Kane and Abel

Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer was the 1st book i read after a barren spell in which i could touch nothing but academic stuff.... Started reading it on Saturday and finished reading it yesterday... This was my first read of a Jeffrey Archer book and there is no reason for me to stop reading his novels... Kane and Abel was a compelling read... You just cant stop turning the pages.... In short, its ADDICTIVE!!

Me being an amateur in the field of reading novels felt from the very beginning that it was one meant to be finished off as soon as possible... I hadn't heard of many favourable reviews of Archer's works but he's been a famous author nonetheless with his own share of controversies( I think he was sentenced to a reasonable term in jail!!) I started off as i had literally no other options left, except for an imperious 700 page book on World War II which had such a tiny font that it would have taken a few years for me to complete...

The book deals initially with the lives of the 2 protagonists, Kane and Abel, in their youth.... The book is divided into 7 parts if i remember right, with each part describing the events taking place in the lives of the protagonists in a particular time span... William Lowell Kane is born, son of millionaire parents who's family has been into banking since his grandpa's time... Abel is born in a village of Poland as Wladek Koskiewicz who loses his mom while giving birth and is fostered by a poor family... Both of them excel in studies and find very few rivals to compete with...

Life then changes drastically for Wladek who finds himself ruined after the devastation of Poland in World War I... He loses his friends, relatives and everyone he knows and is frisked away to a camp in Russia... He escapes from the camp with the help of a stranded doctor and makes his way to Turkey... In Turkey he's on the verge of death, but is saved by the British Embassy officials who then transfer him to the Polish Embassy...

All this time William Kane has had the luxury of spending quality time with his friends... He also makes a handsome sum of money through his shrewd investments... But his father also dies in the sinking of the Titanic... William is groomed as the heir to his father's bank and he rarely disappoints....

Abel meanwhile makes his way to the USA with the help of the Polish officials... He grows climbing up the ladder in the US...

What happened then?? What was the relation between Kane and Abel?? Is it a story about 2 friends who make it big in life?? Or is it a story that concerns a bitter rivalry???

All these are for u to read and find!!! As i said before this is a must read!!! Try to lay your hands on it whenever you get the opportunity!!!

A very poor entry... I know... I have been running outta ideas of late... So please do suggest a few ideas!!!