A Prisoner of birth
Overall I’d rate the book as a B-. The narration is phenomenal. I was able to visualize everything as if it happened in front of me. The plot however, was mediocre for a Jeffrey archer novel. Also, there were parts of the book where the author seemed eager to give it a happy ending.
During the first trial I found it very unusual that Beth’s dad wouldn’t believe her when she said that Danny was not the killer of Bernie. For one thing Bernie was her brother too and also she was present at that moment to witness the whole thing. Maybe the court couldn’t believe the dialogues that happened between the two parties in the bar but why would her own dad be cynical about it.
I don’t want to sound harsh while criticizing this part but I was so not convinced by the escape of Danny from the prison based on his identical looks with Nick. Even if Belmarsh was not a high security prison, like the author mentioned, there are a few basic formalities which would make this plot look stupid. They take profile photographs of the prisoners in a million angles. Even if Danny was a look alike of Nick in all those million angles, what about finger prints, hand prints etc, don’t tell me they let you out of prison without all this.. I mean they don’t even let anyone out of an airport without completing these formalities. When it came to the will of Nick’s grandfather, the author was so diligent in mentioning every little detail from the stationery match of the will paper to the vintage typewriter. Considering that kind of detail, the segue of Danny’s escape with just the help of hair stylist looked a little superficial.
I was a little disappointed with the way the last two chapters turned out. After Sr.Redmayne finished questioning Craig (before book six), the judge ordered to reopen the transcripts of the previous case along with current trial. To me that doesn’t automatically prove that Danny is acquitted and is free. But to my surprise in the next chapter, Danny was out at Nick’s funeral and was planning an extended honeymoon in Rome with Beth. It is only after this chapter that Davenport comes forward and admits guilty. So I would have thought that Danny would atleast be in remand till then. But again Sr. Redmayne mentions that those three (Craig and party) were arrested and charged with the murder of Bernie. May be that itself was enough to bring Danny out. However to me it seemed as if the author was rushing for a happy ending. I would have been more convinced if the last two chapters were swapped to show that Danny’s freedom came only after Davenport pleaded guilty.
Characters:
Danny: I don’t know if he is supposed to be the hero of this story but to me he is not much of a hero. Even after escaping from the prison he couldn’t have done any damage to the three musketeers if it wasn’t for the money he stumbled into as Nick. Even then he din’t manage to do a lot of damage. Also whatever happened to his loyalty towards Beth when he slipped with the understudy, Katie? I mean, Beth had not moved on even though, in her mind, Danny was never coming back.
Hugo: This guy constantly reminded me of the yesteryear bollywood villain Pran. Perhaps it is because he played a lot of roles where he was after his nephew’s fortune.
Munro: His character seemed to be pristine and intelligent. He played a very key role, not only as the legal advisor during Danny’s disguise as Nick but also as a witness during the court session.
Leach: It would have been interesting if someone sought vendetta against this guy.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
Prisoner Of Birth --Jeffrey Archer
Book of the Month (July) Naresh's Pick - A Prisoner of Birth by Jeffery Archer
We had our second book discussion on August 10. Thanks everyone for participating in the call, especially Appu and Naresh for dialing in while driving.
Round of applause to all of us for having completed the book.
Thanks to Priya for keeping the minutes.
A special "pat on the back" to Naresh for having documented his thoughts so well. :)
Book of the Month for August was picked by PK - A Passage to India by E.M Forster. This book was selected as one of the 100 great works of English Literature by Modern Library.
Happy Reading everyone !
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Meeting Minutes
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Naresh : Overall I’d rate the book a b-. The narration is phenomenal. I was able to visualize everything as if it happened in front of me. The plot was pretty mediocre for a Jeffrey archer novel.
I was not convinced by the escape of Danny from the prison based on his identical looks with Nick. Even if Belmarsh was not a high security prison like the author mentioned, there are a few basic formalities which would make this plot look stupid. They take profile photographs of the prisoners in a million angles.
I was a little disappointed with the way the last two chapters turned out. I would have been more convinced if the last two chapters were swapped to show that Danny’s freedom came only after Davenport pleaded guilty.
Characters:Munro: His character seemed to be pristine and intelligent. He played a very key role, not only as the legal advisor during Danny’s disguise as Nick but also as a witness during the court session.
