Dear All ,
This novel of J for some strange reasons is not regarded highly. But may be it is because has set a very high standard for himself. Although I didn’t find any reason why one shouldn’t go for this novel.
Although I liked the novel a lot , But I rate the the novel not as good as some of his other novels. So here goes my thoughts on this;
As the Crow Flies is a standard rags-to-riches story, with characters progress from humble beginnings to eventually rule a business empire. I really cant help by compare this to ’’A Woman of Substance’’ by Barbara Taylor Bradford in some respects, since they are both England-based department store stories covering the same time period.
However, Archers story behind the story of a store I cant help but compare to Harrods focuses on the real problems facing a young entrepentuer, particularly the growing pains of expansion, particularly obtaining access to the capital market. Here the duchess character provides extremely shrewd insights, first backing the shop with 60 pounds, then later suggesting a front man, in the form of Charlies old army Colonel. In those times, the man with the right tie and a nobility title got access to capitial.
Of course, there is the obligitory villain, in this case a lady only a few generations down from a merchant, but who inherited none of the good sense, and all of the snobbishness of the gentry. She doesnt see what her own husband and father see - all she cares about is the success of her two boys. Unfortunately, one takes absolutely no responsibility for his actions, and ends up at the end of a hangmans noose in the end, and the other has no merit, but she attempts to give him control of the empire Charlie built.
Are there flaws? Sure there are. Guy crosses paths a bit too often, though admittedly its a key focus of the book. Cathy also gets elevated from outsider to inner circle. Certainly she was Daniels fiance, but she was also referred to in his suicide note. However, she remains in the inner circle after Daniels death.
Still, I loved the writing technique of each chapter covering a time period as seen by a certain character - and the next one backing up and summerizing it from a DIFFERENT characters perspective. Some things one character might have thought was hidden may be an open secret to others, or one character may be deceiving another as to what they knew, and how they acted on it.
Archer tends to try to twist his tales at the end with a surprising revealation, though except in his short stories (which I highly recommend), he usually doesnt succeed with me. Old Charlies secret was completely predictable to me, and totally in character.