The Ghost
£1.24
Ordinary rendition - What s notable about The Ghost was the quality of Robert Harris s writing. I ve read a lot of books recently and, within a few pages of starting this one, it became clear that he has a huge skill in narrative and description, I was immediately hooked into the story. It s also interesting to see how he changes the sorts of books he writes - from Enigma set in World War II to Pompeii set in the time of the Romans, with The Ghost we are reading a modern day political story about a ghostwriter who finds he s taking on rather more than he expected in assisting with the memoirs of former Prime Minister Adam Lang. Lang s previous ghostwriter died as an apparent suicide but as the new ghostwriter (who is never named) settles into the house in which Lang and his entourage are staying in Martha s Vineyard he starts to uncover some strange evidence and it begins to look as if his own life isn t entirely safe.Adam Lang, the politician, bears a marked similarity to Tony Blair and some of the issues in the book (UK collusion with the USA s extraordinary rendition and the war on terror) are still very significant. There was less politics in the book than I expected but there were some interesting insights into the work of a ghostwriter and the setting in Martha s Vineyard was well researched.There are still a few unanswered questions by the end of the book and in some ways I felt that the end was a slight letdown. The story isn t at the standard of Enigma or Pompeii but it s still a much better read than most thrillers and Harris s facility with language is great to read.Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2009
A ripping yarn - I bought this for my xmas 2008 escape read and was not disappointed. The book is written in the first person with the narrator being the fictional author of the book. It s a political thriller with the CIA, MI6, and the events of Gulf war in relation to decisions taken by the main character the now retired former British Prime Minister (named Adam Laing)who in effect represents a retired Tony Blair. The story is set against the background of Mr Laings memoirs where the rights have been sold, publication is imminent but the ghost writer has washed up dead from a presumed suicide. The narrator is brought in by the anxious and very generous publisher to replace the originally appointed ghost writer. His brief is quite simple finish the book ASAP. The opening line sets the scene nicely The moment I heard how McAra died I should have walked away. From then on the book moves along at fair pace with great humour, intrigue and a nice examintion of the special relationship between the UK and USA. If you like a good yarn and are not too paranoid this is a great story.
Is this actually by Harris? - I ve read all of Harris s fiction and he s a great storyteller. Fatherland, Imperium and Archangel are highlights. I can t believe he hasn t used a ghostwriter for this to see what the audience thinks. It s just terrible writing - dull, characterless and pretty pointless. When the twist was revealed I just thought, who cares. No more like this please - let s have the real Robert Harris back!
Very enjoyable, just about plausible read - The thing I really liked about this book was the way it took the voice of a cynical hack and made the reader care for this, in many ways, unpleasant man. It is a sign of real skill in the writer that such a character can become someone we care about. The story - a former PM based very closely on Blair writing his memoirs - covers a large amount of political dirt. It s an engrossing read, and the friend who recommended it to me said she was amazed they weren t sued. So was I. An excellent read.
Highly implausable - This book was simply a poorly written book with an implausable plot. Read the reviews to see what it is about, but don t bother reading the book unless you are an out and out fan of Harris.