cat o nine tails jeffrey archer

Cat O' Nine Tails: Jeffrey Archer

A lazy weekend afternoon, a heavy lunch, a dull mind seeking a quick

light read - that's what led me to Jeffrey Archer's latest offering -

Cat O' Nine Tails. Cat is a collection of twelve stories - nine of

which are based on real stories Archer gathered from fellow-prisoners

when he served a two-year term for perjury.

Now I must confess that for a reason that I cannot quite remember, I

have read all of Archer's works (except for the prison dairies),

starting from my late school days with Archer's first (and arguably

best) novel - Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less. I used to devour his

other books with gusto in those days, particularly enjoying his short

stories - at that time, a short story to me meant one with a twist at

the end, and Archer provided that almost as a rule.

However, over his last few books, there was a discernible drop in the

quality of the plots - books like Sons of Fortune and False Impression

were really disappointing. And, sad to say, Cat seems to fall in the

same category. There is a forcedness to the expressions and turns of

phrase (things I used to see as Archer's strengths in his early

works); a predictability to the plots, and worse, to the twists at the

end; and a tiredness in the characterization. May be it is the

incarceration that did this to him. Or may be he has just run out of

ideas - the stories almost read like he is parodying himself. It's

almost as if he is reminding himself at every turn, "I am Jeffrey

Archer; I am supposed to write like this."

To be fair to Archer, there are some unusual plots like "Don't Drink

the Water" and interesting characters like Patrick O'Flynn in Cat. May

be a younger Jeffrey Archer would have give them a better spin and us,

a better read.

Thankfully, the stories are short and so I was done quickly. May be I

will not read Archer again. But then, that's what I thought for the

last few books of his. Now I am older (and hopefully...); and I don't