Customer Reviews

And Thereby Hangs a Tale

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Just about everyone loves a good story. And after reading or hearing an especially good one, who doesn't want to know the real story behind the story? The title of AND THEREBY HANGS A TALE comes from a quote in a William Shakespeare play, and it means just that --- the story behind the story.

In the tradition of master storytellers, Jeffrey Archer has crafted a collection of 15 short tales. Set in England, Ireland, America, India, Germany and points between, the book includes heroes and villains, winners and losers, injustice and comeuppance, love and loss, the demonic and the divine, and features stories of double-crossing crooks, convicts and thieves; a conniving gold-digger; fortune hunters; star-crossed lovers; and much more.

Picking a favorite from such a diverse collection is not an easy task. Those who yearn for suspense and intrigue with a surprising twist will enjoy Archer's original story, "Politically Correct." If you're looking for a perfect blend of humorous and heartwarming, then you should read "The Queen's Birthday Telegram," the true story of a centenarian who gets an unexpected surprise. And in "High Heels," a wife's high-fashion skills help a determined insurance investigator solve a case.

One of the standouts for me is "A Good Eye," an inspiring tale of art, tradition, faith and divine intervention, set in the hills of the Bavarian state of Germany. The story begins in the 1600s, with Herr Hans Grebenar, a church elder who is trained in law but who also has a passion and an eye for art. While serving as a prosecutor in the town of his birth, Grebenar discovers Herr Friedrich Bloch, a gifted painter. Despite his marvelous talent, Bloch can't steer clear of his vices. Grebenar bails Bloch out of his troubles numerous times and becomes his advocate. In exchange for financial support, Bloch agrees to Grebenar's commission "to paint full-length portraits of Our Lord's disciples."

Over the course of decades, Bloch executes his commission, but he saves his greatest masterpiece for last. The final painting stays with the family for centuries until tragedy strikes. Without giving away the ending, I'll just note that it truly is a miraculous tale of passion, faith and God-given genius.

What I like best about AND THEREBY HANGS A TALE is Archer's obvious respect for the tradition of storytelling. Throughout the collection, he weaves clever and compelling tales with straightforward, unadorned prose. His writing is clear and concise, and many of his characters are memorable. But it's really the concept of story --- and the story behind the story --- that is at the heart of Archer's elegant and entertaining work.

--- Reviewed by Donna Volkenann

I thought the story was well-told and interesting. I'll definitely look into more by this author. I do think the publisher made a mistake on this one though - having a free short story to gather interest in the book was a great idea. I think it would have worked better though if the entire book was available to pre-order on Kindle to catch the impulse shoppers like me.

I have purchased and read every Jeffery Archer book I could find. He is a fantastic author. At first I didn't think I would like his books of short stories. I was wrong - they are great and "Thereby Hangs a Tale is no exception and ranks with my favorites of his books of short stories - A Quiver Full of Arrows, Twelve Red Herrings, and a Cat O'Nine tales. He graduated from Oxford University, was a Member of Parliament, a Playwright and served two years of a four year term in prison. If you have never read any of his books, do so now.

To borrow an old and worn phrase "it is harder to write a good short story than a full length novel." With that said I think this is a fine collection of short stories, some with a twist of O'Henry. I don't think the collection was put together as an intellectual challenge or as a contender for the Nobel Prize for literature. It just a simple book with very well written enjoyable stories.

Just thought I'd complete the Shakespeare quote. I've read several of Archer's books and short story collections, and this is by far the least substantial and most disappointing. The opening story "Stuck on you" was quite clever if implausible, but it went steadily downhill from there. Some of the stories are muddled and confusing, some are insufferably cutesy, some are anti-climactic, most are just pointless. Archer is Biggles-like in his relentless stream of national stereotypes about the Irish, the Scottish, and just about everyone else outside of England's borders. I read this book over a weekend and it probably didn't take Archer much longer to write it.

This is a stub of a story about a man smitten with a woman that he'll do anything for.

It's considered a mystery, I believe, but I didn't find it particularly mystifying. The result was fairly evident from the first couple paragraphs, so there really are no surprises. It just felt like an assignment given to the author wherein he was limited to a certain word count. The content is slightly rushed and underdeveloped; crammed.

Here's the thing, though: if you're looking for a collection of stories to pass the time, "And Thereby..." was certainly breezy enough to fit part of the bill. I could see myself knocking out more of these on a flight, or something similarly distracting.

An endearingly written, easy read.

This review is from: And Thereby Hangs a Tale (Hardcover)
I'm a long time Jeffery Archer fan, but this book (collection of stories) is terrible and a complete waste of time and money. Mr Archer should be ashamed to affix his name as author to this juvenile rendering and it's equally unfortunate for Mr Archer's first time readers, they will never read his other truely fantastic novels.

I'd never read any of Archer's work before but I enjoyed this. It's short and a very quick read but I thought it was pretty good. Yes, there were few surprises in but it still carried me along to the end. I'll definitely pick up more books by this author.

This is a wonderful book, BRILLIANTLY written, you just cannot wait to get to the next tale! Bravo!!

Jeffrey Archer is my favorite author along with Alexander McCall Smith. Jeffrey really gives a twist to his tales. I never know what to expect.