Jeffery Archer is losing his aim

Book: And Thereby Hangs A Tale
Jeffrey Archer
Pan Macmillan
290 pages
Rs268

What’s most interesting about And Thereby Hangs A Tale, Jeffrey Archer’s new collection of short stories, is that 10 of the 15 stories are inspired by true events. The stories are set in England, US, Germany, Ireland and India.

‘Caste-off’ is the true story of a playboy Rajput prince who falls in love with a non-Rajput girl while they’re stuck at a traffic light in New Delhi. Naturally, his father throws a fit, but the determined Jamwal marries Nisha anyway. While the theme isn’t new, the storytelling style is interesting. Archer has a way of fleshing out his characters’ positive as well as negative side, making them easy to relate to.

One of the most touching stories is ‘Members Only’. A young man’s life changes after he finds a golf ball in his Christmas cracker. He applies for membership at a prestigious golf club in Jersey but despite his good game and almost a lifetime of effort, remains on the waiting list.

Two themes that underlie most of the stories are those of love and ambition. In ‘Where there’s a will’, an ambitious escort-turned nurse tries to con a rich old man into making her his largest beneficiary in his will. In ‘The undiplomatic diplomat’, Percy, who has never been politically correct, aims at making his father and grandfather proud - both had been ambassadors. In ‘Better the devil you know’, the chairman of a company willing to do ‘anything’ for a second chance makes a pact with the devil - ‘Mr De Ath’.
Unlike Archer’s earlier works, this latest collection of short stories doesn’t shock you as much. His train of thought is almost predictable, and not many of the stories linger in your head after you’re done reading them. And thereby hangs a tale.