Rashmi : Liked the book but certain things were unbelievable for her especially the ‘escaping sequence’. The funny part she liked was in prison where Nick was teaching Danny table manners.
In the end it seemed like as though Nick was taking revenge and not Danny. She concluded by saying that Nick should not have died and Danny was to be released from the prison on his behalf.
Characters: Nick
Bhavesh : was happy reading the book. He enjoyed and liked the book. Some plots were falling apart for him. Appreciated the author for the story line and the ability of the author in depicting Danny as a ‘Brainy Character’. Did not like the identities being mixed up (Danny and Nick).He also showed some dissapointment in the author for not portraying Sir Mathew’s character earlier in the book and waited till the end.
Characters : Sir Mathew(Alex’s dad).
Pk : Initially boring but was soon engrossed in the book. Thought the story represented 80’s Bollywood movie( couple of songs missing). Did like Danny getting out of the prison in revenge to cut the roots of the antagonists in the book. It seemed like for him that Danny was not the actual Hero and that Beth and Nick were leading the story.
Did not like Nick being Murdered. Many plots or scenes were unbelievable.
Appreciated the author’s portrayal of the characters in the Belmarsh Prison.
Characters: Nick.
Appu : Beginning was fast but the ending was not getting any quicker(curious for the end). The court scene was capturing(desperate to what was going to happen in the court).
Story was a little dragging for her isolating the facts. Disliked the fact of being reminded by the author every time that Danny was replaced by Nick. Also she added on that the Hero of the book seemed like a fraud taking away Nick’s money even though Nick had written the will on Danny’s name. She compared the novel with
“Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less” (advised to read this book) and said that she liked the novel but could be much better.
Characters : Sir Mathew who pointed out some interesting points to his son Alex as well as to the Jury.
Venkat : Book was Interesting ,gave 4 out of 5 stars. Did not like the introduction, thought it to be unromantic(the proposal scene). Appreciated the author’s work in describing the scene where Danny pretends to be Nick and how he managed to sell the
Collection. Also liked the plot of Danny being set to take up as Nick(most of the help from his diary which he used to write everyday in the prison).
Pointed out many flaws , first the novel wasn’t strong towards the end and the revenge part became very week , second the author’s flaw in which Larry who had no money to start with but later has 1 mil. Dollars help from Danny .
Characters : Munro, Sir Mathew , Stamp Collector from Texas.
Dharma : Was a little disappointed with the novel .Liked Monte Christo more .
The novel was week . not represented well especially the second part of the book(Prison).
Agreed with Venkat on the flaws.
He thought the character of Larry Davenport’s sister was lost somewhere in the novel and the author should have done more with her coz her introduction was very good.
Overall did not enjoy the book.
Characters: Nick’s Lawyer, Munro.
Vandu : Liked the book. The last part(Redemption) court room scene was good. Thought that Nick played a pivotal role. Two most important things for her in the novel which she thought was not covered well were: First , Danny sleeping with that actress. Second , nick’s murder.
Priya : Liked the book. Even though the novel was too perfect still enjoyed it a lot.
Added the fact that the author did a fantastic job in portraying the charcter of Spencer Craig even though he plays the role of a villain here . He was sophisticated, learned, knew how to behave in the court room. Not only this but he also supported his friends in every manner he could. The portrayal of Alex, the lawyer was also well done. He was a young blood, adamant to get justice for his client, was ready to seek help from his dad in every way. Liked the scene in which Alex asks his dad on presenting Danny to the jury and his dad with all his experience advices him to think over again.
Characters: Alex, Nick.
Flaws common to all:
Did not like the one stand night of Danny.
Did not like Nick being Murdered.
The Revenge was not strong enough.
Nick should not have died.
We had our second book discussion on August 10. Thanks everyone for participating in the call, especially Appu and Naresh for dialing in while driving.
Round of applause to all of us for having completed the book.
Thanks to Priya for keeping the minutes.
A special "pat on the back" to Naresh for having documented his thoughts so well. :)
Book of the Month for August was picked by PK - A Passage to India by E.M Forster. This book was selected as one of the 100 great works of English Literature by Modern Library.
Happy Reading everyone !
-------------------------------------------------
Meeting Minutes
-------------------------------------------------
Naresh : Overall I’d rate the book a b-. The narration is phenomenal. I was able to visualize everything as if it happened in front of me. The plot was pretty mediocre for a Jeffrey archer novel.
