William Boyd
Borrowed from my sister (who bought it this past summer at The Little Ripon Bookshop, if I remember correctly), I enjoyed the book very much and can recommend it to anyone, whether you're into crime fiction, 20th century history, spy novels, romance (to an extent) or coming-of-age stories and hero's journeys. Gabriel's Moon as something of all of these, and it is so well written that you will want to know what happens next.
Set in 1960s London (and elsewhere), the book paints a believable picture of time and place, and the characters are similarly plausible.
It starts in 1936, when six-year-old Gabriel wakes up in the night to find the house on fire and his mother dead. He survives by a combination of instinct and luck, but understandably, the tragedy haunts him for the rest of his life.
Fast forward to the 1960s. By now, Gabriel is a published author. Specialising on travel writing, by coincidence he finds himself as the unlikely interviewer of Congo's Prime Minister Lumumba. Although he doesn't know it then, the interview is a turning point in his life, just like the house fire was nearly 30 years ago.
Back in London, he is contacted by the MI6 and asked to do them a simple favour, much like he's been doing every now and then for his brother who works at the Foreign Office. Reluctantly, he accepts the task, last but not least because he is fascinated by the woman who becomes his handler, and is paid generously. In his mind, he becomes her "useful idiot", not knowing what his apparently easy tasks are really about, but she calls him "her spy".
Combining the missions with his travel writing, earning money, seeing interesting places and meeting equally interesting people works well for a while, but Gabriel is more and more determined to find out the bigger picture behind it all. At the same time, the insomnia he has been suffering from since the house fire makes him seek the help of a psychoanalyst, and he investigates the events of that fateful night in 1936 to find out what really happened.
I don't want to tell you too much, but I have really enjoyed this book and was happy to learn that William Boyd plans a trilogy about Gabriel Dax. The second book has already been published this year ("Gabriel's Moon" was out in 2024), so I guess the third one is in the making.
You can find out more about the book and its author on wikipedia or, of course, on the author's own website.
Hard to believe this is only the 2nd time I have read something by this great author! Click here for my 2013 review of "Any Human Heart", if you are interested.
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