Customer Reviews

Kane and Abel

5 star:		(162)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I am so glad to have discovered this "oldie" originally published in 1979 because it is one of the best books I have ever read. It has drama, suspense, romance, and enough plot twists to keep the most savvy reader breathlessly reading until the heart-wrenching conclusion.

William Kane and Abel Rosnovski both enter the world in 1906. One is born to a wealthy, socially prominent Boston family. The other is born in poverty in Poland to an unwed woman who dies during childbirth. They each have a remarkable life story that makes for spellbinding reading until the finale in 1963.

Abel is rescued from the woods beside the body of his dead mother by a hunter and taken into a peasant family. The Russian occupation of Poland, his fearful and solitary escape to Turkey and later America, will have you cheering this tough young boy.

Meanwhile, young William Kane is growing up in the lap of luxury, attending the finest schools, and winning every honor his father before him achieved.

You will be fascinated by Archer's storytelling and the vivid characters he portrays. You will root for Abel and take him to your heart. You will be fascinated with William and wish only the best for him. Unfortunately, when the two characters cross paths as young men, a fierce hatred erupts and they become life-long enemies, as Abel swears to destroy William Kane.

The author has made each of his main characters so endearing that the reader is torn and loyalties falter. Do you root for Abel? Do you root for William? Dare you hope they will work this out? Whatever you are thinking, you will be surprised. This is not one of those novels where you will see the ending coming, but you will be stunned, sad, and uplifted as a gamut of emotions play with your mind and heart.

I finished this late last night and have been thinking about Abel and William all day. I can hardly wait to start on the sequel, "The Prodigal Daughter."

The main reason I am writing this is to warn you against reading Matt Hetling's review because he gives away the whole secret/climax of the book. I can't believe it got past Amazon. Don't reviewers know not to give away the ending and secrets? Sometimes I'm afraid to read reviews for that very reason.

I won't give a description of the book since so many others have, but I will say it's one of my all time favorites. I thought it was outstanding.

Pam

This book is realy woderfull. I could not put this book away while reading. Jeffrey Archer put the action in the real world with a knowledge of the reality of Poland before the second war and the post war era. This is what I like about it. Since I am Polish I can say that the fact from the begining of Abel's life are set in the reality of those time. The Russian soldiers were shown in the actual reality what I know from the facts that my father was telling me about them. Anyway the characters of Abel and Kane are drawn nicely to shaw thedrive to success. Kane is driven by the financial purpooses to get rich by all means, while Abel's success is driven by his stubborness to destroy Kane who was gilty of dead of Abel's former boss. The action of this book is swift, and is very characteriscal to all books of Jeffrey Archer. Second part of this book "The Prodigal Daugther" is in the same style. I highly recomend to everyone this book, and of course when you read "Kane & Abel" do not forget to read "The prodigal daughter" to have the full picture of Kane's family.

One of the things that I love about reading a novel is that it is a chance to visit another community, or life, without actually going there.

"Kane & Able" is a story that captures the dramatic lives of 2 men who were born on the same day, in 1906, from 2 completely different socioeconomics.

William Kane was born into wealth. He was stubborn, haughty and all the "attributes" associated with someone who is born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Baron Able Rosnovski, an immigrant from Poland, was determined, creative and willing to do whatever it takes to never live the impoverished life that he was born into.

Both of these men eventually and repeatedly crossed paths, in business. And they desperately try to outwit one another, at a heavy expense to all around them.

As I read this book, I kept wanting to say, "Look in your heart," because each man was so busy trying to outdo the other that they loss sight of what matters, until the end.

Although this book has 477 pages, you will read it faster than a book that is one third its size, because Mr. Archer has developed the characters so well --- you will feel like you are looking at an IMAX movie.

This is the first book by Archer that I have read, which I read after it was recommended by a friend. I found the story to be too much like a soap opera, without enough description of what was going on, with too much forshadowing, and sometimes too cliche. However, I cannot deny that the novel moved fast and that I kept reading, and enjoying what I read. It's about 550 pages but it is a light, easy read. His characters were well drawn, one of the reasons it was not a pain to continue reading. I enjoyed the book, and I think most will also, as long as they can get by those flaws above. This is no literature masterpiece, but it is entertaining.

