Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer (Epub)

Description

William Lowell Kane and Abel Rosnovski, one the son of a Boston millionaire, the other a penniless Polish immigrant. Two men, born on the same day, on opposite sides of the world, their paths destined to cross in their ruthless struggle to build a fortune.

An unputdownable story, spanning sixty years, of two powerful men linked by an all-consuming hatred, brought together by fate to save―and finally destroy―each other.

User’s Reviews

“The ultimate novel of sibling rivalry.” ―Dan Brown From the Back Cover A Classic, Reborn To mark the 30th anniversary of its publication, Jeffrey Archer has rewritten his bestselling saga for a new generation of readers.They had only one thing in common…William Lowell Kane and Abel Rosnovski, one the son of a Boston millionaire, the other a penniless Polish immigrant. Two men, born on the same day, on opposite sides of the world, their paths destined to cross in their ruthless struggle to build a fortune.KANE & ABELAn unputdownable story, spanning sixty years, of two powerful men linked by an all-consuming hatred, brought together by fate to save―and finally destroy―each other.”A storyteller in the class of Alexandre Dumas.”―Washington Post”Archer is a master entertainer.”―Time”One of the top ten storytellers in the world.”―Los Angeles Times About the Author JEFFREY ARCHER was educated at Oxford University. He served five years as a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons and has served twenty-seven years as a Member of the House of Lords. Now published in 97 countries and more than 37 languages, all of his novels and short story collections―including Kane & Abel, Only Time Will Tell and This Was a Man―have been international bestsellers. Jeffrey is married with two sons and three grandchildren, and lives in London, Cambridge and Majorca. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. CHAPTER 1 April 18, 1906, Slonim, Poland She only stopped screaming when she died. It was then that he started to scream. The young boy who was hunting rabbits in the forest was not sure whether it was the woman’s last cry or the child’s first that alerted his youthful ears. He turned, sensing possible danger, his eyes searching for an animal that was obviously in pain. But he had never known an animal to scream in quite that way before. He edged towards the noise cautiously; the scream had now turned to a whine, but it still did not sound like any animal he knew. He hoped it would be small enough to kill; at least that would make a change from rabbit for dinner. He moved stealthily towards the river, where the strange noise came from, darting from tree to tree, feeling the protection of the bark against his shoulder blades, something to touch. Never stay in the open, his father had taught him. When he reached the edge of the forest he had a clear line of vision all the way down the valley to the river, and even then it took him some time to realize that the strange cry emanated from no ordinary animal. He crept towards the whining, even though he was now out in the open. Then he saw the woman, her dress above her waist, her bare legs splayed. He had never seen a woman like that before. He ran quickly to her side and stared down at her belly, too frightened to touch. Lying between the woman’s legs was a small, pink animal, covered in blood and attached to her by something that looked like rope. The young hunter dropped his freshly caught rabbits and fell to his knees beside the little creature. He gazed at it for a long, stunned moment, then turned his eyes to the woman. He immediately regretted the decision. She was already blue with cold; her tired young face looked middle-aged to the boy. He did not need to be told that she was dead. He picked up the slippery little body that lay on the grass between her legs. Had you asked him why, and no one ever did, he would have told you that the tiny fingernails clawing at the crumpled face had worried him. The mother and child were bound together by the slimy rope. The boy had watched the birth of a lamb a few days earlier and he tried to remember. Yes, that’s what the shepherd had done. But dare he, with a child? The whining suddenly stopped, and he sensed that a decision was now urgent. He unsheathed his knife, the one he skinned rabbits with, wiped it on his sleeve and, hesitating only for a moment, cut the rope close to the child’s body. Blood flowed freely from the severed ends. Then what had the shepherd done when the lamb was born? He had tied a knot to stop the blood. Of course, of course. The boy pulled some long grass out of the earth beside him and hastily tied a crude knot in the cord. Then he took the child in his arms. It started to cry again. He rose slowly from his knees, leaving behind him three dead rabbits and a dead woman who had given birth to this child. Before finally turning his back on the mother, he put her legs together and pulled her dress down over her knees. It seemed the right thing to do. ‘Holy God,’ he said aloud, the thing he always said when he had done something very good or very bad. He wasn’t yet sure which this was. The young hunter ran towards the cottage where his mother would be cooking supper, waiting only for his rabbits; everything else would be prepared. She would be wondering how many he’d caught today; with a family of eight to feed, she needed at least three. Sometimes he managed a duck, a goose or even a pheasant that had strayed from the Baron’s estate, on which his father worked. Tonight he had caught a different animal. When he reached the cottage, he didn’t dare let go of his prize, even with one hand, so he kicked at the door with his bare foot until his mother opened it. Silently, he held up the child to her. She made no immediate move to take the creature from him but stood, one hand covering her mouth, gazing at the wretched sight. ‘Holy God,’ she said, and crossed herself. The boy looked up at her face for some sign of pleasure or anger, to find her eyes shining with a tenderness he had never seen before. He knew then that the thing he had done must be good. ‘It’s a little boy,’ said his mother, taking the child into her arms. ‘Where did you fi nd him?’ ‘Down by the river, Matka,’ he said. ‘And the mother?’ ‘Dead.’ She crossed herself again. ‘Quickly, run and tell your father what has happened. He will find Urszula Wojnak on the estate, and you must take them both to the mother. Then be sure they come back here.’ The boy rubbed his hands on his trousers, happy enough not to have dropped the slippery creature, and ran off in search of his father. The mother closed the door with her shoulder and called out for Florentyna, her eldest child, to put the pot on the fire. She sat down on a wooden stool, unbuttoned her bodice and pushed a tired nipple to the little puckered mouth. Sophia, her youngest daughter, only six months old, would have to go without her supper tonight. Come to think of it, so would the whole family. ‘And to what purpose?’ the woman said out loud, tucking her shawl around the child. ‘Poor little mite will be dead by morning.’ She did not repeat that sentiment to Urszula Wojnak when she arrived a couple of hours later. The elderly midwife washed the little body and tended to the twisted umbilical stump. The woman’s husband stood silently by the open fire, observing the scene. ‘A guest in the house brings God into the house,’ declared the woman, quoting the old Polish proverb. Her husband spat. ‘To the cholera with him. We have enough children of our own.’ The woman pretended not to hear him as she stroked the sparse dark hairs on the baby’s head. ‘What shall we call him?’ she asked. Her husband shrugged. ‘What does it matter? Let him go to his grave nameless.’ Excerpted from Kane & Abelby Jeffrey Archer.Copyright © 2009 by Jeffrey Archer.Published in November 2009 by St. Martin`s Press.All rights reserved. This work is protected under copyright laws andreproduction is strictly prohibited. Permission to reproduce the material inany manner or medium must be secured from the Publisher. Read more

