Shall We Tell The President-Book Review

'Shall We Tell The President' is a sequel to 'The Prodigal Daughter' - a sequel to 'Kane And Abel.'  I have been meaning to read this since the last 5 years (5 years ago was when I finished reading The Prodigal Daughter) but somehow, I never had the enthusiasm to get it going.


Finally, five years after I read The Prodigal Daughter, I got myself to read this book (in these 5 years I have made numerous attempts to read the book, but never got past 10 pages) and now that I am done reading, I am glad to say that it was one of the finest thrillers I have read.  A fine work of fiction, that keeps the readers on tenterhooks all throughout.  As rightly said by one of the critics, Archer, plays a cat-and-mouse with the reader and makes you want to turn the page.


To me, thrillers/Suspense fictions should always move at a rapid pace and this book does exactly the same.


'Shall We Tell the President' lives up to the expectations of Jeffrey Archer's style of having powerful themes, hard-hitting characterization and suspenseful plots.  Had this book been made into a movie during the 70's itself, it would have definitely become a cult movie of that time.

'Shall We Tell The President' picks up from where it was left in 'The Prodigal Daughter'-Florentyna Kane becomes the first woman president of America.  The plot quickly moves to two years into Florentyna's term as the President and she is banking on the Gun Control bill for her re-election to the White House again (which could be a hit or a miss).  The FBI receives an information about an assassination attempt on President Kane and before they could move any further on the investigation, all the investigating officers except for one are dead.  The director of the FBI and the surviving special agent have only six days to track down the people involved in this cold-blooded conspiracy.  All they know is that a senator is involved.  Can they trust anyone?  Will President Kane's dream crumble?  Will the Nation lose another President to an assassination attempt?

Interesting fact:
"Shall We Tell the President?, the final book in the Kane and Abel trilogy, was originally not written for the series. In the first version, published in 1977, Ted Kennedy played the part of the President. However, following its release, Archer wrote The Prodigal Daughter -- the sequel to Kane and Abel -- in which the chief character, Florentyna Kane, becomes the first female President of the United States. It seemed only logical to introduce this character in a revised edition of Shall We Tell the President?, which would give the book a natural link to Kane and Abel and The Prodigal Daughter."




Expert Opinions:

The only difference between this book and The Day of the Jackal, is Archer is a better writer.
-- Chicago Tribune


Here is terror, outrageous and top-notch.
-- Vogue


One of the top ten storytellers in the world.
-- Los Angeles Times


There isn't a better storyteller alive.
-- Larry King


Archer plots with skill, and keeps you turning the pages.
-- The Boston Globe


Cunning plots, silken style...Archer plays a cat-and-mouse game with the reader.
-- The New York Times


Archer is a master entertainer.
-- Time

Bombay Rains Bombay Girls-Expert Opinions

‘Packed with a hauntingly tender story and a strikingly subtle language, the campus novel turns out to be a kind of book one wouldn’t want to part with.’ – Sahara Times
 
‘… Bose’s debut novel is far better than any of the previous books in this genre.’ – Businessworld
 
‘[Bose] has a story to tell and he makes it gripping.’ – Daily News and Analysis
 
‘Read it for the good old college days when there were no simple answers but life was still simpler.’ – Financial Express
 
‘A sparkling, humorous and thought-provoking read.’ – The Times of India
 
 ‘A wonderfully written book, which should be read not just for the beauty of the language but also for its lesson in compassion and humanity. Bose has proved himself as a writer to keep an eye out for.’ - The Tribune
 
And for all those who are interested in knowing a bit more before you decide to take a plunge into reading this book, Bombay Rains Bombay Girls has a website of it's own- http://www.bombayrainsbombaygirls.com/
    

Bombay Rains Bombay Girls-A Review

The very name of the book: ‘Bombay rains Bombay girls’ gave me a Bollywood filmy kind of feeling  This book by Anirban Bose infuses a breath of fresh air into the world of fiction, with a little bit of the Bollywood melodrama, of the 80’s .  I start off reading a book by first taking some time off to research about the author and it was no different this time. What evoked a lot of interest about the author is that he is a foreign returned person and I have always had an overwhelming admiration for such  people!
A doctor by profession, Anirban Bose’s debut work: ‘Bombay rains Bombay girls’ deals with the minutiae of undergrad medical life like, love, friendship, exams and student politics.  The narration and plot of this book is reminiscent of Chetan Bhagat’s, ‘Five Point Someone’.  This book revolves around six medical students: Adi, Harsha, Sam, Toshi, Rajeev and Pheru, who come to Bombay for further studies..  Projected as misfits, the book shows their transformation not only as successful medical professionals but also as individuals who can be extremely humane and caring.  The book is partly a narration by the protagonist, Adityaman Bhatt, aka ‘Adi’, a Ranchi lad who comes to Bombay to pursue Medicine at the Grant Medical College and Sir JJ Hospital, Bombay.  “You’ve got to see two things in Bombay: the Bombay rains and the Bombay girls” is the advice that Adi gets when he is all set to leave for Bombay.  This book shows the transformation of Adi from a shy and insecure small town lad to a successful student and a confident individual, with leadership qualities.  Some parts of the book deal about ragging but it mainly focuses on love, heartbreak and friendship.
Since we were kids we have always been told  that ‘medicine is about life and death’ and that ‘doctors are next to God’  However, one thing that really impressed me about this book is that the patients are not to be considered as specimens but humans, with a mind and a body This fact the students are constantly reminded about by Dr.Choski’s statement: “Wearing a white coat and carrying a stethoscope around your neck means providing relief.  There’s very little we can do to cure the patients but we can bring relief by simply listening to them”.
The book starts off with the author’s excessive dosage of verbiage but it gets engrossing, after a few pages, reminding you of your own college days.  Towards the end, for a few pages, the author loses track and starts describing the journey of these students, by train, to Nagaland.  However, my brownie points to the author are for the final pages of the book..Here, the protagonist Adi, writes a letter to his girlfriend  beautifully depicting,  life in general, and the vagaries of life.
A wonderfully written book which is  worth reading as it gives  lessons on compassion, humanity and friendship.  Anirban Bose is an author who has proved himself as a very good writer with his debut work itself and he is surely a writer to be kept an eye out for.