Restless is an espionage novel written by William Boyd, published in 2006. It won the Costa Prize for fiction.[1]
 First edition | |
| Author | William Boyd |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Spy novel |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury |
Publication date | 2006 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (hardback and paperback) |
| ISBN | 1-59691-236-7 |
| OCLC | 64289453 |
| 823/.914 22 | |
| LC Class | PR6052.O9192 R47 2006 |
The novel depicts the tale of a young woman who discovers that her mother was recruited as a spy during World War II. The book continually switches between time periods and, in doing so, from first to third person.
According to the author, it is one of the first novels to deal with the British Security Coordination service in New York. The book gained general public interest when it was chosen for inclusion in 'Book Club 2007', on the UK television show Richard & Judy.[2]
Plot summary
editEva, a young Russian woman, is recruited after her brother's death to work for the British secret service. During this time she falls for her mentor and boss, Lucas Romer. But all is not as it seems as Romer is working as a double agent which ultimately leads to the attempted murder of Eva, alongside the deaths of other agents.
The tale is interlinked with the story of Eva's daughter in the 1970s and how she comes to terms with the discovery of her mother's secret life. The setting of the novel is London, Oxford, Scotland, continental Europe, and the United States.
Reception
editMarianne MacDonald, for The Observer, said that Boyd's novel was "a good, rollicking read...Restless pulls you deep into the obscure, forgotten intricacies of wartime espionage, in particular the covert operations run by the British in America before Pearl Harbor".[3]
David Mattin, reviewing Restless for The Independent, described the book's ending as "both page-turning and deft, leaving us with a moving feeling that it is our histories, and our ever-changing, private interpretations of them, that render us ultimately unknowable. Restless is that rare thing: a spy thriller from a first-rate narrative intelligence."[4]
Adaptation
editIn December 2012 the BBC aired a two-part TV adaptation based on the novel.[5] It was produced by Hilary Bevan Jones, directed by Edward Hall and featured Hayley Atwell, Rufus Sewell, Michelle Dockery, Michael Gambon and Charlotte Rampling.
References
edit- ^ Clements, Toby (3 September 2006). "A writer's life: William Boyd". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 23 May 2007.[dead link]
- ^ Jury, Louise (5 January 2007). "Richard and Judy select Britain's next best-sellers". The Independent. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ MacDonald, Marianne (3 September 2006). "When Mateus Rose was sexy". The Observer. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
- ^ Mattin, David (1 April 2009). "Restless by William Boyd". The Independent. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
- ^ Fox, Chloe (22 December 2016). "On the set of William Boyd's Restless". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
Source
edit- Boyd, William. Restless, Bloomsbury, 2006, ISBN 978-0-7475-8620-3
External links
edit- Boyd, William (23 September 2006). "Old-school spy". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 23 May 2007.
- Boyd, William (19 August 2006). "The secret persuaders". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 23 May 2007.
- William Boyd, winner of the 2006 Costa Novel Award, talks about his book, Restless.[1] Costa Book Awards. 19 February 2007. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- William Boyd reading a section from Restless (video) [2], Bloomsbury. 30 May 2008. Retrieved 10 April 2020.