False Impressions by Jeffrey Archer

Book Reviews for Sensitive People: False Impression by Jeffrey Archer, Published 2006, St. Martin’s Press, 373 pages

Introduction:

Book reviews for sensitive people will provide a high-level overview of the storyline and my opinion about the book and the author, while also providing information I would like to know before I read a book. These are spoilers so DO NOT READ if you like to be surprised. However, if you flip to the end of books because you want to make sure you don’t fall in love with a character who’s going to be ripped away at the end, then this review is for you. Without spoiling the entire plot, I will let you know the fate of important characters and give you general descriptions of things that could disturb you if you’re very sensitive, especially to violence. I love good action books, murder, horror, etc. But I get very emotional when I read; I get attached to well-written characters. I care about them and when bad things happen to them, it affects my emotions in a very real way. I don’t think I’m the only person like that in the world, so I thought how nice it would be if there were somewhere I could find out the specifics about a book in relation to things that could draw forth specific difficult emotions so I can make it easier to regulate myself, even while I enjoy some great books.

Coincidentally, I have decided to read my entire library in order, and so this is a convenient place to keep track of all of that reading and share a little information along the way as I read most of these books for at least the second time. Spoilers ahead! Please feel free to provide constructive feedback in the comments, especially if I missed something important you wish you would have known. I’m pretty sure I can write this without impacting your enjoyment of the book, but let me know about that, too.

The Review

I started reading Jeffrey Archer a long time ago. One of the things I love about him as an author is that he is very good at coming up with twists and turns in the plot. He’s very clever with them, complexities upon complexities, and very intelligent. His writing style is very easy to read, although I did stumble on a couple odd sections that seemed out of order, but that may have been intentional.

This book is about a young woman who is an art expert/dealer who works for somebody evil. The book is set in many locations, primarily New York City and London, but with thrilling stops in Bucharest, Hong Kong & Tokyo. It is set during about a 15 day period beginning on September 10, 2001. Yes, it is set during the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and there are very vivid descriptions from the viewpoint of somebody on an 80th-level floor when the first plane hit a few floors above. It is very intense, and I did sob reading it. So, if that’s something that deeply affects you, now you are aware. The book tracks each day, so you will be aware that is coming and prepare yourself. You could skip the paragraphs in the stairs and especially when she comes outside – if you skip a page or two (maybe just a few paragraphs, don’t want to go look at it again), she’ll be in a cab and it gets a little easier. Or cry it out if you need a little catharsis. Whatever works for you.

The main character is Anna, a Romanian athlete who came to the US during the Couescaescu (Sp) years to live with an uncle in Danville, IL (where I am from, pretty much, so weird) and she is an angel. She’s extremely smart and has a photographic mind (this is spelled out early on so I don’t think it’s a spoiler) and evidently an all-around amazing person with a heart of gold and honest as the day is long, and I’m using those clichés because she’s almost a cliché character. She has just enough quirky points and sass to save her from being annoying, though. You do really connect with her and love her early on (if you like smart, nice, honest women, I guess).

Her antagonist, Bryce Fenston, is an evil man. Again, painted almost to the point of caricature, he really has no redeeming qualities. He has no regard for life, and employs a very creepy ex-Olympic gymnast from Romania named Olga Krantz. She is pure evil, and enjoys slitting throats, so be prepared for blood when she’s around, and she’ll show up nameless in the first chapter (yes, that’s a spoiler). It was a little shocking for me, so I wanted to prepare you. She also kills two dogs near the end, and that was upsetting, so when she starts feeding the dogs steak, skip ahead a few paragraphs if it will break your heart. Don’t worry, karma.

There is a British estate, completely with twin Ladies and an amazing butler, a Japanese millionaire, a best friend with a mysterious secret, and an FBI agent who all play roles in the story, and all of whom survive to the end (except one of the twin Ladies, so sad). Archer is a master story teller, so you will get your money’s worth in terms of fulfillment. He wraps up all the loose ends and the ending is extremely satisfying. The story is full of plot twists and I remember being so intrigued by his imagination and cleverness the first time I read it; the second time, I had a little sense of what was coming so it was slightly less surprising, but still a very enjoyable read, even the second time around.

If you’re sensitive about sex, there’s barely any, so don’t worry. Most of the characters are wealthy white people, so there’s that (even Anna isn’t really poor anymore). There is a little bit of diversity in terms of bringing in elements of Asian culture with the Japanese millionaire, and as far as I can tell, he does seem to be very respectfully characterized with the culture preserved (but a Japanese reader would be a better judge than me). But, I think that’s more or less par for the course for Archer who is a wealthy white man who was Oxford-educated and served in the British government. I think maybe that’s a byproduct of being set in the art world in the early 2000s, also. I feel it’s always important to understand a book based on the time in history where the author wrote the book, in addition to the time the book is set in – which obviously can be very different. In this case, it was only five years past 9/11, so I do think it retains a lot of historical accuracy although there might have been a few anachronisms.

You will learn a lot about the world of high-end art dealing. I highly recommend looking up the paintings they’re discussing if you’re not familiar with them. I did that the first time I read it, and I was able to visualize most of them while re-reading. It’s always good to learn. I am not particularly a huge art buff, although I do admire many of the great paintings and sculptures, and was lucky to see some of them in high school when we took a trip to The Louvre from my high school just outside Danville, IL. My mom also studied art history when I was a kid (she took some classes as a hobby) and I remember looking at the textbooks and all the brilliant, somewhat titillating art (well, I was young). So it was fun to learn more about that world although its kind of an icky world in the book.

I do feel like Archer’s earlier books were perhaps a little more patient in developing characters and relationships, which added to the enjoyability of the read for me, anyway. This one has a relationship that basically comes from nowhere, and people seem to instantly become friends with strangers (although that can be dangerous). It’s also fascinating to think that this book took place a little more than 20 years ago, and the technological advances and societal changes are immense. For that reason, it's like reading a little snapshot of history. It instantly transported me back to where I was on 9/11 and what it looked like when there were empty skies (thanks Bruce Springsteen – the album is The Rising and it is a story of 9/11 from an artist across the river). So it is worth it for then. If you were alive and remember everything, it will take you back, and if you weren’t aware or alive, then you will get somewhat of an idea what things were like (although it was even more intense than described, even though I was half a country away).

Overall, I would rate the re-read of this book an 8/10, which is generous but I like Archer and the way he writes. I was able to finish this book beginning reading for an hour at lunch today, and then after work, off and on and I finished it tonight by around 10 pm. I’d guess it took me about 6 to 7 hours to finish. I definitely recommend it. It is one that can be hard to put down, but there are nice breaks and it’s easy to pick up if you leave it for a few hours. Probably even the next day would be fine. If you wait too long, though, you’ll have to keep getting the characters straight in your head if you’re anything like me.

Well, that was fun for me and I hope you enjoyed reading it. If not, I’m sorry and I promise you don’t ever have to read anything else I write. And if so, then I will be back with more. I’m not committed enough yet to the idea to commit to a timeline, but I’m planning to start re-reading my next book, Enough Rope by Lawrence Block tomorrow. He’s another favorite. I have a couple of his books autographed, not that I’m fancy or anything. He’s just a really accessible author who makes it easy to get autographed copies when he comes out with a new book and he’s very prolific. But we’ll talk more about him next time. Thank you for staying (which you must have if you’re reading this, unless you skipped to the end first, in which case this was written for you so go read the rest).