become the sole owner of his property. This story reminds me of the film “Aitraaz” where the young actress woos and marries an old business tycoon for his fortune. Similarly, the chewing gum technique of robbery used in the story “Stuck on you” reminds me of the various innovative stealing techniques used in the movie “Dhoom 2”. In fact, the “Blind Date” seems so be a carbon copy of Ruskin Bond’s short story “The Eyes Have It”, provided you forgive Archer for changing the time, location and characters of the story.

And Thereby Hangs a Tale is a book that you will like to read if you focus on some specific stories which are exciting and innovative. Stories like “The Undiplomatic Diplomat” or “The Queen’s Birthday Telegram” has been successful in provoking the emotions in the reader but such attempts are limited to a handful stories. This book gives you a feeling to crave for a little more but you end up disappointed.

Though it has become one of the best sellers in India, one of the possible reasons can be the insertion of the Indian story, “Caste Off”. It tells the tale of love with the inter-caste marriage angle twisting it. But sometimes, he winds you up in some parts of the book. For e.g. in the Caste Off he wrote,

“After the newly married couple had danced seven times around Pheras, the final confirmation of their wedding vows”

– Here, the word ‘danced’ can be taken as a slur by an Indian.

On the other hand, by keeping the Indian story as the last chapter, the author has strategically tried to keep his Indian readers running up to the finishing line.

Decent design and the handy-size give a good feel of the book and overall it’s worth a one-time read. But don’t be surprised if you feel you are already acquainted with some of the plots, structures or climaxes in certain stories.

My Verdict: 2.5/5