Archer's latest thriller is in a class of its own

The Fourth Estate By Jeffrey Archer 550 pages Harper Collins Publishers, London, 1996

JAKARTA (JP): Here is a story of two men fighting each other to control the biggest newspaper empire in the world. One man is a refugee who escaped from the bitter war in Germany to live in England, emerging to become the owner of one of the biggest newspapers in the land. The other was raised in a mansion, the son of a wealthy newspaper baron, who would replace his father and then turn the family company into one of the biggest telecommunication empires in the world.

One might wonder if The Four Estate is a joint biography of the late Robert Maxwell and Star TV's owner Rupert Murdoch.

Well, close but no cigar. Jeffrey Archer's latest novel seems to have been "inspired" by the two newspaper barons who tried to outdo and outhustle each other in their quest to become the most powerful man in the newspaper industry.

Just like his early work, such as First Among Equals, an intriguing story of the battle between four people to become the Prime Minister of England, or A Matter of Honor, which describes the quarreling of three superpowers (the U.S., the late Soviet Union, and Britain) for a letter that holds a secret which would benefit the country that has it, The Fourth Estate also has the wittiness, suspensefulness, and an element of surprise: the trademarks of Archer's work that make for instant bestsellers.

The two characters, Richard Armstrong and Keith Townsend, seem to have little in common, personality-wise.

The first escaped from the Nazi's and later got stranded in England. Then, with his talent for languages and bartering, and an abundance of luck, he became a citizen, an officer in the British military unit that enabled him to avenge his family's death by killing German troops in World War II. And he was sent to Germany to become the head of a British newspaper company. Through lying and cheating, he was able to destroy the business of his competitors and transformed the flagging company into the biggest selling newspaper in the country. Germany was where Richard Armstrong started manipulating his way through the top. England was destined to be his next stop.

Townsend, unlike Armstrong, was born with a lot of money. His father was the owner of several Australian newspapers and from the start he groomed his son to become his successor. Townsend, himself, had shown his love for the clicking of typewriters since he was young. When his father died, he left Oxford and replaced his father at the head of the empire. With cold-hearted and often cruel maneuvering, he was able to transform his father's empire into the biggest newspaper empire in Australia. Townsend believed that he was ready to make his mark in the newspaper industry and decided that London would be the perfect place to start.

The quarrel between Armstrong and Townsend started in England after Armstrong cheated Townsend in a deal. Townsend and Armstrong embark on a 30-year epic battle for the biggest newspaper empire in the world.

This particular novel certainly is one of the most compelling novels Archer has written so far.

Like in his other novels, Archer took the third person perspective to tell the life and characters of both men. Divided into 40 chapters, Archer tells each man's story alternately at first, little by little giving the reader the characters of the two figures.

This novel differs slightly from his other novels with regard to the narrative stance. He has written this book in flashback form. The first two chapters correlate to the last two, in which the biggest conflict, climax, and epilogue happen. The other chapters told the life of the main characters and explaining the process of events towards the conflict and, ultimately, the climax.

Unlike his early novels, for example A Matter of Honour where the characterization is patchy due to his concentration on the conflict of nations, The Fourth Estate's main figures have very definite personalities which make it easier for readers to understand their motivations. For example, Armstrong can be characterized in one word: survivor. This trait was developed with his escape from the Nazi camp after the death of his family. Henceforth, the man would lie about his past or kill his own brother to gain an advantage in life. Townsend, on the other hand, is an egoistical bastard who wants to be the best at whatever he does. Yet he still has a humane side, and is at times very sensitive to the people surrounding him. Townsend is not the ideal protagonist, for his bad side seems to dominate, yet he is not as bad as his archrival who utterly lacks compassion.

One element that is needed for a good thriller is a worthy antagonist. In this book, he paints Armstrong as a heartless, insensitive person who is very inhumane in his approach to others in his quest to become the best in the business.

No book is perfect. Archer's has several weaknesses.

One of the most notable weaknesses of the book is the lack of information concerning the timeframe and location of each chapter, unlike A Matter of Honour, one of his books in which each chapter has a specific time and location. The reader must be able to read carefully to understand the location and time frame of each event or they will get lost (the 40 chapters covers 68 years, from 1923-1991). At times, the reader might have to go back a few pages or so to catch a phrase (such as "Kennedy" for New York) for a hint of where they are.

The other weakness is the confusing switch Archer makes in the middle of the book. In the first few chapters, he alternates between character in turn. Halfway through the book, he combines their stories. Although it doesn't destroy the mood of the reader, it's still a blemish.

Weaknesses aside, it's an excellent thriller. The only question remains: Is Archer trying to make fun of Richard Maxwell and Rupert Murdoch or is he running out of imagination? The similarity of each character to their real-life counterpart is striking. Richard Maxwell, the deceased newspaper baron, was a refugee from Eastern Europe and so is Richard Armstrong. The events are based on real life, such as Townsend's purchase of the biggest selling magazine in the world, TVNews to Rupert Murdoch's purchase of TVGuide. Such similarities between the characters and their real-life counterpart might worry Archer's fans, who appreciate his books for the imaginative plots and twists.

-- Pandu Sjahrir