I was not convinced by the escape of Danny from the prison based on his identical looks with Nick. Even if Belmarsh was not a high security prison like the author mentioned, there are a few basic formalities which would make this plot look stupid. They take profile photographs of the prisoners in a million angles.
I was a little disappointed with the way the last two chapters turned out. I would have been more convinced if the last two chapters were swapped to show that Danny’s freedom came only after Davenport pleaded guilty.
Characters:Munro: His character seemed to be pristine and intelligent. He played a very key role, not only as the legal advisor during Danny’s disguise as Nick but also as a witness during the court session.
Rashmi : Liked the book but certain things were unbelievable for her especially the ‘escaping sequence’. The funny part she liked was in prison where Nick was teaching Danny table manners.
In the end it seemed like as though Nick was taking revenge and not Danny. She concluded by saying that Nick should not have died and Danny was to be released from the prison on his behalf.
Characters: Nick
Bhavesh : was happy reading the book. He enjoyed and liked the book. Some plots were falling apart for him. Appreciated the author for the story line and the ability of the author in depicting Danny as a ‘Brainy Character’. Did not like the identities being mixed up (Danny and Nick).He also showed some dissapointment in the author for not portraying Sir Mathew’s character earlier in the book and waited till the end.
Characters : Sir Mathew(Alex’s dad).
Pk : Initially boring but was soon engrossed in the book. Thought the story represented 80’s Bollywood movie( couple of songs missing). Did like Danny getting out of the prison in revenge to cut the roots of the antagonists in the book. It seemed like for him that Danny was not the actual Hero and that Beth and Nick were leading the story.
Did not like Nick being Murdered. Many plots or scenes were unbelievable.
Appreciated the author’s portrayal of the characters in the Belmarsh Prison.
Characters: Nick.
Appu : Beginning was fast but the ending was not getting any quicker(curious for the end). The court scene was capturing(desperate to what was going to happen in the court).
Story was a little dragging for her isolating the facts. Disliked the fact of being reminded by the author every time that Danny was replaced by Nick. Also she added on that the Hero of the book seemed like a fraud taking away Nick’s money even though Nick had written the will on Danny’s name. She compared the novel with
“Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less” (advised to read this book) and said that she liked the novel but could be much better.
Characters : Sir Mathew who pointed out some interesting points to his son Alex as well as to the Jury.
Venkat : Book was Interesting ,gave 4 out of 5 stars. Did not like the introduction, thought it to be unromantic(the proposal scene). Appreciated the author’s work in describing the scene where Danny pretends to be Nick and how he managed to sell the
Collection. Also liked the plot of Danny being set to take up as Nick(most of the help from his diary which he used to write everyday in the prison).
Pointed out many flaws , first the novel wasn’t strong towards the end and the revenge part became very week , second the author’s flaw in which Larry who had no money to start with but later has 1 mil. Dollars help from Danny .
Characters : Munro, Sir Mathew , Stamp Collector from Texas.
Dharma : Was a little disappointed with the novel .Liked Monte Christo more .
The novel was week . not represented well especially the second part of the book(Prison).
Agreed with Venkat on the flaws.
He thought the character of Larry Davenport’s sister was lost somewhere in the novel and the author should have done more with her coz her introduction was very good.
Overall did not enjoy the book.
Characters: Nick’s Lawyer, Munro.
Vandu : Liked the book. The last part(Redemption) court room scene was good. Thought that Nick played a pivotal role. Two most important things for her in the novel which she thought was not covered well were: First , Danny sleeping with that actress. Second , nick’s murder.
Priya : Liked the book. Even though the novel was too perfect still enjoyed it a lot.
Added the fact that the author did a fantastic job in portraying the charcter of Spencer Craig even though he plays the role of a villain here . He was sophisticated, learned, knew how to behave in the court room. Not only this but he also supported his friends in every manner he could. The portrayal of Alex, the lawyer was also well done. He was a young blood, adamant to get justice for his client, was ready to seek help from his dad in every way. Liked the scene in which Alex asks his dad on presenting Danny to the jury and his dad with all his experience advices him to think over again.
Characters: Alex, Nick.
Flaws common to all:
Did not like the one stand night of Danny.
Did not like Nick being Murdered.
The Revenge was not strong enough.
Nick should not have died.
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