This was an Archer that I had missed. One of his best, which makes me unhappy that I’ve only just read it; but happy that I left it for this time, when I really have little else this good to serve for entertainment. This book easily becomes my favourite Jeffery Archer.
I’d rate almost every short story in the book as 4/5 or better. My favourites were “Broken Routine”, “Old Love”, “Just good friends”, “Christina Rosenthal” and “One man’s meat…”. The beauty of a well-written short story is not just that it drives home a point in just a few pages; but that its message is usually something very simple yet impactful – whether its about friendship, laughter, achievement or ego. In books like “First Among Equals” or “Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less” I was awed by the intricacies and magnitude of the plot – but in this book, what delighted me that even the simple plots were equally powerful and immersive – thirty-six times over.
I guess almost everyone must have read this by now, but if you haven’t do read it!
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Actually, this is one of the few archer’s i have missed. Shall read it now
I read it ages ago and I don’t remember most of it…guess that’s as good a reason as any to read it again :)
Dude – No story in his collection beats Old Love. The characterizations are perfect, the story sublime and the end – well it just speaks for itself. A great read.
I second Ac.. Old love is one of my favourite short stories..and it “definitely spks for itself”, like Atwood’s short stories..
I shall read it! Will go buy it. Pronto!
This book is basically a compilation of three Archer Short Story sets
– A twist in the Tale
– A quiver full of arrows
– Twelve Red Herrings
12..stories in each compilation.
These were his pre-prison days. So he had a good mix of classic novels, such as “Kane and Abel”, “First among equals”..and the nippy short stories.
Very soon he went the penthouse direction..
but… din you like “Captain”
? — the cricket match between Oxford and Cambridge.
I loved this collection. Did you read the stroy, dont remeber the name, about the person talking about her companion, and at the end it turns out to be the cat ?
I loved that.
This is acually just a collection of stories taken from his other short-story collections like ‘ A twist in the tale’, ‘Quiver full of arrows’ etc.
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