Book Review: Tell Tale by Jeffrey Archer

Well, it’s common everywhere that Jeffrey Archer is a master storyteller and his die-hard fans acknowledge this feat of him because of the love for the characters he's created in his novels. Those who have basked in the glory of reading his great novels now can try trusting him with short stories. For sure, the thrill will be the same. That’s the genuine veracity of a master story teller.

Tell Tale by Jeffrey Archer is a collection of short stories. Those who have read short stories often from authors like Anthony Doerr and John Boyne can make out that Archer is crisp with his stories. He writes to the point and leaves some part for readers’ intelligence, in a sense the stories are not spelt out, rather slightly subtle with the meaning and messages.

The stories in Tell Tale are an extensive collection with subjects ranging from love, murder, deceit to war. A few stories are pure fiction; most of the work being inspired by incidents in his life during his world travels. What readers love about Archer's books is his immense knowledge on the subjects he writes about? The stories come alive before them, whether they are in a small countryside of France or London or warzone.

Measuring the depths of the short stories is little bit a tedious work, well from this collection ‘A Wasted Hour’ and ‘A Good Toss to Lose’ are super rich stories. From relationships to gender biases, from fan girl moments to deep thoughtful instances; Archer explores the depth of human characteristics and psychology with utmost care and tenderness. There are stories that have beautifully scratched the endings out and also the tales that will leave readers with a feeling of "wow, what was that?!” Tell Tale, is an obligatory read for fiction lovers! Give this book a try and you will love it or at least will enjoy some of the stories.

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