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Robert Harris - image from his Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ page

This is a fast-paced thriller, centering around a ghost writer assigned to revise and complete the first draft of an autobiography prepared by his predecessor, another ghost writer, recently deceased. The subject of this is a Tony Blair stand-in, Adam Lang, a former British PM who had served American foreign policy needs with more attention than he gave to the wishes of his own people. The ghost is also under great time pressure from his publisher, one month to fix over a hundred thousand badly written words. The characters here are the sort one would expect in a political thriller, not too deep but fun to watch. The former PM has a background in theater that suits perfectly a person who seems not to be really there. His brains-behind-the-scenes wife, Ruth, was probably the most interesting character in the book, both warm and calculating, seemingly vulnerable yet dangerous. What really happened to the earlier ghost writer? Was his death really a suicide? Will the PM be brought to the international court as a war criminal? Is he guilty of the crimes of which he is accused? The ghostwriter is faced with choices. He can accept the assignment and make a lot of money, but in doing so he will alienate his sort-of girlfriend and trouble his conscience at least a little. Seduction of all sorts abounds here. I found it a fun, engaging read, a beach book, not to be taken too seriously, but enjoyable. The author’s political bias was clear enough (pro Iraq war) but I did not allow this to detract from the enjoyment of the read. Roll your eyes and keep reading.


Pierce Brosnan as Adam Lang and Ewan McGregor as the ghost writer - from the Roman Polanski film, The Ghost Writer - image from RogerEbert.com


PS - the film rocks!