When I was in college, my lecturer used to say, “The king and the queen died is a story. The king died but the queen died of grief is a plot.” Apply it to Jeffrey Archer, the master storyteller, and you will agree that the story should read: ‘The king died and the queen died. But both were later found to be alive.’
His tales with a twist have enthralled readers across the globe. I have read all his short story collections from the very first ‘A Quiver Full of Arrows’ and ‘A Twist in the Tale’ to ‘Twelve Red Herrings’ and ‘The Collected Short Stories’.
‘To Cut A Long Story Short’ is the latest from Archer’s stable. Out of the 14 short stories, 9 have been inspired from real life incidents. But unlike his earlier books, this one is good only in parts.
It gives you the impression that Archer wanted to be overly fair to the actual events that he left out his own little anecdotes and characters to make interesting reading.
The collection might not be a ‘wonderfully satisfying read’, as the blurb says, but it does provide useful insights into the characters of people. While some stories fail to sustain your attention, others like ‘The Letter’ and ‘Love At First Sight’ stand out for their ingenuity, style and presentation.
But then again, the choice is purely subjective.
According to Archer, the art of storytelling bears no relation to birth, upbringing and education. He talks of the contrasting upbringings of Joseph Conrad, Walter Scott, John Buchan, O Henry, HH Munro and Hans Christian Anderson.
P.S: Though this book released in 2000, it retains its topicality till date.