William boyds restless, a tale of wartime espionage, is as acute as it is. An icecream war, winner of the john llewellyn rhys memorial prize and shortlisted for the booker prize. He always has a thoughtful and believable plot, characters are interesting and well drawn, the story both grips and provokes, the pace of the book never lets up, and it is never for a moment dull. Boyds ninth novel, an absorbing historical thriller, is loosely based on the history of a covert branch of. What a fun ride it was reading restless by william boyd. A pacy espionage thriller, william boyds restless is also a cracking good read, says marianne macdonald. I saw the bbc film after reading the book, and would advise anyone to read the book. Restless by wlliam boyd is a very enjoyable wwii spy story and as youd expect from boyd, brilliantly written. Twentyeight year old eva delectorskaya is at the funeral of her beloved younger brother. In 1983, he was one of the 20 best of young british novelist in a promotion run by granta magazine and the book marketing council. I am eva delectorskaya, sally gilmartin announces, and so on a warm summer afternoon in 1976 her daughter, ruth, learns that everything she ever knew about her mother was a carefully constructed lie. He grew up there, and then went to university in nice, glasgow and oxford. The first is ruth who teaches english to foreigners rather than finishing her doctorate.
Any musings about identity or love are understated, implied rather than drawn out. The book continually switches between time periods and, in doing so, from. William boyd has 58 books on goodreads with 167882 ratings. The second is the story of her mother sally real name. William boyd is the author of eight novels, including a good man in africa, an ice cream war and any human heart. When you pick up a william boyd book you know that it will be a struggle not to want to read one more chapter. Restless is an espionage novel written by william boyd, published in 2006. Exploring the devastating consequences of duplicity and betrayal william boyds gripping novel captures the drama of the second world war and a remarkable portrait of a female spy.
Boyd was born in accra, ghana, to scottish parents, both from fife, and has two younger sisters. While exquisitely literary in scope, tone and style, it is also hugely readable a real page turner henry sutton, esquire boyd is telling big, encompassing stories that are so authoritatively presented, they have the ring of historical fact. Since the success of brazzaville beach, william boyd has enjoyed a reputation as a male novelist who understands women and writes. Listen to this audiobook excerpt from william boyds novel restless, narrated by actress rosemund pike. In many ways restless is the book that boyd has been building towards for over two decades. Restless by william boyd is now a twopart movie starring charlotte rampling, michael gambon, and rufus sewell, airing on the bbc in the uk and on the sundance channel in the u. Books by william boyd writers similar to william boyd.
Boyds writing elegantly and effortlessly provokes thought on the issues of secrecy, intimacy, loyalty, and love. Restless pulls you deep into the obscure, forgotten intricacies of wartime espionage, in particular the covert operations run by the british in america before. The characters are entirely convincing, the settings rich, and the pace compelling without being frantic. While exquisitely literary in scope, tone and style, it is also hugely. William boyd is a ghanaianborn british author of novels and screenplays. Ostensibly a spy thriller, restless is one of william boyds best novels. William boyds ninth novel doesnt have the laughoutloud comedy of stars and bars or quiet verisimilitude of. As war breaks out she is recruited for the british secret service by lucas romer, a mysterious englishman, and under his tutelage she learns to become the perfect spy, to mask her emotions and trust no one, including those she loves most. A dazzling literary thriller and insightful character study from the author of any human heart, restless explores both the wartime adventures and peacetime intrigues of russian emigre eva delectorskaya. Restless by william boyd, 9780747586203, download free ebooks, download free pdf epub ebook. Restless by william boyd, 9780747586203, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. William boyd cbe frsl born 7 march 1952 is a scottish novelist, short story writer and screenwriter. Restless by william boyd restless is a brilliant espionage book and a vivid portrait of the life of a female spy. He has won many awards including the whitbread first novel, the john llewellyn rhys prize, the james tait black memorial prize and the sunday express book of the year award.
