Not Enough Meat

This book was weird. I don’t mean the storyline or the plot, that was good enough, but I mean the way it was written. I felt like I was reading an outline instead of a novel.

The first part of the book covered what we already knew from Book 1 - Kane & Abel, but from the POV of Able’s daughter Florentyna. I felt it was logical that this part of the story was told in bold strokes because it was a recap, but I didn’t realise that this segment was going to take up nearly half the book and that the almost point-form style of the writing would continue throughout.

It’s as if the author wrote up the entire outline of the story with all the plot points in place, next he started to randomly pepper it with a little bit of dialogue here and there, he developed certain scenes in more detail, then gave up and decided to submit that as the finished product.

I was never able to warm up to the writing style. With almost no dialogue, we only sporadically heard the character’s voice and therefore never really built an emotional connection to anyone. Consequently, I felt more annoyed by Florentyna rise to the top – it was more like: here we go again, “everything she does is winner” instead of feeling happy for her that she achieved a goal and feeling for her through her struggles to get there.

I’m still in for book 3 and I will read it next while the story is still fresh in my mind but I really hope that the high-level almost point-form format does not continue in the next instalment!

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Poor narration

The narrator really lowered the quality of the novel. Her portrayal of the male characters was unconvincing, monotone and distracting.

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Not Worth It

What disappointed you about The Prodigal Daughter?

The first 23 chapters covered the same story from Kane & Abel.

What didn’t you like about Lorelei King’s performance?

Very poor. Much preferred the narrator from Kane & Abel who got the nuances of the woman much better. Loved her in Kane & Abel. No connection in The Prodigal's Daughter.

Any additional comments?

Couldn't read to the end...

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Boring !!!

I normally love Jeffrey Archer's books and I did love Kane and Able but The Prodigal Daughter in a word was boring. I kept hoping it would get interesting and exciting but alas it did not. What a waste of time.

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Women shouldn't try to sound like men!

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

no

What did you like best about this story?

good plat, but much of it was a rehash of one of the authors earlier books--what's with that?

How could the performance have been better?

The reader not good at all for this book. Bad male impersonation; better yet, have a man read the male roles. This reader has the same problem in Kathery Dance books when she trys male impersonation. Ruins the book. I keep forgetting to check out the reader befre I buy :(

Was The Prodigal Daughter worth the listening time?

Not if you have something to do besides driving up and down Interstate 5 by yourself

Any additional comments?

Audible or authors need to match the reader to the book better--a bad reader can ruin a book.

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If you read the Prodigal Son Don't Borther

What disappointed you about The Prodigal Daughter?

Two thirds of the book is a recap of the prodigal son. Waste of time

What was most disappointing about Jeffrey Archer’s story?

Weak follow up to the prodigal son

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disappointing follow up to Kane and Abel

What would have made The Prodigal Daughter better?

more complex story lines and characters.

What could Jeffrey Archer have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

followed more of the formula of the Kane and Abel with more interesting characters and motivations.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Lorelei King?

The reader read this book too fast in my opinion.

Any additional comments?

Not sure if I'll read the 3rd title in the series.

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too much repeat of Kane and Able

I thought I was getting a sequel, but instead, the story repeats much of Kane and Abel from the prospective of the daughter.

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The Prodigal Daughter

The first book in this series, Kane & Abel was released in 1980, the last by 1982. At minimum, read Kane & Abel, it is super – an extremely popular 1980s book, made into a mini-series in 1985.

The story is a familial-character driven tale, spanning decades. Kane and Abel are both born on the same day in 1906. William Lowell Kane is heir to a banking empire in New York City. Baron Abel Rosnovski, aka Wladek Koskiewicz, is born to poverty and nightmarish violence in war-torn Poland. Abel makes his way to New York and is eventually refused a bank loan by Kane’s board of directors. Blaming Kane for this embarrassing shun, Abel makes his way to a pinnacle of success as a hotelier. This has only been possible due to anonymous financial backing. Decades of visceral hatred ensue, but it isn’t hard to guess the identity of the philanthropist. Narrated by Jason Culp, about 20 hours of listening, release by Macmillon Audio.

Book two, The Prodigal Daughter is the story of the descendants of William and Abel, Richard Kane and Florentyna Rosnovski. They meet by chance, fall in love, and flee to San Francisco to escape the wrath of their fathers. The first part of this book is a replay of Kane & Abel through the eyes of Richard and Florentyna. Exactly. Same-o-same-o, precisely, only a different point of view. Starting at about Chapter 23, the story of The Prodigal Daughter lifts off. Archer’s characters in The Prodigal Daughter are like those of Danielle Steele, i.e., drop-dead gorgeous, filthy rich, hearts of gold. Florentyna successfully opens dozens of her own boutiques, eventually manages her father’s hotel dynasty. The boutiques and hotels merge. Richard and Florentyna move on the bank just because they don’t want to buy one; Richard becomes bank chairman. The story steps further beyond credibility when Florentyna nearly becomes POTUS and accepts the VP slot. The two become astronauts and … that part’s a lie. Also Macmillon Audio, but narrated by Lorelei King. About 15 hours long.

Book three, Shall We Tell the President, a short audiobook, is less than eight hours in length. also Macmillon Audio, also narrated by Lorelei King. The story begins with Florentyna winning the position of POTUS, a roll she has fulfilled since the untimely death of her predecessor. An assassination is attempted and the story is off an running. Much better than The Prodigal Daughter. An interesting aside: When this book was written 1982, President Kane is confronted with gun control – and is concerned about ‘a house divided’ on this volatile issue. Sound familiar? Although the story is fiction, a British author pointed out in 1982 what we argue today, close to 40 years later. *sigh*

No issues with narration in any book.

General opinions: Kane & Abel is an excellent story, and highly recommended. The rest of the series is not. Archer should have started with Chapter 23 of The Prodigal Daughter and combined an abbreviated Shall We Tell the President. In summary, book one is great, book two a look into how the ridiculously wealthy live, book three is a decent who-done-it, albeit short for my taste.

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Just ok

I love Jeffrey Archer but this wasn’t one of his best books. Most places sounded like a politicians autobiography… I enjoyed it but was really ready for it to end. Disappointed.