The Prodigal Daughter

Pretty uneven effort from Jeffrey Archer with this sequel to Kane and Abel. Some of the blandest chapters reside in the spine of The Prodigal Daughter. It needn't have been so. Maybe it was the eighties, and like John Le Carre and Stephen King, the author simply had to lay a thick book. Two striking events in the book makes it rise above the forgettable dreck of its generation.

First, is that salutation between Kane and Abel. It was written into the prequel, but the details weren't sketched yet. The circumstances revealed for this key event were very much inspired. Secondly, the deception of who Jessie is, is nothing short of a masterstroke. It could work so well on film. These two moments carried my interest forward. Without them, I show more might have abandoned this book. I think it deserves nothing more or less than three stars.

I knew before that Florentyna would be president, yet the way things turned out brought ample surprise. And poor Richard. Poor him, so forgotten that I nearly forgot myself to mention him. I who regret his early exit. The unbelievable way he is forgotten by the heroine, plus the easy way the latter shrugged into calling Edward "darling" makes me wish the book had ended with Richard's recovery. I'm still on the fence in my mind about how often to read unread Jeffrey Archer books. His latest efforts were up to par. We'll see. show less

How did I miss this for so long!!!! What a wonderful, wonderful story and so impressive that it was copyrighted back in 1982---how did and still does Archer know so much more about the politics in this country than the politicians do and how well he predicted the future in so many clever ways. I have read almost everything Jeffrey Archer has written so this was a delightful surprise to have missed!

O futuro dela é marcado pela ambição.

Com uma vontade de ferro, Florentyna, filha de um imigrante polaco, é verdadeiramente parecida com o seu pai, Abel Rosnovski. A ele foi buscar uma enorme paixão pela América, os ideais e o sonho de um futuro melhor. Mas quer mais: quer ser a primeira mulher presidente.

O futuro dele é marcado pela fortuna.

Nascido em berço de ouro, Richard sempre viveu rodeado de bem-estar e luxo. Descendente de William Kane, um banqueiro sagaz, Richard é atraente, bem-sucedido e, acompanhado pela mulher que ama, está determinado a traçar o seu próprio caminho no mundo.

O passado de ambos tem um segredo…

Com o objetivo de Florentyna prestes a concretizar-se, ambos acabam por descobrir o elevado preço a show more pagar pelo poder que herdaram de uma luta titânica recheada de equívocos e traições - um longo conflito familiar entre duas gerações ameaça destruir aquilo por que Florentyna e Richard tanto lutaram. show less

Review by Jeremy Taylor

Jeffrey Archer’s 1980 best-seller Kane & Abel introduced readers to William Kane and Abel Rosnovski, two boys from vastly different circumstances and opposite ends of the world who grew up to profoundly affect early twentieth-century America. In The Prodigal Daughter, Archer continues the story of these two men and carries it on to the next generation.

Archer’s storytelling technique is in some ways archaic, relying heavily on narrative prose and shunning contemporary “rules” about showing versus telling. He is able to pull it off, however, partly because most he earned his reputation in previous decades before the evolution of the modern thriller and partly because his colloquial voice and strong show more characters make his books a pure pleasure to read even without much action or dialog.

The Prodigal Daughter is the story of Florentyna Rosnovski, daughter of hotel baron Abel Rosnovski. At the end of Kane & Abel, Florentyna fall in love with Richard Kane, the son of her father’s arch-enemy, banker William Kane. The sequel begins by backing the story up twenty years and painting a picture of Florentyna’s childhood. The story doesn’t actually catch up to the end of the first book until about halfway through.

As the story continues, Florentyna and Richard marry, against the wishes of both of their powerful fathers. They are cut off from their families’ fortunes and must start life on their own. Florentyna starts a fashion shop, while Richard begins building a reputation for himself in the banking industry. By the time they reconcile with their aging fathers, the young couple have managed to become wealthy on their own merit. After their fathers are dead, Florentyna becomes chairman of the Baron Group, her father’s hotel chain, and Richard ends up on the board of Lester’s, his father’s bank. The middle part of the book, then, focuses on their experiences in corporate life.

When Florentyna decides to run for political office, their lives change yet again, and the last part of the book details her various campaigns, her time in Congress, and the nation’s response to the first serious female contender for president of the United States.

Through it all, Archer adds a touch of realism through ties to real-life events and public figures, placing the story within its historical context. As always, his primary strength is his characters, and he puts them in situations that make them highly sympathetic and believable. Readers who have enjoyed Archer’s other books—particularly those who liked Kane & Abel—will appreciate this continuation of a story they may have resonated with. Readers who are more accustomed to contemporary political and corporate thrillers, however, may find it difficult to engage with Archer’s style.

(http://www.cerebralexchange.com/books/reviews.asp?book=226&host=1) show less

This is part 2 of the trilogy and pick up where Book One left off pretty much. The daughter of Abel and the son of William are brought up by their respective families and eventually meet up and fall madly in love. The 2 families have a power struggle and threaten all they have worked for. Things finally work out to where Florentyna runs for President and wins. Of course there some cost and a price to pay for getting there.

This pretty much has the same spark that the first book had and I was looking quite forward to the 3rd book.

Abel's daughter - Florentyna - marries Kane's son - okay story - rise t/ business and political world!

With a will of steel, Polish immigrant Florentyna Rosnovski is indeed Abel's daughter. She shares with her father a love of America, his ideals, and his dream for the future. But she wants more to be the first female president.

Golden boy Richard Kane was born into a life of luxury. The scion of a banking magnate he is successful, handsome, and determined to carve his own path in the world-and to
build a future with the woman he loves.

With Florentyna's ultimate goal only a heartbeat away, both are about to discover the shattering price of power as a titanic battle of betrayal and deception reaches out from the past-a blood feud between show more two generations that threatens to destroy everything Florentyna and Richard have fought to achieve. show less

I read Kane and Abel many, many years ago. As I read this "sequel" I recalled parts of the original plot. Was not so impressed this time, some of the politics was dated, and the unsubstantiated american dream plot frankly ended up annoying me - way too yuppy years torry propaganda.