A Prisoner of Birth
Jeffrey Archer
Reviewed by Erin Williams
Jeffrey
Archer is not a stranger of success, being rated as one of Britain's
highest
paid authors. Here the talented man decides to pay homage to Alexander
Dumas,
creating a book similar in many cases to the legendary 'The Count of
Monte
Crisco.'
A Prisoner
of Birth delves into injustice suffered by an innocent man, surrounded
by those
more powerful than he. Through inner strength and iron-tight
friendship,
hurdles are eventually overcome to a meet a satisfying conclusion. Who
doesn't
look forward to stories that offer this type of plot? As the
protagonist of the
story, Danny strives to prove he's not insignificant and easily
ambushed with
unfairness, a frustration and desire easy for all of us to relate to.
Clearly,
I was able to easily meld with Danny's personality. His spirit and lack
of
selfishness was a delight, even if this trait at times teetered toward
being
overdone. Nick's interaction with him only further layered the full
adaptability of his friend's personality. I typically dislike novels
which focus
too much on prison (too depressing), yet here the prison interaction
offered
some of the better times of the story. Danny's cellmates Nick and 'Big
Al' were
wonderful to read about, affecting their friend's eventual triumph
strongly.
Fueled by
more than worthy characters in a murder trial gone sadly rancid, Archer
injects
another interesting and large plot into the story by having Danny face
Nick's
family. The sub-plot didn't hold my attention as much as the main focal
point,
yet it was a cleverly twisted addition which proves Archer writes with
an
intelligent hand. Exploration of the British justice system was
captivating,
but although this book is a legal thriller, it concentrated just as
much - if
not subtly more - on the side of social-economic status differences.
The final
court battle was a rewarding experience, as the villains were not hung
by
cliched surprised sleight-of-the-hand twists or lucky coincidences, but
rather
good old-fashioned human emotion.
Looking
toward the darker side, dialogue exchanges and form of writing are
British, and
as I'm used to more mainstream American works, at first I did have a
small
amount of trouble rooting myself firmly in the story. I also found that
A
Prisoner of Birth harmed itself slightly with an overabundance of
detail and
dragging out the plot-line a bit too much. Getting to the point quicker
may
have dampened the final result a bit, yet it would have made the
journey a bit
more sweet at the same time. Also, I would have been a bit more pleased
to have
seen more character depth in some of the minor characters, such as Beth.
The
religious side-notes at the end were strangely fascinating, and I'm not
sure if
the author intended for that to stand out so much. In works as
multi-layered as
this, different things seem to strike individual readers more strongly
than
others. Readers who enjoy cuddling with crime fiction will find this
one almost
perfect - twists, turns, betrayal, triumphs in the eyes of social
injustice,
and even a love story on the side. You can argue whether revenge is a
dish
better served hot or cold, and it doesn't really matter; revenge is a
story
that sells no matter what the generation, and A PRISONER OF BIRTH
embraces this
age-old plot with the best of them.