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kane and abelMy kid friend Vaidhees, who introduced me to English fictions, got me this book as my B'Day present. I took sometime to read this as I was heavily engaged in other activities like painting and travelling. When I went to Nagercoil this time, I took this 550 paged book along, and the novel was so engrossing that I completed 470 pages in 4 days. Jeffrey Archer had penned an engaging story of two men born on same day but different parts of the world who cross each other's path only to save and destroy others. The fiction throws a light on the life during 1906 - 66, the turmoil the world underwent with the world wars and evolving of dynamic financial world, banking systems etc. Still the novel remains fresh and has been a source material for so many films and soaps (including 'Junoon' in DD-2). I almost gave up this book on the crude gang rape of Florentyna by Russian army soldiers, Jeffrey Archer had explained so graphically that it sends shivers even today if I think about it. But he makes up for these by the breezy and matured romance between Kane and Kate. The last 50 pages where the children of Kane and Abel fall in love is yawn inducing and unwarranted. At the end of the novel Kane looms large in our minds whereas everyone can understand the ruthlessness Abel had inherited over the passage of time. Sentiments, loyalty, friendship, passion, love, betrayal, boardroom politics.... any emotions, you name it, "Kane & Abel" has it. A perfect recipe for a sureshot blockbuster.