Reviews from Amazon users, collected at the time the book is getting published on UniedVRG. It can be related to shiping or paper quality instead of the book content:

⭐ Jeffrey Archer is a consummate story teller and “Kane and Able” is a fantastic example of his skill. When I first read this book 40 years ago, it was only a single title and Archer was an up ‘n comer. Now, I’m able to read the series without waiting for the next volume to be written; a decided advantage.Archer constructs plots like the finest of architects would plan a gravity defying building. Every intersection, angle, roofline and basement meld in perfect harmony. They support the characters, their hopes, dreams, plots and schemes as well as those of the family members of future generations.The characters are wonderful and fully executed. Rich backgrounds are provided with complete histories that some have complained about. I found that level of detail intriguing and helped make me part of the family. It’s easy enough to skim these parts if you’re easily bored by this type of prose. It’s not what I’d call “filler fodder”, however, it really does flesh out the story, imho. The dialogue is fantastic and well in keeping with both the historical time periods and geographical backgrounds.There is a bit of light swearing but nothing too offensive or that doesn’t fit with the situation. The same applies to sexual content and violence. Lots of emotional, passionate people are presented in the pages of “Kane and Abel”. The opportunity to view their lives, learn from their mistakes and triumphs is well worth the time invested in reading this almost 600 page treasure.

