Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less

Arguably one of the most popular book by Archer whose success can only be rivaled by the illustrious Kane and Abel, this book really shows why Archer is such a highly renowned author today. Its essence can be summed up by one of the notable quotes in the story “Don’t get cross, get even”. A brilliant story of deception and retribution interlaced with liberal doses of humor, with enough thrills and surprises to even satisfy an enthusiast this book will leave you with a sense of content upon its completion almost as if you are basking in the success of its characters. Harvey Metcalfe is a seasoned businessman and conman who has made a fortune through swindling other people. In a fresh venture he comes up with a fraud company called “Prospecta Oil” where he ensnares 4 unsuspecting and unrelated men through his employees and robs them of all of their life savings which is nearly quarter of a million each and himself comes clean. These men include Stephen, an Oxford college dean and Robin, a successful doctor and Jean Pierre, an art dealer and James, a young Earl. However unlike others before him Stephen decides to do something about his predicament. He approaches the other men and convinces everyone to actually devise plans to get back their money from Harvey, not a penny more not a penny less. Thus begins their enterprise where they research every habit and actions of Metcalfe in their bid for revenge. They work on their ideas in frenzy and come up with different ideas to con Metcalfe with the exception of James who feels quite lost in this whole exercise. They decide that the stage of their plans will be when Metcalfe comes to London for his annual vacation. Thus best laid plans are made and the men prepare for conning the conman. On the personal front, even as their plans progress into motion they start to bond with each other and James even meets a girl called Anne. A lot of heart in mouth action occurs as each of the men try to successfully con Metcalfe in various tense yet hilarious situations. Thus, even as everyone is on the verge of getting all their money back certain really surprising events occur that no one expected and the turn of events will leave everyone in shock. This book contains arguably one of the best endings seen in modern books and it would be advisable that you to grab a copy of this book as soon as possible to find out for yourself.

The Little Prince

If the saying ‘ignorance is bliss’ is indeed true then this book undoubtedly proves that ‘innocence must surely be divine’. That’s the first thought that will come to your mind when you are through with the wonderful experience that is this book. A book that touches the heart of all who read it regardless of their age. Rarely are such eternal gems produced in any literature and its brilliance can only be experienced on undergoing the wonderful journey of this timeless tale. A story that will straightaway strike a chord with the young and make the old remember what it was like to be young and innocent again, when every fantasy seemed real and the world was beneath their feet. Sir Exupery is quite renowned for this little gem and a couple of pages into the book will make it quite apparent as to why. The story begins quite innocuously with the author illustrating about his childhood and his interest in drawings. Upon hearing about boa constrictors and their ability of swallowing their prey whole the author draws a picture of a boa swallowing an elephant unfortunately everyone mistakes the drawing to be a hat, leading to another drawing showing the insides of a boa swallowing an elephant which draws lot of flak from the elders, and thus under discouragement from all adults the author is forced to give up drawing and becomes a pilot, a profession in which he is proficient although it fails to give him real pleasure. The author crashes at a deserted place but soon afterwards comes to meet the little prince. It is at this juncture that the alluring prince is introduced in the story. The prince represents the ideal child that all people always wish of being when they were young themselves. The prince is something of an enigma to the author. He is the sole inhabitant of a tiny distant planet far away from earth where the only other living creature is the pet rose of the prince. The prince asks the author to draw him a goat but the author having since forgotten the art instead draws him something else with amusing results. This heralds the start of the friendship between the author and the prince. The prince’s banter with the author is really delightful and so is the various illustrations provided in the book. The illustrations always give the impression of being the creation of a child or an inexperienced hand give lend all the more credibility to them. The story then flashes back to the princes' journey from his planet to earth as he meets various people with their idiosyncrasies which the author really uses as an allegory to describe the different stereotypes of adults and the silly actions they indulge in. The different characters in the story are both believable and incredulous simultaneously. The prince will become a dear friend to many a people before the end and rarely would a book induce as much sorrow as this one upon the completion of this book. The story never stops to pleasantly surprise the reader with its tongue in cheek humor. Kudos to Sir Exupery as his book joins the rare list of immortal books of literature. As to quote what the author memorably says near the end – “Look at the sky. Ask yourselves: Has the sheep eaten the flower, yes or no? And you will see how everything changes…”