William Boyd, Restless

Restless is a fantastic novel - on the surface it's about World War 2 spys but in fact the central theme is betrayal. Of the heart, of your family, of your ideals.

William Boyd, Restless review.

Boyd is a master story teller, and once again with Restless he grabs a new idea and wrestles with it to bring an enchanting and intriguing story beautifully to life.

I have read other Boyd so knew what to expect of the prose; but this was his first "spy" offering I'd picked up and so was curious. Yes there is espionage, yes it is thrilling, and yes the epoques depicted allow for some wonderful detail. But the central characters, their lives, their feelings, and that clever use of the first person, is the central cog of the book around which everything else rotates.

You find yourself nodding empathetically at Eva Delektorskaya, and her daugher. You also share concern and growing frustration with Eva's one-time recruiter (I'll say no more).

I've read other reviewers compare this to Le Carre, which is fair. Similar styling, and rich prose, vivid characterizations. You might also like the Constant Gardener or The Honourable Schoolboy, both great Le Carre thrillers with a very strong human element.

I've also read other reviewers venting some frustration with a limp ending and several unresolved details or sub-plots. I have to say that I don't think that's fair, because neat packaging and a clear and clean conclusion is the stuff of lesser novels, and not the expected or pre-requisite way to bring a story to an end. The end was gentle, but definitely conclusive, and indeed in keeping with the rich fabric of those for whom the stories unfolded. Try Boyd's "Any Human Heart" for another wonderful example of Boyd's keen observation of the human condition.

I applaud Boyd's efforts to keep things realistic, and in some senses gritty and unkempt, as it supports what is a very colourful book about human beings first, and spy novel second. Perhaps my final comment is again a plaudit, this time for the depiction of the scenes of the era in Paris, London and New York: again lavishly brought to life with a faultless imagination.

A delicious read.