⭐ Very good book yes! But beware, i got them new through Mass Market Paperback as they wrre buy 2 and get 3rd free- but the inside margins of print are almost non existant and it’s almost impossible to open the paperback and see the print to read it!! I bought them for my 92 year okd mom, so spent the evening bending the pages, almost breaking the binding, to try to get a 1/4″ area to see the print at the end of each line on the left side and the beginning of each line on the right side. They are still very difficult to read on most pages! Awful!

⭐ Kane and Abel is one of the best books I read recently. It was quite amazing to watch these two characters grow to be exactly same at the same time very different personalities. Character cores influenced by similar set of events though circumstances were different . I felt like character integrity was a bit lost for Kane for sequences after marriage but it was convincing enough to feel that was organic. But the characters were super rich. All those sequences portraying abilities and willpower of each of them were very gripping and kept you rooting. In all an excellent read. The end made me think more about what made these characters be themselves as well as the possibilities if the characters tried to understand each other as us readers do. I think I’ll wait some time before reading the second part to let this book ok sink in well. A powerful read indeed

⭐ I very much enjoyed this book. I was completely engrossed in the two boys lives and all the drama that went on. As they got older their feud was clearly pointless and unnecessary . That was frustrating . There is a bittersweet ending which saddened me, but I guess with a feud like that some sadness comes with it. Overall I really enjoyed the story!

⭐ I think Kane and Able is one of the best books that Jeffery Archer has written. I read it years ago when it first came out, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it for the second time. I live in a senior retirement community and have passed it around to friends here and they also really loved it. After reading it, I purchased the next 2 in the series, which I had never read, and enjoyed them very much. They are also being passed around. I have a kindle, but when a book like this is so great, I buy the book so my friends can have the pleasure of reading it. Then they are donated to our library.

⭐ I absolutely love Jeffrey Archer’s writing style. The Clifton Chronicles one of my favorite series. This was written equally well, I am just a happy ending reader. Knowing the synopsis given when deciding if to buy it, you can pretty much guess all things will not end up roses. Great book however

⭐ Good characterization, you have no choice but to like both protagonists and both are equally likeable and real. The story about the Polish protagonist tend to get a bit too “Look what mishaps happen to me”, but gets better as soon as he gets on the boat…The end is not about who is better or most likeable, they are almost equals in their stubbornness and life’s “reward” for their deeds is fair. A good read!Now reading the sequel (The Prodigal Daughter): So far a bad carbon copy of Abel’s side of the story with no new insights or surprises. see next review (if I finish the story, so far a waste of good reading time)…

⭐ The book was readable. I was really impressed with it the first time I read it about 15 years ago. This time around the book seemed quite ordinary.

⭐ The biblical story of Cain and Abel kept interfering with my ability to process the story, but I enjoyed every twist and turn of the plot line. At first I had a hard time deciding who was my hero. When I finally let go of trying to write the story myself, I enjoyed every word of Mr. Archer’s.

⭐ I purchased this novel recently, one of my favorites, because I hadn’t read it in decades and I wanted to have a hardcover edition for my collection. It was listed as being in ‘VERY GOOD CONDITION’ by a third party seller of amazon’s, but incredulously it wasn’t in that condition. Well I shouldn’t be surprised, many things advertised on amazon are not what they appear to be, despite of the stellar reviews of the seller.Received the novel, and it is a library book from the late seventies, still intact with the library card with stamped dates on the returnable dates, etc.!! Although it looks presentable at first glance, the spine of the novel is about to fall apart, very misaligned as you can expect from a library book over 30 years old. When I go to read the novel, I will have to hold it at a certain angle. In addition, the pages are warped’, like the book has been subject to some water damage, or very high humidity, at the least.Buyers, you should beware of the book sellers on amazon. Even though they have very high ratings, there are misrepresentations on their ratings of 4 or 5 stars, and this is a stellar example.

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