Reading this book again still leaves me with the feeling of a first read. Jefferey Archer is a name to be reckoned with and his stories never disappoint.

As the crow flies traces the journey of Charles Trumper, a boy from the East end of London to becoming the founder and chairman of the Trump Towers, a conglomerate of shopping departments, the largest shopping center in the United Kingdom.
How Charlie Trumper achieved this, his love for Becky Salmon, the death of their only child and how he almost lost the company to his larger than life antagonist, Margaret Ethel Trentham makes the book all the more intriguing.

As the crow flies is a potpourri of love, secrets, family feud, and hostile boardroom takeovers.
Always a good read... Archer makes sure of that.

Review from January 2007

I started reading this book by Archer over the holidays. At the time I wondered if I would be able to finish the book before the holidays end. As luck would have it, the next day (and the only such day during the entire week) I was freed of my duties of supervising the workmen who held household captive for the rest of the vacation. It was a bright, sunny day - ideal to laze about. So I took a chair out in the sun, and sat down to read. And by late afternoon, I was through! I manage to surprise even myself at such times - I finished the 700 page novel in three days! (though that does not compare with my 'personal best' - I finished 'Godfather' overnight :-) )

As some of my blogger friends advised, and as expected from my past experience with Archer, it was an interesting read. Although the story was typical of Archer - a determined struggle by the protagonist(s) from rags to riches, strewn with a lot of drama - it manages to capture your imagination very successfully. You cannot but hate the villains of the piece for their evil doings, and sympathize with the protagnists. But there were a little too many coincidences in the way the characters cross each others' paths. And I could not find how did the story justified the title (or vice-versa, if you please).

There is nothing you would miss if you haven't read this one, especially if you have come across Jeffery Archer before. But if you have time to spare, you might as well enjoy it!

Will not lie, this master-stroke lost the 5th star...mostly for repeating the events with every shift in the pov. (Another reason, which I won't mention on a public forum, has to do with the fact that at every new relevation-I kept wondering, if it could have been written in a manner to increase it's surprise quotient.

Nevertheless, this book left me with many things I hope to carry & imbibe in myself for the years to come- 1. Charlie Trumper 2. His hardworking nature & discipline is what I was awed by faar more than his drive/ambition 3. The importance of being good & doing the right thing- that oil painting incident, how it could have ended v/s how it really panned out in the end....it reminded me-HOW important it was to be perceived as a good & truthful man by others. I believe that is what saved him.
4. Bad actions have a way of catching upto you..in this life itself & also bears the the capacity to taint the life of their child as well

This book is pure and scandalous, both at the same time! Story is 100/ but writing, particularly, the 600+p. could have been avoided.

هو الراجل ده إزاي كده ؟
"Sometimes you read a book so special that you want to carry it around with you for months after you've finished just to stay near it."
~ Markus Zusak.