Quite possibly Jeffrey Archer's most accomplished work. In "Kane & Abel" he employed the literary device of a looking at his protagonists and antagonists' lives through a wide-angle lens, a device he was again to employ to great effect in "As the Crow Flies" and, more recently, in "The Fourth Estate". Where many writers show us only a few years or even a few weeks in their characters' lives (and often that is quite enough), Archer is the master of fictionalizing entire lifetimes, and making them interesting enough that we are happy to be a part of them.

"Kane and Abel" tells the story of two men born on the same day yet in vastly differing circumstances. William Kane is born to wealthy New York parents at the dawn of what has been called The American Century, a life full of privilege and promise stretching before him. A world away, little Wladek Koskiewicz, bastard son of a Polish baron and one of the baron's peasants, has none of Kane's early advantages; no advantages at all in fact. Wladek's family is killed in the Great War and he sets sail for America with nothing more than the scantest of birthrights, a bracelet belonging to the dead Baron through the inscriptions of which the american Immigration official incorrectly documents him as Baron Abel Rosnovski.

Kane is stubborn, Abel determined; the two men cross paths repeatedly in business, each seeking to outmanoeuvre the other. Archer writes Abel as the more sympathetic character: his conscientious effort to become a better sexual partner and his later humiliation of Melanie Leroy, the daughter of his onetime business partner, are but two actions through which Archer shows us that Abel is endowed with the methodical focus and vindictiveness traditionally associated with those driven to rise above their current station in life. Kane has an early head start in the race and is portrayed more coldly. But both are men you'll never forget once you've read this book.

Having finished As The Crow Flies, I eagerly turned to Kane & Abel with much anticipation, but wondering how could I like this book as much as I loved ATCF. It was not difficult. I LOVED THIS BOOK TOO!!! Archer is an amazing writer of epic, engaging and "unputdownable" novels. With about 100 pages to go I could not help but to speed up to learn about the fates of William, Abel, Florentyna, Richard et al. I need to re-read those pages to see if perhaps I was a bit hasty! While the end pairing off is a bit predictable, it is heart-warming and a character or two could be left out. K&A might also cause the reader to rethink her or his actions in life and perhaps take a different take on things. Do read this- you will not be disappointed and you will not believe how moved you will be.

The story of two ambitious businessmen, born the same day on opposite sides of the globe, who individually overcome adversity to attain levels of wealth, power and success unknown to most men. Abel Rosnovski, a self-made Holocaust survivor and American Immigrant, is a hotel tycoon who utilizes his shrewd business sense, unbounded energy and natural flair for languages to enable him to become proprietor of the largest hotel chain in the world. William Kane, born into a wealthy and socially established Boston lineage and the heir to millions, is a Harvard graduate who rises through the ranks of the banking world to become chairman of one of the largest and most respected banking institutions in the city of New York. Over time, the two men come into contact and engage in a vengeful feud so bitter and far-reaching, it affects their work, their dreams for the future and also hurts the people they love the most. Incredibly moving, deeply fascinating, ironic and awe-inspiring, it is a work of fiction so creative and true to life, it was hailed as a masterpiece the moment it was published in 1984 and to this day serves as an entertaining look into the lives of two men who had everything, except the common sense to put an end to a personal grudge before it became too late.

I made a promise to myself when my son was born that I would read a book of fiction a week.Well, that has been over 12 years ago and I've met or exceeded that. When folks ask me which ones are my favorites, this is definitely one of them! I could not put it down, I was so mad when I reached the end because it was the end! I wanted more! Luckily, there is The Prodigal Daughter. Read this book, you'll love it!

the first three-quarters of the book were fantastic. the last quarter, the book seems to fall apart with predictable plot twists and never ending cliches. nevertheless, the book is a fun read.