Some authors entertain you. Some educate you. And a few do something even more special, they make you fall in love with reading.
For me, Jeffrey Archer was one such author.
I started reading fiction with his books, and somewhere along the way, reading became a habit. His writing was simple, fast-paced and incredibly difficult to put down. Every chapter seemed to end with a reason to read just one more.
Kane and Abel, the story of William Lowell Kane, born into privilege, and Abel Rosnovski, a Polish immigrant who builds his life from almost nothing, is much more than a story of rivalry. It takes you through banking, business, politics, ambition, wealth and human relationships.
That was perhaps Archer’s biggest strength, his ability to write convincingly about worlds that were far beyond the ordinary reader’s experience.
Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less introduced me to another side of his storytelling – conmen, revenge and strategy. First Among Equals took readers into the world of British politics. The Fourth Estate explored newspapers and media empires.
You may not read Jeffrey Archer to become an expert in banking, politics, journalism or business. But you certainly come away knowing something about each of these worlds.
And there is an interesting Indian connection. Archer was hugely popular in India, and he himself acknowledged the country’s importance to his readership.
But he also had a rather uncomfortable relationship with Bollywood. He alleged that two Hindi films had borrowed substantially from his novels.
Khudgarz (1987), directed by Rakesh Roshan, was alleged by Archer to have drawn from Kane and Abel. The similarities included two men whose lives become intertwined through rivalry and ambition.
Then came Ladies vs Ricky Bahl (2011). Archer claimed that the film borrowed the central idea of Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less,a conman being targeted by people he had previously deceived. The film changed the characters and setting, but the broad premise was similar.
Archer was furious, famously accusing Bollywood of taking his stories without permission. Whether one calls these adaptations, inspirations or plagiarism, one thing is undeniable: his storytelling had travelled far beyond the pages of his books.
For someone like me, who discovered the joy of reading through his novels, Jeffrey Archer will always remain more than a bestselling author.
He was the author who made me a reader.
And perhaps that is the greatest legacy any writer can leave behind.
Thank you Geoffrey. May you soul rest in peace.
Jeffrey Archer has a rare gift of turning simple human emotions into unforgettable stories. Kane and Abel is a masterpiece of storytelling, filled with ambition, rivalry, struggle and destiny. His crisp writing, gripping pace and powerful characters make the reader live every page rather than merely read it.