Really, does anyone tell a story any better than Jeffrey Archer? I simply revel in his books, and this one is no exception. I may need to reread some of the old ones (not that this is new, just newly discovered).

This book was great. It's a familiar saga and many characters have a voice in the story. I enjoyed reading it a lot, many times I couldn't out it down and stayed up until after 2am to finish it.
It ends well although it has some bittersweet things in there.
The best thing was how the main character was ambitious but never lost his simplicity and honesty. A great book to just enjoy.

رواية عندما يطير الغراب للكاتب
جيفري آرتشر.

أعتبر نفسي محظوظا عندما اخترتها
بشكل عشوائي وأنا في المكتبة
لانني لم أقرأ للمؤلف من السابق


مع أنها طويلة...الا أنها تأسرك بحيث
لاتسطيع تركها... تستحق القراءة.
وأنصح بقرآتها لمن كان مترددا.

To be honest, I picked up this book because it was suggested to me as one of the fast-paced ones. Now, when I am putting this down, I feel a range of emotions. This is one of the truly heart-warming tales -albeit a longer one-that the author managed to keep simple from start to finish. As I finished reading, it left me both satisfied as well as in-satiated at the same time.

My second book by Mr. Archer, and once again it was a page turner. It was hard to put down, I felt like I was watching a thriller which kept me on the edge even though I would put this in family drama category.

Highly recommended!

Growing up in the slums of East End London, Charlie Trumper dreams of someday running his grandfather's fruit and vegetable barrow. That day comes suddenly when his grandfather dies leaving him the floundering business. With the help of Becky Salmon, an enterprising young woman, Charlie sets out to make a name for himself as "The Honest Trader". But the brutal onset of World War I takes Charlie far from home and into the path of a dangerous enemy whose legacy of evil follows Charlie and his family for generations.
This was the most boring book I have read in ages. It was about 400 pages too long and told the same story over and over again. I felt like I was reading something that needed to have a certain amount of words and so they just repeated themselves to get there. ZZZZZZZZZZ snooze fest.

Disappointed. Flimsy plot, bad characterization and a long winding read. If you've read Kane and Abel or Sons of Fortune, this book will leave you aghast with shoddy writing. Best to ignore this one and move on to some of Archer's better works.

5 stars :)

”Queues and history: the British have always appreciated the value of both.”

'As the Crow Flies' by Jeffrey Archer is an epic rags-to-riches tale that follows Charlie Trumper, a boy from the East End of London who dreams of owning the largest barrow in the city.

I was a bit hesitant at first, as the book started off slow and lacked much action. But by the end, I realised how deeply invested I had become in Charlie’s journey. The characters were all well-developed, and the multi-generational story added richness and depth. I especially loved how the book intertwined with historical events like both World Wars, making the story feel even more real and impactful. I have to admit, my mum, who recommended this to me, was right about this one—it’s a five-star read.

جيفري آرتشر، روائي بريطاني معاصر من مواليد 1940، كانت رواياته ضمن أكثر الكتب مبيعا حسب النيويورك تايمز.
والواقع أن آرتشر لم يخذلني في أي كتاب قرأته له، وقد أتممت له حتى الآن 4 كتب، إنه من ضمن الكتاب القلائل الذين عزمت على قراءة أعمالهم كاملة حال توافرها بين يدي.
أحيانا في رواياته أشعر بأن الفكرة كانت في جوهرها متشابهة في روايتين له "مثلما يطير الغراب" ورواية "كين وايبل"، هناك شخص ما يتمتع بذكاء حاد لكنه يتعرض لظروف سيئة في فترة اندلاع الحرب العالمية الأولى ثم الثانية، تتأثر أعماله وحياته لكنه يواصل نجاحاته بشكل مذهل، يصبح مرهونا لحياته وأعماله ويوجه ذكائه لهذا الصدد، هناك دائما ذاك الصدام بينَ عائلتين لأسباب معقدة ومثيرة، في كل اللحظات أشعر أن البطل سينتهي من كل هذه الأعمال وسيغير نمط حياته لكن ذلك لا يحدث، إلا أن تمثلت السعادة في النجاح في عمل ما نحبه وتخطي العقبات وإحالتها إلى "نعم" مهما كانَت تقول "لا"، أي أنها كانت مادية.
آرتشر روائي عبقري حسبما أرى، ولا ينبغي أن يفوّت أي منا جمالية الانبهار به.

Originally written in 1991, this story is still excellent and kept me turning pages.

Covering 1900-1970 how the world transformed over the 70 years that we follow the life of Charlie Trumper and his family.

Charlie is raised by his grandfather and learns the trade of produce selling from a barrow (cart) at an early age. Hard work and determination get Charlie through all that life throws at him including two WW 1 campaigns. His marriage to Becky, the birth of Daniel, the arrival of Cathy all kept this story moving quickly and with such detail that putting the story down was a challenge.

As with every Jeffrey Archer, life in England is presented in a unique way leaving you wanting more yet happy with the story you've read.

I wasn't sure about reading a Jeffery Archer book, but what a page turner it turned out to be. Wanted to find out about Charlie the main character and how his empire grows despite all of the ips and downs. I loved this book, wanting to read more of Jefftey Archer

I've read the Clifton chronicles and this book is literally the exact same story but condensed into one book rather than four. The characters aren't that realistic; it has actually 'baddies' and 'goodies' like a kids book and *spoiler alert* the parents get over their son killing himself straight away and just move on with their lives. I wouldn't personally recommend, especially if you have read the Clifton chronicles but then lots of people have rated it really highly so maybe it's just not my cup of tea. Don't think I will be reading any more Jeffrey Archer after this.