Jeffrey Archer was a bestselling author who sold more than 300 million books during a five-decade writing career, and best known for his novels Kane and Abel and the Clifton Chronicles. This is an excellent tribute by Kishore to a person who gave the world so much to read and contemplate. The best-selling author who gave at least two generations of Indians a plethora of books to read and whose books lined footpaths and bookstores shelves across the country, passed away on 5 October.
Archer lived a full life, with all the drama built into it. Circumstances also did him in. The master storyteller was also a controversial man, but life was never dull with Jeffrey’s books – separate the art from the artist.
N. Kishore — Private Banker, JPMorgan Chase. Numbers by day, Narratives by Night. History buff and restless wanderer, mapping old empires onto new journeys.
Devoted husband, grandfather. Practitioner of tactical silence. Quiet fortitude in reserve.
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In an age when reading is slowly losing its place in our busy lives , this visualisations came as a blessing. It reminded me of the simple almost forgotten pleasure of sitting with a book, turning its pages, getting lost in a story and wanting just one more chapter. More than a farewell to Jeffrey Archer, it felt like a gentle reminder of why he lead in the first place.
Beautifully written, deeply nostalgic and a wonderful tribute to the enduring magic of books and story telling.
Extremely good visualisation by Kishore of a vast subject – ‘Nobody wrote the dramatic turn like him. Nobody made plot twists, dysfunctional relationships and impossible coincidence so hard to put down.’ There are very few amongst English novel readers who have not read Kane and Abel; in fact Filmmaker Hansal Mehta had planned to adapt the bestseller into a film. Lord Archer was not sold on Bollywood. He had sold the rights of his novel First Among Equals to Producer Sheetal Talwar but that did not happen either.
“Nobody wrote the dramatic turn like him. Nobody made plot twists, dysfunctional relationships and impossible coincidence so hard to put down. His stories were entertaining and his characters were fascinating.
A quote from Subhash Jha, Rediff – “An era ends with him. Rest in peace, Master.”