Strongly recommended if you have somehow not read this book! This was the book which made me an Archer fan many years back and I read many of his other books in quick succession. The book sets itself up very well for the sequel with the next generation - Richard Kane & Florentyna Rosnovski. I suppose one could nit-pick some of this, but then hey – it is a wonderful read. In my recent read, I did feel the story had deliberate tracks to make you feel “If only” especially towards the end. I loved the contrast in the characters - William Kane: sophisticated, Abel Rosnovski: street smart, both ambitious and determined to rise to the top in their professions. He gets into a bitter (and misplaced) confrontation with William Kane. He starts small as a waiter, and later thrives in the restaurant trade. Abel survives the Germans and then the Russians, making it to the US via Turkey. William Kane is born into privilege in the US, keen to head the bank his father helped build, while Abel Rosnovski (named Wladek by his foster parents) is born in Poland with his mother dying soon after. This is a story of two determined men of character. The writing is excellent and of course the characters are memorable. I re-read this after many years and found that I enjoyed it almost as much as the first time. I have already mooched the sequel The Prodigal Daughter which I can’t wait to read. The stories cross paths through-out the book and the ending is a masterful surprise. So, as a reader, you really get a feel for what they are made of and why they made the decisions they made throughout their life. Fascinating! Each character is developed from birth by the author and he does an outstanding job of taking you thru their childhood, teenage-school years and then adulthood.

Especially the history of Poland and the part it played in both World Wars. I enjoyed Archer’s historical weave throughout each chapter. You feel pulled away from one story line when Archer takes you to the next. The story is so well told and so interesting that I felt torn between the two main characters and their stories.

One about Abel Rosnovki and one about William Kane. This is a great story that is told over about 60 years from Europe to America. She read it several years ago and remembered how good it was. This was a book my mother recommended to me.

Kane abel jeffrey archer