As the Crow Flies

Somewhere in my past, I had heard Jeffrey Archer criticized as writing "kitsch for the masses" and had avoided his books based on little more than a one liner from someone. Meanwhile, Archer's personal life has been the source of scandals that rival those of the characters in his novels.

So, it was with some trepidation that I picked up this novel in a used bookstore and decided I'd see what the fuss over this author was all about.

I have to honestly say that I enjoyed this book as much as any I've ever read. He's been called one of the top 10 storytellers in the world, and I'd have to agree with that assessment.

This book chronicles the life and times of Charlie Trumper, a fictional character who goes from destitute street vendor to department store magnate over the course of his lifetime. When we first meet Trumper in the early 1900s, he is living hand-to-mouth with his two sisters, fed only by the meager income of his grandfather who sells produce from a tiny wheelbarrow-like cart (or 'barrow as the British like to call it) in one of London's poorer districts. Trumper's father is a ne'er-do-well who drinks away his paycheck, does nothing to support the family, and hasn't been seen in years. Charlie's mother is not in the picture either.

When not in school, Charlie tags along with his grandfather each day, enchanted by the old man's remarkable salesmanship, and the boy dreams of nothing more than someday having his own 'barrow - his single passion in life. When the grandfather dies and leaves his 'barrow to Charlie, the boy is suddenly thrust into the role of chief breadwinner, a role that thrills him rather than overwhelms him. He drops out of school before he's barely hit his teens and quickly shows a brilliant ability to sell that surpasses even that of his grandfather.

The saga takes us through Charlie's life as his dream grows from a single 'barrow, to a storefront, to a series of storefronts, to the idea of building the world's largest department store - and the ups and downs along the journey. When Trumper's patriotism compels him to join the army in WWI, he meets up with several individuals who will prove to play central roles in his personal and business life for years to come, and the story's main antagonist arises from a most unlikely place.

This is the type of book that could easily be made into a mini-series because it covers 60+ years of the characters' lives, and Archer does an outstanding job developing those characters quite fully. I found myself getting quite attached to the characters and when the book came to a close, there was a sense of sorrow at having to say goodbye to these people with whom you had shared so many of life's triumphs and disappointments.

Archer chooses to write this book from the alternating viewpoints of various characters in the story, ranging from Trumper to Trumper's wife to the story's main antagonist, to various others. He does so quite masterfully, and it is interesting to view the same events in the story through the eyes of different characters.

In all, the story itself and the way it was told were both top-notch. I have read several of Archer's books as a result of reading this one, and have found all to be highly plausible storylines that never come across as contrived, impossibly complicated, or boring. The dialog is authentic, and Archer's formidable intelligence is evident with an outstanding command of history, politics, commerce, and human nature. His books span the gamut from espionage thrillers to political sagas to business sagas, and although Archer is a Brit, I have found his command of American politics to be just as fluent as his command of British politics. Although the details of his personal life are somewhat bizarre, no one can fault his intelligence or storytelling ability.

If you have not read Jeffrey Archer, I heartily recommend this as an excellent starting place. If you are already a Jeffrey Archer fan, you will need little coaxing and I consider this one of his very best efforts.

What a superb story teller. My first book by Jeffrey Archer was picked up from a fancy little book display devoted to Mr Archer that caught my eye, I'm embarrassed to admit. I've never been sorry I succumbed to that marketing ploy. What a talented author with a wonderful gift. "As the Crow Flies" kept me reading every night until I was done. An eight hundred page book that felt like half of that, I was sorry when it ended. I hate to retell the story in my reviews since the summary is available so I'll just say that I loved Charlie and Becky, the main characters, and enjoyed their life experiences with them. I felt the happiness, sadness, anger and frustration right along with them...Oh, that Mrs. Trentham! This book definitely lives up to the five stars I rated, what a good read. If you like this one be sure to read Kane and Abel, the Prodigal Daughter, The Eleventh Commandment, and Honor Among Thieves. I've already ordered my next JA book, I hope you do the same.

By the end of the book i was already skipping pages. There are pros and cons in this book.

Pros

Good storyline with twists compared with the books published nowadays.

I loved the camaraderie btw the "good guys " especially with daphne.

Cons

I felt no emotional attachment to the characters

I hated the way things were dealt with for example the son's death. Everything was dealt with practically and mechanically.

I understand the book is about the company but i felt like i was reading an economics book. He should have reduced the boring business stuff.

The different characters thing perspective was cool but it got tired and repetitive when a character would recount something I already knew.

two and a half stars for me

Starting at the beginning of the 20 the century and across two world war's the book portrays the tragedy courage and triumph of a simple but honorable man called Charlie Trumper who starts out life as a vegetable seller in the east end of London and ends up as one of the most prominent people in the Churchill era .His quest to become a successful businessman is aided by Becky and Daphne. But unknown to Charlie someone is plotting revenge agents him.
For young Charlie Trumper the most important thing is to get his hands on the biggest burrow in the world. After the war when he returns he has to start over again on the quest to become a successful businessmen. Able to win the hearts of customers, he rapidly expands his business through the help of Becky and Daphne. But the past seems to follow him, when Charlie's only true love Becky falls in love with Guy Trentham a handsome war hero. As he continues on his mission he encounters another enemy Mrs. Trentham who is the Mother of Guy Trentham and will stop at nothing to take over the Trumper Empire.
In his own unique style Jeffrey Archer captures the details of each character in an immaculate detail. His attempt to inspire the reader through the characters that he portrays is successful. Even evil characters like Mrs. Trentham have been given the chance to explain the reasoning behind their actions. Like a converging spiral his storyline converges on the plot waiting for the last possible minute until revealing it. The appearance of new characters suddenly is perhaps the only negative factor towards the book.