Keys to the heart william boyds new novel is a moreish. Then there is the story of eva delectorskaya, a woman of russianenglish heritage, working as a spy for britain in new york in 1940 and 1941. William boyd born 1952 is a scottish novelist and screenwriter. I stumbled across william boyd a few years back after picking up waiting for sunrise out of curiosity and then finding i was unable to book the book down. The protagonist of william boyds new novel learns that her mother is not what she seems. William boyd has received worldwide acclaim for his novels.
Restless is similarly a novel about the murky world of espionage and centres around the machinations to disseminate false news stories which, it is hoped, with prompt the united states to join in the war against nazi germany. Its a tricky thing for a writer to do, but william boyds been writing for a while now, and he carries it off pretty well. Brazzaville beach, winner of the james tait black memorial prize. Standing among her family and friends she notices a stranger.
See all books authored by william boyd, including any human heart, and restless, and more on. A bit of a mystery, a bit of an english spy story and a bit of a family drama all rolled into one. Boyd has written a crackling spy thriller, but more than that, he. He has successfully written many novels that are quite popular all over the world. An ice cream war, winner of the john llewellyn rhys prize and shortlisted for the booker prize.
William boyd is the author of nine novels, including a good man in africa, winner of the whitbread award and the somerset maugham award. When ruth gilmartin learns the true identityand the. Books by william boyd authors like william boyd what. It is also a compelling thriller, an intricate spy novel, and a fascinating work of historical fiction that uncovers littleknown and embarrassing realities about the true relationship between great britain and the united states in the years immediately preceding the latter. The book continually switches between time periods and, in doing so, from first to third person. William boyd is the author of eight novels, including a good man in africa and any human heart, three collections of short stories, and thirteen screenplays that have been filmed. Part is written in the early days of ww2, while the other is written in mid1970s oxford. We personally assess every books quality and offer rare, outofprint treasures. Spies fascinate the public imagination in the same way that actors do, possibly because to. Since then, i have tended to snap up his novels quite regularly but i had delayed reading restless having seen the tv adaption that was on the bbc a few years ago.
A good man in africa 1981, winner of the whitbread award and the somerset maugham prize an ice cream war 1982, shortlisted for the 1982 booker prize and winner of the john llewellyn rhys prize, stars and bars 1984, the new confessions 1987, brazzaville beach 1990, winner of the mcvitie prize and the james tait. The novel depicts the tale of a young woman who discovers that her mother was recruited as a spy during world war ii. Written with typical subtlety and nuance by boyd, this is a spellbinding meditation on buried secrets and identities, and a top notch spy story to boot. Restless by william boyd meet your next favorite book.
Spies, lies and family ties william boyd the guardian. William boyd is the author of numerous novels, collections of short stories, and screenplays that have been filmed. Restless and waiting for sunrise are espionage thrillers. Eva delectorskaya is a beautiful 28yearold russian emigree living in paris. From manila to the deep american south, boyds novels traverse time and place exploring the human condition. A good man in africa, winner of the whitbread award and the somerset maugham award. British author william boyds novel of war and espionage, restless, is set as dual voiced.
William boyds latest novel, restless, is an exceptional and wholly brilliant literary work on the theme of deception. Restless by william boyd 2007, paperback for sale online. I am eva delectorskaya, sally gilmartin announces, and. Keys to the heart william boyds new novel is a moreish romp. His father alexander, a doctor specialising in tropical medicine, and boyds mother, who was a teacher, moved to the then gold coast in 1950 to. Restless by william boyd is a bore i raced to finish the novel, but not because i wanted to find out what happens next. Restless by william boyd is one of those novels with a parallel plot, there is the presentday told from the pointofview of ruth gilmartin a 20something phd student at oxford and a single mum. The second half of the book is a kind of catandmouse.
Book overview restless by william boyd is now a twopart movie starring charlotte rampling, michael gambon, and rufus sewell, airing on the bbc in the uk and on the sundance channel in the u. Its such a nice change to see the two main characters in a spy story being females, mother sally and daughter ruth. Restless was recommended to me by the lady i live with so i dove into it with high expectations. William boyds books transfer to audio really well, and restless is no exception. Restless by boyd, william and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. William boyd restless book club questions by esofstepre. Boyd was born on march 7, 1952 in accra, ghana in a scottish descent.