Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer

Pat D. chose the book and hosted the meeting.

About the Book and the Author

Kane and Abel was written in 1979 and is among the top 100 best sellers in the world. Jeffrey Archer began revising the book to publish it again for its 30th anniversary as he considers this book to be the breakthrough in his career. The book is about two men born on the same day near the turn of the century, on different sides of the world and into different socio-economic upbringing.

Both men are brought together by fate and the quest of a dream. These two men - ambitious, powerful, ruthless - are locked in a relentless struggle to build an empire, fueled by their all-consuming hatred. Over 60 years and three generations, through war, marriage, fortune, and disaster, Kane and Abel battle for the success and triumph that only one man can have. Through a series of incidents, their paths cross and become quite destructive to themselves and others. (from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/78983.Kand_and_Abel)

Jeffrey Archer, author, was born in England, April 15, 1940, and has a checkered past. He holds the title of Baron and was a member of Parliament and a former politician. However, his political career cam to an end when he was jailed for perjury, omitting or exploiting facts about himself - such as saying he was a graduate of Oxford, although there was no record that he was an undergraduate student - bringing his credentials into question. Bankruptcy led him to become a writer for profit, proving successful as an author.

Discussion Points

Kane and Abel was the basis for a 1985 television mini-series. Pat began the discussion by showing several clips from this mini-series.

For the most part, the group liked the book - giving it an average 8.5 rating. The minuses about the book were that it was too predictable, perhaps a bit sexist, first half was better than the second half and it did not have a happy ending. The positives were that the book is well written, the characters were quite colorful and it kept our interest, despite how long it was!

Discussion occurred regarding their obvious economic differences in their upbringing. Kane was born into wealth. Even though he obviously had everything provided to him, he still worked hard for his achievements. It was unfortunate though that he had no personal, original dreams - his father's milestones were his goals. Abel's life started out rough, his birth mother died giving birth to him and a kind, but very poor family "adopted" him. Beginning with his "adopted" mother and sister, many people helped in placing Abel on his road to success. However, the group thought it was sad that he never bothered to "pay it forward". For example, when he eventually returned to his birth town and found his mother living in such poor conditions and in such poor health, he had the financial means to do so much for her but walked away instead.

Despite the obvious differences in upbringing, there were many similarities in the two main characters. Besides being born on the same day, both were very intelligent, both had a strong drive to achieve their goals, both achieved great wealth, both employed their friends, both wanted to become a soldier and go to war, and both held deep love for their children. But a similarity which caused extreme sadness in both of their lives was the deep rooted hatred and contempt they held for each other.

The life story lines of each of the main characters made for an interesting read. As always, great discussion was held and we enjoyed yet another book club gathering.

Author's website and blog: http://jeffreyarcher.co.uk/