Heads You Win

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To me, it felt as if the structure of The Clifton Chronicles had been copied and paste into Russian settings. The final ending when it is hinted that both versions were in route at the same time was a let down. The opening, set in Russia, describes the happy family life of a gifted boy whose father is brutally murdered by the KGB, for planning to set up a trade union contrary to the ideology of communist Russia at the time. That is where the novel takes an unusual twist, each chapter alternating thereafter between two stories: the newly named Sasha arriving in England and Alex in America.

During an epic tale, spanning two continents and thirty years, we follow Alexander through triumph and defeat as he sets out on parallel lives as Alex in New York and Sasha in London.Alexander was double-checking each line for spelling mistakes, and to see if he could think of a more appropriate English word, when he heard the front door open. Highly recommended for anyone who loves a good story which mixes history, business and politics and a surprising conclusion. My one friend suggested maybe its a series or duology (as of right now we haven't found news of that) so we shall see. This being America, Elena does not open a posh restaurant, but puts together a chain of pizza parlors.

Jeffrey Archer provides a powerful reminder of those facts in Heads You Win, a unique novel that explores the two paths a Russian refugee’s life might have followed, depending on whether he boarded a ship bound for England or the United States. At times while reading this novel it had me thinking what if I had made different choices during my life. It was an easy way to get rid of Alexander, almost too abrupt after following the parallel lives for so long. Although you’re the best goalkeeper the school’s had in years, it’s still more important to win that scholarship.Have you ever given a thought to how your life would have turned out if, (at an important crossroads on that journey) you had taken the opposite decision to the one you did? Conventional straighteners or relaxers may break the protein bonds within the hair’s structure, causing each strand to reform into a permanently straight shape.

While it was an interesting read, seeing how their lives progressed on a more or less parallel route, politics was too major a focus with very minute detail. Later, both sons when grown decide to go back to Russia to run for President of Russia and the reader is thinking “finally we will get to find out how this situation happened- one mother and son suddenly without explanation becomes two different sets of mother and son” but no one mother and son set gets killed in a plane accident. There are two ships that will be leaving Leningrad when an important football match is taking place. Vladimir’s already a pioneer and signed up for the Komsomol,” said Alexander, after he’d made his next move.He peered around the corner, and watched as Comrade Karpenko went into the Church of the Apostle Andrew. We see good communication skills as essential to our work and our main aim is to give our clients what they want. On the other hand, Sasha and Elena land in England and use his sharp wit to earn a place in a prestigious school before attending Cambridge, where the political bug bites him and he is able to explore a work of power and intrigue.

I was fascinated by the idea of your life changing completely on the decision of which country you go to. As this unique story unfolds, Alexander comes to realize where his destiny lies, and accepts that he must face the past he left behind in Russia. Those of you who have read my other articles may remember one on False Impression by Jeffrey Archer where I said I was looking forward to reading his latest novel, the New York Times bestseller Heads You Win, said to be his ‘most ambitious and creative novel since, Kane And Abel’. And of course, for us in England, it’s where Mother Teresa started her great work and became the legend that she is.I got the premise of a 'sliding doors' scenario and that could have been good if the two characters split had a little explanation.