Paper Money - Ken Follet

"Paper Money", published in 1977, was one like the "The Modigliani Scandal" which was written under the pseudonym of "Zachary Stone" . It was during that time when Follett was just finding his foot in the writing world. However, if we have to talk about the plot of the same, then surely it was one of the best Follett has conceived, only if, the detailing had been as good as he developed in his other novels during the later years, the book would have surely gone into time as a great and quick read. Taking nothing away from Follett, it still is a very decent read, if we ignore some facets of the narrative.

The plot narrative is based on the events taking place on a day within twenty four hours, with hourly events narrated in subsequent chapters which impact the characters and which ultimately lead to events where all of them are intertwined in their motives. The major characters who are involved belong to diverse backgrounds which impact diverse industries including a Newspaper publication. Everything and all the confusion leads the narrative and the reader to the climax.

Technically, it's a very interesting plot. The characters are aggressive, but the plotting of events and twists and turns could be said to be a bit pacey taking away the thrill of the entire plot. Everything happens too fast here in. If we have to read it as a novel by someone who was getting his stand in the publishing world, then we wouldn't mind it. The thing is that most of the readers would have read this book after reading Follett's successful writings, so the comparison would be there.

What this book offers is a narrative by a Young Follett, which many of the readers would surely be interested to introspect.