This epic novel was charming, compelling and rich with emotion. It is the closest thing to modern day Dickenson that I have ever read, and yet I daresay- possibly even a step above old Charles. The novel is fast moving, heart warming and spirit inspiring. It was the first work of Mr. Archer's that I had encountered,and I can assure you that after this little prize - I will be enthusiatically delving in to other novels to see what other literary jewels this man has produced.
The story itself was unique and powerful. It told the tale of a generation of honesty. love and hard work. These values eminated throughout the novel and it's characters. I really enjoyed every page of this tale and only wish I could find out waht is happening next in the lives of the whole Trumper clan. The book gave me hope and honor for all the human race. I knew there were still moral, good and decent people left in this world!!

When i first started reading books by Jeffrey Archer! I knew it was a start of a romance! From the day i picked up "The Prodigal Daughter" I finally understood the meaning of a truly excellent Author! Jeffrey Archer's As the crom Flies is an excellent work of a Genius! It goes thru the aspect of live where not many has went!In the story, Charlie Trumper from a poor boy, a soldier, a husband and also the greatest departmental store owner. How many people can enclose all these into one life! It tells people that nothing is impossible!
Archer is truely an author which is imppecable and once you start to read his books you will never stop!
For i know that as i own every book he has ever wrote!

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 can't 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, Archer's story behind the story of a store I can't 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 Charlie's 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 doesn't 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 hangman's 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 it's a key focus of the book. Cathy also gets elevated from outsider to inner circle. Certainly she was Daniel's fiance', but she was also referred to in his suicide note. However, she remains in the inner circle after Daniel's 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 character's 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 doesn't succeed with me. Old Charlie's secret was completely predictable to me, and totally in character.

But I will try.
The sweeping and panoramic viewpoints that accompany this novel, just start the incredible journey that the reader is taken through in the lives of these characters.
Archer creates beleiveable and loveable characters, incredible plot twists, and a fluid shifting of viewpoints; incorporating all this together makes for one of the best novels ever.
The readers interest grows as the character do, the characters are introduced as young children, so you can imagine how much love and admiration the reader will have for the character when the book ends and they are in their 70's.
The book encompasses such a range of human emotions, all leading to making this book so believable and lovable. Love, hate, jealousy, everything is in this novel.
By even calling this book a novel might be wrong from the start. It is more of a saga of the life of Charlie Trumper and his loved ones, foes, nemesis and family.
His drive and ambition make him the favorite main character, but the reader gets even more in touch with him through the viewpoints of other characters.
My hat is off to Jeffrey Archer, to put a book together of this magnitude was quite an undertaking I am sure. The precision and attention to detail that he uses in writing these novels is breathtaking, please read this book to understand.
Do not be daunted by the length, after reading a few pages, you won't even realize how long it is until you finish it, and you wished it was even longer.

As The Crow Flies is definitely Archer's Best. The story is gripping, and the writing style is one I've never experienced before. You start reading from the hero's (Charlie's) point of view for a few years, say 1900-1919, then from his girlfriend's point of view from 1918-1921, then from his rival's point of view from 1920-1925, and so on finally ending 70 years and 740 pages later, again from Charlie's point-of-view. Each time you switch perspective, a few years, like 1920-1921, are repeated so though Charlie's rival may seem like a bad guy from Charlie's side, he actually seems not-so-bad when you see the same incidents through the his own point of view.

Having read eight out of twelve Archer novels, I see his books falling into four categories:

1) The Linear Plot: These include the likes of Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less; and Shall We Tell the President?, both books following a straight-forward and very simple plot of the protagonist(s) going after the villain. It is often Archer's writing style and not the plot that lend these books its vibrance.

False Impression also falls into this category but is a bit more convoluted, yet failing to excite.

2) The Duo Plot: Kane and Abel, Sons of Fortune. Two people, when their lives cross. Moderate level of complexity, typical Jeffrey Archer novels, giving a sense of deja-vu once you've read even one.

3) Spy Game: The Eleventh Commandment, Honor Among Thieves. High number of crosses and double-crosses, rendering a high level of intricacy often making the storyline a bit too complicated.

4) As the Crow Flies. A completely different and well-written book.

This book was recommended by one of my Amazon Friends and I am so glad I read it. Since I am so stingy with 5 star ratings, I wish I could give this one 4.5 stars as I couldn't put it down. As The Crow Flies could also be called, "The Life and Times of Charlie Trumper." It is the epic story that spans the entire life of a British entrepreneur and all the people (good and bad) who affect his life. It is the consummate rags to riches story. I read this novel while on a cruise ship-a perfect "vacation book!"